Erie Insurance Ranks 10 Popular Vacation Destinations by Crash Risk

Article

According to a USA Today poll, three out of four of Americans plan to vacation at least 100 miles from home this year, and many of those trips will undoubtedly involve a good old-fashioned road trip. But the last thing anyone wants on vacation is to get into a car crash, get stuck in traffic, or pay sky-high gas prices.

To help drivers know what to expect as they hit the road, Erie Insurance ranks 10 popular vacation destinations in terms of crash risk.

“Summer road trips are a great way to spend time with family and friends and make memories that will last a lifetime,” said Cody Cook, vice president and product manager for Erie Insurance. “But you want those memories to be of amazing sights you saw, meals you ate, or things you did, not of looking for a body shop to fix your car or missing out on an excursion because you were stuck in traffic.”

Cook said that all of the cities on the list are great vacation destinations. Erie released the data to make road trippers more aware of the driving conditions they might face so that they can be more prepared.

Car Crashes
Erie analyzed five years of crash data provided by the Highway Loss Data Institute to determine the average daily collision claim rate per 100,000 people. Of the 10 metro areas Erie analyzed, Washington, D.C. had the highest rate, while Las Vegas had the lowest.

Below is each city’s ranking, average daily collision claim rate, and how that city’s risk compares to the other cities in Erie’s analysis.

Rank	Destination	Average Daily Collision Claim Rate	Rate Compared to 10-City Average
1	Washington, D.C.	7.77 per 100,000	+46%
2	Virginia Beach	6.76 per 100,000	+27%
3	Philadelphia	6.17 per 100,000	+16%
4	Chicago	5.33 per 100,000	(Average)
5	San Antonio	5.07 per 100,000	-5%
6	Orlando	4.62 per 100,000	-13%
7	Seattle	4.59 per 100,000	-14%
8	Nashville	4.39 per 100,000	-17%
9	New York	4.37 per 100,000	-18%
10	Las Vegas	4.05 per 100,000	-24%