People often worry about the safety of air travel, but the odds of a passenger dying in a plane crash are 1 in 9,821, while the odds of meeting your maker in a car accident are 1 in 114. Driving, that is, can be a dangerous activity.
In fact, while the pandemic kept many drivers off the roads in 2020, with Americans covering 13% fewer miles than in the previous year, traffic deaths actually increased. Some 42,060 people died in vehicle accidents last year, according to the National Safety Council. That represented an 8% increase over 2019.
Some places are safer to drive than others, though. While we don’t necessarily have a choice about where we drive, it is instructive to learn which cities have the fewest collisions and traffic deaths per capita.
24/7 Wall St. looked at collision and fatality data from 194 cities across the United States to assemble a list of the 25 safest cities in which to drive. From that list, we picked the safest city. (Picking a new car for your safe city? Be careful when you do, because these new cars are most likely to break down.)
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The 25 finalists cover some 17 states and include cities all the way from Anchorage, Alaska, to Port St. Lucie, Florida. Arizona takes the safety prize, with four cities in the top 25 finalists list. You may be surprised to learn that New York City made the cut, along with two of its busiest commuter cities: Jersey City, New Jersey, and Yonkers, New York.
Cary, North Carolina, is the safest city to drive in. Here are some key statistics:
- Average time between collisions: 12.0 years
- Likelihood of collision compared to U.S. average: −12.0% (#182 out of 194 cities)
- Motor vehicle fatalities per 100,000 people: 1.8 (#191 out of 194 cities)
- Population: 171,143
Click here to read about all the safest cities for driving.
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