Spokane drivers safest in Washington cities, Allstate finds

If you regularly curse Spokane drivers who run through red lights, execute a left turn from the far right lane, don’t signal for turns or leave the signal on for miles after making one, here’s something that might surprise you.

Spokane drivers are much better than drivers in Seattle or the state’s other major cities, a new study says.

Don’t get too puffed up, though. The annual study by Allstate Insurance Co. says they are much worse than motorists in Boise.

Spokane drivers were ranked 45th among the nation’s 200 largest cities, Allstate said in its annual tabulation of claims data. They average 10.3 years between collisions, slightly better than the national average of 10 years.

They also had the best rating for major cities in Washington. Vancouver was No. 82, Tacoma No. 144 and Seattle way down at No. 160. The average driver in the Emerald City is about 29 percent more likely to have a collision than in the nation as a whole, and has a collision about every eight  years.

Boise, the only Idaho city large enough to make the list, ranks No. 2 in the nation, edged out by Fort Collins, Colo. Boise drivers average almost 14 years between collisions and are 28 percent less likely than the nation as a whole to have a collision.

Worst drivers in the country? Allstate says they’re in Washington, D.C., where drivers are more than twice as likely to have a collision than the nation as a whole, and drivers average less than five years between collisions.

With those numbers, it’s no wonder the Secret Service doesn’t let presidents drive anywhere.