A new survey on the cities with the safest drivers in the United States found that Baton Rouge is slightly less safe than it was last year. The survey was released by Allstate Insurance Company and analyzes data of car insurance collision claims in the biggest 200 American cities. According to the survey Louisiana drivers are more likely to be involved in car accidents than drivers in most major cities, but no Louisiana city is at the bottom of the pack.

Unfortunately all three of Louisiana's largest metro areas fell in the rankings however. Shreveport fell from 120 to 126, New Orleans fell from 148 to 156, and Baton Rouge ranked 159, down from 151. The safest city for the second year a row is Fort Collins, Colorado. Drivers in Fort Collins average a car accident every 14 years.

Our nation's capitol city is the most dangerous location for car accidents according to the survey. Washington D.C. is at the bottom of the list for the third year in a row and D.C. residents average one car crash every five years.

The top five cities with the safest drivers are:

  1. Fort Collins, Colorado
  2. Boise, Idaho
  3. Lincoln, Nebraska
  4. Chandler, Arizona
  5. Huntsville, Alabama

The safest major cities for driving with populations over 1 million are:

  1. Phoenix, Arizona
  2. San Diego, California
  3. San Antonio, California
  4. Houston, Texas
  5. Chicago, Illinois

The fact that none of the major Louisiana metro areas are in the top 100 safest cities makes it clear that Louisiana drivers must work harder to avoid car accidents. Most Louisiana car accidents are caused by bad driving behavior such as speeding, intoxicated driving and distracted driving. Drivers should pay attention to the road and use more caution so that Baton Rouge can hopefully rival Fort Collins' driving record someday.

Source: Town Talk, "Survey: Safest drivers are in Colorado, most crash-prone are in D.C.," Sept. 1, 2011