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Safest Driving Cities in Ohio
Posted on: February 14, 2019 | by Tess Owen
How does your city compare to the rest of the state when it comes to driving? QuoteWizard determined which Ohio cities have the safest drivers. Find out if yours made our top 25 list.
This Midwestern state may be known as the birthplace of aviation, but it also has a reputation on the road. Ohio drivers earned the title of the eighth worst driving state in the country in our recent study. But driving skills can change drastically depending on where in the state you live.
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, there were 65,140 crashes in 2017, of which 544 were fatal. And the first few months of 2019 have seen an uptick in traffic deaths in Ohio compared to the same time period in 2018. That trend seems to reflect the rest of the country too. The Insurance Information Institute says car accidents are increasing across the US, causing auto insurance prices to spike. For the sake of your wallet and your safety, it's important to be vigilant behind the wheel.
How does your city's driving skills compare to the rest of Ohio? To find out, we compiled over 100,000 data points from QuoteWizard users in Ohio on speeding tickets, accidents, DUIs, and driving violations in the last year. We then calculated the rate of incidents across each city. Cities with the lowest rate of incidents are ranked safest.
These are the 25 safest driving cities in Ohio:
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1.Logan
Located south of Columbus along the Hocking River, Logan drivers are the best in Ohio! This town is home to just over 7,000 residents in just under five square miles (most of which is actually water). It may be small, but Logan has its fair share of good drivers. The stats back it up: Hocking County has seen less enforcement stops in the first two months of 2019 compared to the same time frame in 2018.
Route 33 runs through Logan and is a hot spot for fatal crashes in the county. In 2018, there were five fatal crashes on or around Route 33.
Home to just over 11,000 residents, Coshocton lives between Columbus and Pittsburgh. Highway 16 runs through the city, bringing traffic from the nearby major cities. But this doesn't seem to faze drivers – Coshocton earned the title of the second safest driving city in OH. In 2018, there was one fatal crash in the area, compared to two in 2017. A 50 percent decrease in traffic deaths is nothing to scoff at.
Portsmouth, in Southern Ohio, sits on the north bank of the Ohio River. Just over 20,000 people live in the town. As a midway point between four major cities, Portsmouth has a consistent stream of travelers and commuters passing through town. Despite that, this city earns the title of third safest driving city in Ohio! Unfortunately, in spite of Portsmouth's safe drivers, Scioto County saw 20 fatal crashes in 2017 and 2018. Several of those crashes happened on major highways, including Highway 52, which runs through Portsmouth.
This city's motto is "where pride rings true..." Well, Hillsboro residents have plenty to be proud of — they're the fourth safest driving city in Ohio! Hillsboro is located at the intersection of major routes 52 and 60, which means it has its fair share of drivers passing through. But clearly this town can hold its own on the road. In 2018, there were five fatal crashes in the area immediately surrounding the city, all of which happened on major routes.
Jackson rings in as the fifth safest driving city in Ohio! As a rural community home to 6,500 people, Jackson residents seen to have a slow and easy pace. Clearly, that works for them behind the wheel as their driving has earned a spot in Ohio's top five. Of course, accidents still happen. In the past three years in Jackson County, there have been 15 fatal crashes, many of which occurred on major highways like routes 93 and 35.
This Western Ohio town radiates rustic charm. Though it's sandwiched between Indianapolis and Columbus, Greenville has managed to preserve its small-town appeal. And it's apparently home to some safe drivers! Stop by for a scavenger hunt, culinary tour, or one of the many city parks. After all, the sixth safest driving city should be a stop on your road trip. So far, Darke County has seen significantly less enforcement stops in 2019 than during the same time in 2018.
Hugging the Pennsylvania and West Virginia borders, this OH town has plenty going on. In fact, it's less than an hour drive to Pittsburgh from East Liverpool. Perhaps it's the proximity to a big city that keeps drivers scanning the road. Whatever the reason, that awareness behind the wheel earned East Liverpool a spot in the top ten safest driving cities!
If you take highway 62 south from Columbus, you'll run straight into Washington Court House. Home to just under 15,000 people, this city's easygoing pace has earned it the eighth spot in our study. Despite being less than an hour from Ohio's largest city, Washington Court House drivers know how to stay safe behind the wheel.
"The city is easy to navigate through and as a general statement, the citizens are not in a great rush like you would encounter in larger communities," said Washington Court House Chief of Police Brian W. Hottinger.
Not to be confused with its namesake, Dublin sits on the northern outskirts of Columbus. There's plenty to love about this city, including a massive St. Patrick's Day Festival. But the drivers here may even be better than those in Ireland — Dublin earns a title as the ninth safest driving city in OH.
This Northern OH town has an odd claim to fame, it's considered the "Bratwurst Capital of America." Are glorified hotdogs to thank for this town's exceptional driving? Probably not, but Bucyrus still stole a spot on the top ten! So far, there have been significantly less enforcement stops in Crawford County in 2019 than in 2018.
How Good Driving Affects Your Car Insurance Rates
Whether your city made the cut as one of Ohio's safest driving cities or not, it's still important to have good auto insurance. A handful of bad drivers in your area could boost your insurance prices, even if your record is spotless. That's because the more bad drivers you share the road with, the higher the chances are that you'll get into an accident. Insurance companies charge higher rates to areas with lots of crashes.
If your record isn't quite flawless, check out auto insurance companies that cover high-risk and bad drivers. But the best way for all drivers to battle high rates is to compare auto insurance quotes from different companies. Every company offers different rates, and the only way you'll find the cheapest is by shopping around.
How did we statistically identify Ohio's safest drivers? We used 2018 incident stats with more than 100,000 data points from QuoteWizard users across Ohio. To quantify overall driver quality for comparison, we weighted incident counts for each city with its frequency.
The final rankings are a sum of weighted means calculated from accidents, speeding tickets, DUIs, and citations. QuoteWizard then ranked each OH city to find the safest drivers.
Tags: Traffic Safety, Ohio
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