Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue drivers nearly WORST in country ... again

SEATTLE -- A study released by Allstate ranking the safest drivers in the nation put three Western Washington cities near the bottom of the list.

The insurance company this week looked at 200 cities in its annual Best Drivers Report.


    The study looks at a variety of factors to identify the likelihood that drivers in America's largest cities will be involved in a crash compared to the national average.

    Allstate says the average driver will be involved in a collision every ten years -- and 94-percent of crashes are caused by preventable human factors.

    Researchers said they found a correlation between hard braking and frequency of collisions. A hard brake is essentially slamming on the brakes, rather than coming to a gradual stop.

    "Drivers in cities with fewer hard-braking events per 1,000 miles tend to have fewer property damage claims. Nationally, the average American driver will experience approximately 19 hard-braking events for every 1,000 miles driven."

    Bellevue drivers average 23.8 hard brakes per 1,000 miles, Seattle drivers 19.7, and Tacoma drivers 19.3.

    See how other cities ranked here.