The safest city for driving in the United States, according to Allstate? Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I should’ve moved there instead, because as WaPo’s Dr. Gridlock reports:
If you’ve ever driven in Washington, it probably won’t surprise you to learn that the District comes in dead last. The average driver in D.C. goes just 4.7 years between accidents and is 112 percent more likely to get into an accident when compared to the national average…
Sadly, the District’s roadways don’t seem to be getting any safer. Washington’s drivers were also named the worst last year and the year before that. Silver lining: Our roads might be dangerous, but at least we’re consistent.
That happened to me in 2010, the first year of DC’s illustrious reign as Worst City Ever. It took 18 months, two operations, and a lot of physical therapy before I could walk again. And it still hurts. It always will, probably.
And on four separate occasions since then, someone has made an illegal turn into yet another intersection where I was walking — walking legally. The only reason I didn’t get hit again is because now I’m hypervigilant every time I cross the street. I look every which way, because nobody cares where they drive in this miserable $#!+hole. It doesn’t matter that I have the right of way. It doesn’t matter that I always cross with the light and inside the crosswalk. I was doing so on the evening of February 3, 2010, and it sure didn’t matter then. Hell, they even gave me a phony jaywalking ticket, just for good measure.
In DC, pedestrians have the right of way unless somebody important has to get somewhere important. And just try finding somebody in DC who doesn’t think they’re more important than everybody else.
It almost happened again just last Friday. You can read about it if you want. Up yours, District of Columbia.
Anybody ever been to Sioux Falls? Is it nice there?
(Hat tip: Fred Thompson)