How many times have you been driving in Washington D.C. and think to yourself that you’re the only safe driver in the entire city and all the other drivers are merely there to cause accidents?
You may not be too far off. A recent Allstate Corporation poll for safe driving has Washington D.C. ranked dead last in a national average for the sixth year in a row. According to their findings, a D.C. driver will be a victim or cause of an accident every 4.8 years. This is twice as frequent as the national average of one collision every 10 years in most other U.S. cities.
The causes of these accidents may have to do with crowded and smaller streets as well as street congestion. However, driving safely and defensively should offset these hazards and improve the safety of all motorists and pedestrians.
A few guidelines for safe driving in D.C. include:
- Keep your eyes on the road—not your phone, radio, or other distracting device
- Keep an adequate distance between you and the car ahead of you
- Drive defensively—not offensively—as much as possible
- Be aware of your surroundings
- Maintain the proper speed limit and follow the flow of traffic
- Listen to traffic reports to avoid congestion
Car accidents can be very severe, and the odds of being a victim in D.C. are way too high for comfort. However, as long as you follow the rules of the road and pay attention to those around you, we can hope to improve the safety of our city and not continue the distinction of having the highest rank of driver accidents for a seventh year in a row.
The Northern Virginia car accident lawyers at Shevlin Smith also wish to encourage all Washington D.C. drivers to drive carefully to help improve the safety of our city.
