Report Calls out Most And Least Safe Cities for US Drivers

Boston is the safest city for driving overall, followed by New York City, while Memphis is the least safe, a report looking at the 50 most populated cities shows.

U.S. News & World Report evaluated the most and least safe cities for U.S. drivers, ranking cities based on factors like the total number of fatal car accidents per city per capita, number of car thefts per 100,000 people and average number of drunken driving arrests per capita.

The report makes a correlation between cities with strong public transportation networks, which can reduce the number of cars on the road, and highway safety. Several cities that ranked as the safest for driving (Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C.) were rated as among the best cities for public transportation.

Seven of the 10 safest cities also garnered high ratings for being walkable, all coming in above 70 out of 100. Washington, D.C. had the highest walk score at 98. Seven of the 10 least safe cities earned walk scores below 50.

Authors of the report surmise that a more walkable city has fewer people using cars to get around, reducing the risk of car accidents.

Urban sprawl, in which a city rapidly expands and its population becomes widely dispersed, can sometimes have poorly planned roads, and residents may rely on cars and have longer commutes between homes, stores, workplaces, and other attractions. This can lead to traffic congestion and unsafe driving conditions, according to the report.

Examples include Atlanta, Nashville, and Dallas, which all have high reported rates of fatal car crashes.

The safest cities in the report were:

• Boston
• New York City
• Washington, D.C.
• Minneapolis

The cities that ranked least safe were:

• Memphis
• Albuquerque
• Tucson
• Kansas City

The report used National Highway Traffic Administration data on fatal auto accidents, Federal Bureau of Investigation figures on drunken driving, data from The Road Information Program on average fatalities per 100 million miles traveled and National Insurance Crime Bureau data on vehicle thefts.