You can blame Boston traffic all you want, but it’s no secret Boston, and on a greater scale, Massachusetts, drivers suck, and a recent Allstate study really drives the point home.
Boston ranked dead last out of 200 major U.S. cities, according to the study, which was based on Allstate claims data.
And they’re only getting worse.
According to the survey, Boston drivers are 80 percent more likely to file an insurance claim than the national average. And while the average driver nationwide goes a decade between car crashes, Boston drivers manage a mere 3.6 years between fender benders — that’s 12 percent worse than last year and 22 percent worse than 2015.
Boston drivers were the worst-rated drivers in those years as well, Boston.com reported. Apparently, Bostonians are really living up to their “Masshole” name.
Back in 2014 — when Boston was only the second-worst city for driving in the nation, edged out of the last slot by none other than the neighboring city of Worcester — the Department of Transportation launched a road safety campaign to address incidents of road rage, distracted driving and seat belt use.
The road safety campaign culminated in the rollout of the oh-so-successful “Use Yah Blinkah” electronic message boards, and at the time, road safety officials hailed the media attention as a sure sign drivers would pay attention.
“We had a lot of public attention and discussion around it,” Frank DePaola, administrator of MassDOT’s highway division, told Boston Magazine at the time of roll out. “It elevated the awareness of good driving habits.”
But despite garnering local and national media acclaim for the clever mingling of road safety and Boston’s charming accent, it appears Massachusetts drivers didn’t really listen.
Worcester clocked in at No. 198. Baltimore, Maryland was 199th. Springfield made fifth worst on the list.
But don’t worry, Massachusetts drivers were in good company. Bad driving is apparently a New England thing.
Providence, New Haven and Bridgeport all made the bottom 15. Hat’s off guys!
Oh, the city with the best drivers? Kansas City, Kansas, of all places.
