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Chicago Drivers Average One Wreck Every Eight Years

By John Dodge

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Drivers in the Chicago area are 25 percent more likely than the national average to get in a car accident, and typically are involved in a wreck once every eight years, according to an analysis of insurance claims.

Among the nine U.S. cities with a population above one million people, Chicago ranks fourth. Phoenix ranks as the safest big city with only a 2 percent higher likelihood of getting in an accident. Residents there typically go about 10 years between collisions.

Philadelphia is apparently a scary place to drive, with motorists there getting in an accident once every six years. They are a whopping 65.9 percent more likely than average to get in an accident.

Here is the list of the nine large cities, listed in the 2013 "Allstate America's Best Drivers Report" from safest to most dangerous:

Phoenix, 9.8 years between collisions
San Diego, 8.7 years
San Antonio, 8.2 years
Chicago, 8 years
Houston, 8 years
Dallas, 7.4 years
New York City, 7.3 years
Los Angeles, 6.7 years
Philadelphia, 6.0 years

Regardless of size, the safest place in the United States to drive is Fort Collins, Colo., where drivers are 28.2 percent less likely than the average to get in an accident. They average nearly 14 years between collisions.

Fort Collins narrowly beat out Boise, Idaho for the honor. It is the third time Fort Collins has been named the safest driving city.

For cities with population between 750,00 and 1 million, Denver was the safest (0.4 percent less likely 10 years between accidents.)

For cities with population between 500,000-749,999, Tucson, Ariz., is the safest. Mesa, Ariz., is the safest city with a population above 250,000 but less than 500,000.

The worst place to drive is Washington, D.C.

Allstate arrived at the numbers by examining its claims in America's 200 largest cities. The report defined a crash as any accident that resulted in a damage claim. Allstate accounts for about 10 percent of the country's auto policies.

Allstate did not include data from the state of Massachusetts because of limited data.

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