A recent study has revealed that Boston drivers lead the nation in collision occurrences, earning the city a reputation for dangerous driving.
According to research from Allstate, Boston drivers face a staggering 244 percent higher collision likelihood compared to the national average.
While the average American driver experiences a crash roughly every 10.5 years, Boston residents find themselves involved in a collision approximately every three years.
“People in Massachusetts didn’t get termed ‘Massholes’ for no reason,” said Terry Regan, a transportation policy lecturer at Boston University.
“They tend to follow closely; they tend to run through yellow lights.”
The report examined damage claims from the 200 largest cities in the United States during 2022 and 2023, highlighting Boston’s unique driving challenges.
Not all data paints a bleak picture for Massachusetts, however.
Peter Furth, a civil and environmental engineering professor at Northeastern University, pointed out that other metrics, such as rates of injuries and fatalities, indicate Massachusetts as one of the safest states for drivers.
He cautioned against interpreting collision data as a definitive measure of overall safety, noting, “We have other data on what really counts in terms of safety, so let’s not be misled by data on collisions that need an insurance claim.”
Cities with lower collision rates, such as Cary, North Carolina, and Eugene, Oregon, showcased claim filings much less frequently than Boston.
In Cary, for instance, drivers can expect to go nearly 13 years between collisions.
In stark contrast, Boston drivers’ collision frequency reveals them as nearly 3.5 times more likely to experience a crash, according to the Allstate findings.
Adding another layer to Boston’s driving woes, INRIX reported that the city ranks as the fourth most congested in the world.
In 2022, drivers in Boston found themselves stuck in traffic for an astonishing 130 hours, behind only Chicago, Paris, and London.
“Our roads are more crowded. If you take the total amount of road space and divide it by the number of cars, we have less space,” Furth elucidated regarding the city’s geographical constraints.
Terry Regan pointed to the numerous navigational obstacles in Boston, such as MBTA Green Line cars, buses, cyclists, and pedestrians, as contributors to collision rates.
He remarked, “It’s just much more difficult to drive in Boston than anywhere else.”
Furthermore, Boston isn’t alone in facing high collision rates; nearby Worcester also ranks high on the list at the fourth position, while Springfield comes in at fifth.
Washington, D.C. and Baltimore occupy the second and third spots respectively in collision likelihood.
Providence, Rhode Island, follows closely at ninth, demonstrating a trend of higher collision rates in Massachusetts cities.
On a different note, the Allstate report identifies Brownsville, Texas, as the city with the lowest collision claims, where drivers only average about 14.24 years between crashes.
Regan attributes this to the fact that Texas roads are generally broader and straighter, designed over a century later than Boston’s streets.
“That means drivers are less likely to hit obstacles on Texas roads,” he added, although he cautioned that the higher speed limits in Texas may lead to more severe crashes when they do occur.
Interestingly, Regan highlighted a paradox: Boston’s more congested roadways and slower speeds can mitigate the potential for fatal accidents.
“The same things that lead to more crashes also lead to less fatalities,” he stated, pointing out the complexities of urban driving safety.
As the data continues to evolve, it raises questions about how to enhance driving conditions and improve safety for all road users in urban environments like Boston.
While the city grapples with its collision statistics, initiatives focused on infrastructure and road safety measures could play a critical role in shaping the future of Boston’s roads.
image source from：bostonglobe
