It's official: 'People drive crazy here'

Life in Philadelphia has its perks. Unfortunately, safe driving isn't one of them.

Philadelphia was recently listed as the seventh-least-safe-driving city in America, according to Allstate America's Best Drivers Report.

The annual report, released last week by Allstate Insurance Co., determines car-collision likelihood in 193 of America's largest cities.

Small-business owner Herish Patel has been in Philly for only a year and already has a firm opinion of the city's drivers.

"I always keep myself alert because people drive crazy here," said Patel. Compared with his hometown in Canada, Patel said "the people in Philadelphia drive pretty reckless."

Although Philadelphia's ranking is nothing to smile about, Allstate spokesperson Chris Conner reassured drivers in Philadelphia that the goal of the report isn't to put them down.

"Instead, we want the report to challenge drivers in Philadelphia to make positive changes to their driving habits that will, in turn, make the city a safer place to live, work and raise families," Conner said.

Although Philadelphia ranked low on this year's report, there were still other cities that were much worse. Washington, D.C., for example, maintained its bottom-of-the-list position for the second year.

Allstate's report concludes that the likelihood of a driver experiencing an auto collision in Washington is a whopping 95.5 percent higher than the national average. For drivers in Philadelphia, the same likelihood is a little more than 53 percent.

Baltimore claimed the No. 2 slot for the second straight year. For Maryland native Jason Jiau, Philadelphia's drivers are pretty cool.

"Compared to driving in Maryland, Philly's not that bad at all," Jiau said. "I drive to New York a lot and even there is worse than it is here."

New York ranked 159th on the list, 28 spots safer than Philadelphia.

Philadelphia's ranking improved one spot from last year, when it ranked 188th.

The same cannot be said for Sioux Falls, S.D., which fell 17 slots from its safest ranking last year.

Other cities that took plunges were Lexington, Ky., which ranked No. 7 in 2009 as one of the safest-driving cities and is now ranked No. 22, and Topeka, Kan., which fell from 17 to 41.

Safest driving city in America? Fort Collins, Colo.