The typical Chattanooga motorist drives nearly 13 years between accidents, making Chattanooga home to the safest drivers in the South, according to a new study by Allstate Insurance Co.
Among the nation’s 200 largest cities, Chattanooga trailed only Fort Collins, Colo., for the lowest rate of collisions involving motorists insured by Allstate, the nation’s second-biggest insurer.
Allstate customers in Chattanooga had accidents involving property damage 22.7 percent less often than all U.S. drivers during the two years of collision data analyzed by Allstate.
“Chattanooga drivers have always shown up well in our rankings, but this is the best year ever,” said Alison Hatcher, a spokeswoman for Allstate Insurance in Nashville.
The favorable showing for local motorists gives Chattanooga more than bragging rights for the skills of those behind the wheel. Based upon favorable claims experience, Allstate cut its auto policy rates in Hamilton County by 10 percent in July — one of the biggest declines ever for the insurance giant.
“We were very excited about our crash rate being so good because in Hamilton County we got a 10 percent discount in July and most counties didn’t get that kind of reduction,” said Esther Suggs, an Allstate agent in Brainerd. “Usually rates go up every year, not down.”
Suggs said Chattanooga’s medium size and calmer lifestyle help keep people safer on the road.
“If you’ve driven in other cities like I have, you know that motorists in places like Atlanta seem to drive a lot more crazy, and the accident rate is much greater,” she said.
Atlanta’s accident rate placed the Georgia capital at No. 146 among the 200 top U.S. cities, according to Allstate.
Chattanooga, Knoxville and Nashville all were among the top 25 cities again in the 2010 “Best Drivers’ Report” with accident rates at least 10 percent below the U.S. average.
Allstate officials said Tennessee’s graduated driver’s license program for young drivers, the state’s ban on texting while driving and Tennessee’s more favorable road conditions combined to help keep driving safer in the Volunteer State.
Mike Roche, senior vice president of Allstate’s claim organization, said keeping the favorable accident rate “takes quality roads and infrastructure. But more than anything else, it’s the result of individuals taking responsibility for keeping our streets safe.”
The rate of auto crashes has declined over the past decade, but more than 35,000 people still die each year nationwide in traffic accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“Human error is still the biggest cause of accidents,” Roche said.
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