Santa Clarita drivers might still be below average, but believe it or not, they’re getting better.
Sure, Soledad Canyon Road might still turn into a racetrack at certain times of the day, and Sand Canyon Road is awaiting some “traffic calming” measures that the city is working on now, after a pair of fatal, high-speed collisions in the last two years. But by and large, Santa Clarita residents are crashing into each other – and stationary objects – a little less frequently than they were a couple of years ago.
Maybe it’s the red-light cameras and the associated fines that are compelling drivers to stop at intersections rather than blow the light and run into each other.
Who knows?
What we do know is that according to the latest annual “safest driving city” report from auto insurer Allstate, released Wednesday, the typical Allstate-insured Santa Clarita driver experiences a collision once every 9.2 years.
That’s an improvement from 2011, when Allstate reported that Santa Clarita drivers were colliding once every 8.8 years.
“We salute their best drivers and recognize their safe driving skills, which make all of our communities safer places to live, work and raise families,” Allstate VP Phil Telgenhoff said in a statement.
His statement notes that in 2012, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported the first annual increase since 2005 in traffic fatalities statewide.
Among the state’s 200 largest cities, rural Visalia held its No. 1 position as California’s safest city for driving, according to the report. The typical Visalian waits 12.3 years between collisions and is 18.5 percent less likely to experience a collision than the state average.
Runners-up among the 200 largest were Salinas (10.3 years), Bakersfield and Fresno (10.1 years each).
Fresno might be California’s homicide capital, but at least its residents are safer drivers.
Santa Clarita ranks 103rd safest out of the 200 largest cities – just below the norm – and its residents are 8.3 percent more likely to crash into each other than the typical Californian.
At the rate we’re going, with a bit more effort, Santa Clarita drivers could work their way up to “average” by this time next year.
| City & Overall Ranking |
Collision Likelihood Compared to National Average |
Average Years Between Collisions |
| Visalia – 8 |
18.5% less likely |
12.3 |
| Salinas – 46 |
3.3% less likely |
10.3 |
| Bakersfield – 56 |
1% less likely |
10.1 |
| Fresno – 57 |
0.8% less likely |
10.1 |
| Palmdale – 60 |
0.2% less likely |
10.0 |
| Lancaster – 61 |
0.1% less likely |
10.0 |
| Thousand Oaks – 72 |
2.4% more likely |
9.8 |
| Fontana – 74 |
2.6% more likely |
9.7 |
| Chula Vista – 86 |
5.2% more likely |
9.5 |
| Modesto – 90 |
5.3% more likely |
9.5 |
| San Bernardino – 94 |
6.3% more likely |
9.4 |
| Rancho Cucamonga – 98 |
7.0% more likely |
9.3 |
| Escondido – 99 |
7.3% more likely |
9.3 |
| Oxnard – 102 |
8.1% more likely |
9.2 |
| Santa Clarita – 103 |
8.3% more likely |
9.2 |
| Santa Rosa – 105 |
8.6% more likely |
9.2 |
| Ontario – 108 |
9.9% more likely |
9.1 |
| Stockton – 109 |
9.9% more likely |
9.1 |
| Riverside – 110 |
10.1% more likely |
9.1 |
| Elk Grove – 111 |
10.1% more likely |
9.1 |
| Moreno Valley – 113 |
10.7% more likely |
9.0 |
| Pomona – 114 |
10.9% more likely |
9.0 |
| Huntington Beach – 117 |
11.8% more likely |
8.9 |
| Corona – 119 |
12.4% more likely |
8.9 |
| Orange – 122 |
13.6% more likely |
8.8 |
| Oceanside – 124 |
14.0% more likely |
8.8 |
| Sacramento – 126 |
14.4% more likely |
8.7 |
| San Diego – 127 |
14.4% more likely |
8.7 |
| Long Beach – 133 |
15.8% more likely |
8.6 |
| Hayward – 134 |
17.5% more likely |
8.5 |
| Santa Ana – 135 |
17.6% more likely |
8.5 |
| Anaheim – 142 |
23.4% more likely |
8.1 |
| San Jose – 145 |
23.9% more likely |
8.1 |
| Sunnyvale – 146 |
24.0% more likely |
8.1 |
| Fremont – 147 |
24.2% more likely |
8.1 |
| Irvine – 149 |
25.2% more likely |
8.0 |
| Pasadena – 165 |
31.2% more likely |
7.6 |
| Garden Grove – 167 |
31.7% more likely |
7.6 |
| Torrance – 169 |
33.2% more likely |
7.5 |
| Oakland – 175 |
38.8% more likely |
7.2 |
| Fullerton – 177 |
42.5% more likely |
7.0 |
| Los Angeles – 181 |
49.3% more likely |
6.7 |
| San Francisco – 186 |
53.6% more likely |
6.5 |
| Glendale – 190 |
75.6% more likely |
5.7 |
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1 Comment
The red light cameras should be taken down. They cause a gauntlet quality and make our drivers nervous; moreover, they are set up to cheat with very brief yellow lights. Friends, our city of Santa Clarita would be a better, and safer place to live without these unkind robots acting like tyrants. My last rant is about the basic speed limits. I believe all roads here should be five mph slower.. Thank-you and good, safe driving out there to us all.