(September 2, 2015) NORTHBROOK, Ill. — Kansas City, Kan., tops the chart for the first time ever as the safest driving city in America according to the 11th annual "Allstate America's Best Drivers Report." The report, based on Allstate Insurance Company claims data, ranks America's 200 largest cities in terms of car collision frequency to identify which cities have the safest drivers.

Kansas City, Kan., is recognized as the safest driving city in America with the average driver experiencing an auto collision every 13.3 years, which is 24.8 percent less likely than the national average of every 10 years.

"By providing this information annually, Allstate and our agency owners across the country strive to bring drivers and communities together to talk about driving safety and consider solutions to keep our roads safer," said Jim Ledder, vice president of auto claims, Allstate. "By spotlighting the cities with strong driver safety records and spreading the word about practical steps drivers can take, we're continuing to help protect people from life's uncertainties and prepare them for a more secure future."

Recently, the National Safety Council estimated the U.S. is on track for its deadliest driving year since 2007. For the first six months of 2015, NSC reported traffic deaths are up 14 percent from a year ago, and serious injuries are 30 percent higher over the same period.

While there are many factors that impact highway safety, an improving economy and lower gas prices have led to an increase in the number of miles being driven. The Federal Highway Administration's latest Traffic Volume Trend Report says cumulative travel for 2015 is up by 3.5 percent. The June report is based on hourly traffic count data reported by the states, using data collected at approximately 4,000 continuous traffic counting locations nationwide.

The top ten cities according to the Allstate America's Best Drivers Report:



New this year, the report provides information about a notable factor in collisions — braking habits— in approximately 100 cities nationally. Allstate pulled data from its Drivewise offering, an innovative technology that allows consumers to monitor their driving habits to improve safety and gain rewards on their insurance, to determine braking trends. A hard braking event is defined as slowing down eight miles per hour or more over a one-second time interval.

Allstate found a correlation between hard braking and collision frequency. Cities with higher collision frequency also recorded more hard braking events. Nationally, on average, a driver will experience 16 hard braking events for every 1,000 miles driven.

Driving tips for cities with high braking activity:

    • Leave room between you and other vehicles. Hard braking collisions can occur when drivers are following other cars too closely, causing a rear-end collision. Try to avoid rear-end collisions by leaving more space and time to react to other vehicles' actions.

    • Minimize distractions while driving. Distracted driving is one of the main causes for collisions.[iv] Common driving distractions include eating, grooming, talking on a cell phone or texting, interacting with other passengers, adjusting navigation devices and playing loud music.

In addition to the traditional collision frequency rankings, two unique rankings among the top 200 largest cities are featured in the 2015 report. These location factor rankings include population density and precipitation, and show how some cities' rankings can change when taking these challenging roadway conditions into consideration.