Columbia makes the list but it’s not a good one

Looking at statistics about population size, car wrecks, break-ins, and insurance rates leads to a dubious distinction for Columbia, South Carolina. The city ranks 18th worst city for drivers concludes a new analysis.

The San Francisco-based firm NerdWallet looked at the risks to drivers in 200 of the nation’s largest - population-wise - cities.

After examining numbers related to car crashes, fatalities, vehicle-related crime like stolen vehicles and vehicle break-ins, analysts added the cost of insuring a vehicle, crunched all the numbers and ranked the 200 most populous cities in the U.S.

The safest city in America for drivers is Cary, North Carolina; the most dangerous is Detroit, Michigan. Columbia ranked 18th in the most dangerous list.

If you live in Columbia, you have a 28.8% higher likelihood of being in an accident than the national average. Compare that to Cary, North Carolina, where the likelihood is -(minus) 13.8%. Or compare that to Boston, Massachusetts, the 10th most dangerous city, where the likelihood of being in an accident is 157.7% above the national average.

Overall, the numbers show that drivers face higher risks in the South and the East Coast. And yet, some of the numbers point to interesting outliers, such as New York City. Although larger cities tend to be more dangerous, New York City is the nation’s 34th safest. And although cities in the South tend to land on the dangerous list, Cary, North Carolina ranks as the nation’s safest.

The bottom line for drivers and consumers is that risks correlate with higher auto insurance costs. Detroit drivers, on average, pay nearly 6 and a half times more for auto insurance than drivers in Cary, North Carolina.