"Safest drivers in the nation? Definitely not in San Diego" (Los Angeles: buy)

[Bluefox]

Safest drivers in the nation? Definitely not in San Diego - SignOnSanDiego.com

Wow, this is a shocker. At least we ranked higher than LA and San Francisco. Here is an excerpt from the article:

"
The top 10 safest driving cities reads like a list of America's Gosh Darned Nicest Places to Live. In gently descending order: Fort Collins; Chattanooga; Boise; Colorado Springs; Knoxville; Eugene, Ore.; Reno; Huntsville Ala.; Lincoln, Neb.; and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

And yes, I hear you: What about San Diego? We're right behind Phoenix among the majors. (Which is where the Padres might end up if they don't break out of their slump.) San Diego is ranked 103rd -- well ahead of New York, Houston, San Antonio , Chicago and Dallas, which round out the top seven safest large cities -- those with high-density living and stress, aging streets and crazy cab drivers and, well, more stress.

We're getting better: San Diego was ranked 108th last year.
Chula Vista is ranked 86th, Oceanside is 110th and Escondido is 119th. And it might cheer competitive San Diegans to know that Los Angeles and San Francisco are, well, among the really scary places to drive. LA is ranked 183rd and San Francisco is 185th.

The absolutely worst city for driving? Washington DC. (As one who drove a taxi there decades ago, I can now say, that is where I learned to avoid eye contact with other drivers while barreling through an intersection. In Washington, eye contact is a sign of weakness. I wonder if that is a political metaphor, too?)

There is a serious side and message to the safest drivers list.
Auto crashes have declined over the last few years, but fatalities still average around 35,000 every year despite technological advances, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Allstate bases its rankings on a weighted average of two years worth of damage claims from its policy holders, which represent 11 percent of the nation's drivers. This year's numbers are drawn from January 2007 through December 2008.

How far does San Diego (population: 1,280,000) have to go to beat little Fort Collins (population: 136,509)? Look at it like this: The average Fort Collins driver might experience a collision every 14.5 years. San Diegans, on the other hand, average a crash every 9.2 years. The national average is around once a decade."

Normally I don't buy into these lists, but averaging about 3 vehicular near death experiences a week here in San Diego, I have no trouble believing this one!

[djxpress]

Originally Posted by Bluefoxwarrior

Wow, this is a shocker.

Hardly. How many times have you seen (or done) the old signal as you're changing lanes. Or change lanes, and then suddenly brake due to traffic, only to make the guy behind you slam on the brakes? Or the old merge on the onramp, and do a double lane change to the #2 lane?

San Diego drivers, suck, myself included. The only place I've seen worse drivers is SF and Beijing, China.

Edit: and the article says Chula Vista is ranked 86th.. I've always noticed Chula Vista and National City drivers are _really_ slow and careful....why? Because they have yellow "Front BC" license plates, so they definitely don't want to be pulled over!

[RoadTripGurl]

I've seen way worse than San Diego Drivers... Very safe compared to most of the east coast LOL

[sdhkshdcny09]

worst drivers in the world- not even a competition: Manila, Philippines
they drive on the shoulders, somehow manage to create 3 lanes out of two when there arent shoulders, and never obey traffic signals.
The fact that public transportation in Manila is minimal at best (for a metro of 14 million) and that cars are suddenly affordable to the general public, makes manila beyond comparison to even the worst cities in the US. The only place in the world that probably has worse traffic and traffic conditions is Bangkok. But my vote still goes to Manila.

in the US, i think the safest drivers are probably in Illinois/ Midwest. It seems they always drive under the speed limit and are very careful....

[sfosyd]

Boston or any Massachusetts city is not even on that list! I'll bet BOS would beat out DC for the worst drivers

[SD_Harley]

Originally Posted by djxpress

Hardly. How many times have you seen (or done) the old signal as you're changing lanes. Or change lanes, and then suddenly brake due to traffic, only to make the guy behind you slam on the brakes? Or the old merge on the onramp, and do a double lane change to the #2 lane?

San Diego drivers, suck, myself included. The only place I've seen worse drivers is SF and Beijing, China.

Edit: and the article says Chula Vista is ranked 86th.. I've always noticed Chula Vista and National City drivers are _really_ slow and careful....why? Because they have yellow "Front BC" license plates, so they definitely don't want to be pulled over!

If you want terror you should try a bike! About those BC plates, why do they always take the far left lane? They take it even on the freeway and never over the limit causing everyone to pass on the right.

[oddstray]

I wonder what they measured. I've lived in L.A. and in San Diego. Traffic was much worse in L.A. but I found the drivers there to be much better. More predictable and more cooperative. Drivers in San Diego are crazy, unpredictable, and selfish compared to ones in L.A.

[newjitty]

i found SD to be SUPER-SAFE and easy to drive in...almost too easy, as in people here dont speed or get right behind you too much..

compare that to North NJ/LI where people will be up your bumper while doing 80 to get to wherever they're going.. and change 2 lanes without a signal just because..

re: LA traffic i dont find it as as bad as most say, especially considering no one uses mass trans.. then again i usually stuck to the westside

[MovingAloha]

Originally Posted by rhanifin

worst drivers in the world- not even a competition: Manila, Philippines
they drive on the shoulders, somehow manage to create 3 lanes out of two when there arent shoulders, and never obey traffic signals.
The fact that public transportation in Manila is minimal at best (for a metro of 14 million) and that cars are suddenly affordable to the general public, makes manila beyond comparison to even the worst cities in the US. The only place in the world that probably has worse traffic and traffic conditions is Bangkok. But my vote still goes to Manila.

in the US, i think the safest drivers are probably in Illinois/ Midwest. It seems they always drive under the speed limit and are very careful....

I hear ya On Manila and Bangkok; wonderful people horrific drivers. Italy, especially Naples and Rome are pretty bad. And when you throw all the motor bikes into the mix -OIY!
The last time I drove in SD and LA, I don't recall the shear terror I've felt in those other locales.