Community Corner

Mass. Drivers Ranked Last in the Country

That's according to a new ranking by insurance company Allstate.

BOSTON, MA — Massachusetts drivers have once again cemented their "Masshole" reputation by appearing at the bottom of yet another national ranking of "Best Drivers."

This time, it's insurance company Allstate, which ranked cities across the country based on how likely you are to get into a crash there.

Coming in dead last: Boston, for the second year in a row.

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But don't worry. Boston has company. Worcester came in at No. 199, second up from Boston's position in the 200th slot. Boston and Worcester have basically been battling it out for last place in Allstate's rankings since 2014. Springfield makes a poor showing, too, at No. 196.


From the Patch Archives: Is Driving Really That Bad in Boston?

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Allstate also takes into account the surrounding suburban metropolitan areas.

According to Allstate, Boston drivers in 2016 made a habit of slamming on their brakes, roughly 16.8 times per 1,000 miles. This correlates to number of accidents, according to the insurance company. It's not all our fault, though. Boston also ranked poorly in terms of the frequency of rain and snow, additional factors in the likelihood of crashes.

Coming in at No. 1 (where you are statistically least likely to get into a car accident, according to Allstate) is Brownsville, Texas. It's followed by Kansas City, Kansas, and Madison, Wisconsin, at numbers two and three.

You can find the full list from Allstate here.

Fun fact: If you use "Masshole" as a search term for images on Flickr licensed for distribution under Creative Commons, a big portion of the pictures are of cars. Like the one above, taken by Matthew in Boston, whose caption reads: "License plate 'TOWNIE' parked on a sidewalk. What can I say? Too perfect, really."

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