Glendale flunks national driver test

Glendale drivers: You’re 79% more likely to get into an accident than the average American driver, according to a new Allstate report.

In Glendale, motorists go an average of 51/2 years without filing a claim, compared to the national average of 10 years, according to the report, which studies the collision frequency of Allstate-insured drivers in the 200 largest cities in the country from 2012 to 2013.

Glendale ranked 194, six spots above Boston, where drivers go less than four years between accidents, making them 158% more likely than the average driver to crash, according to the report.

Meanwhile, drivers in Kansas City — the safest city to be on the road — go an average of more than 13 years without crashing, according to the study. The insurer covers about 10% of all passenger cars on the road.

Glendale has consistently ranked toward the bottom of the list in the 11 years that Allstate has released the report, but this year’s report marks the first in which no city in California ranks above the national average in terms of years between collisions, according to Allstate spokesman Jim Klapthor.

“We have more cars on the road in California now than perhaps ever before and we drive more miles now than perhaps ever before,” Klapthor said. “So traffic density certainly can be playing a part.”

But Glendale city officials said the report doesn’t tell the full story.

“We base our reports on empirical data supplied to the state, which shows overall, the city of Glendale is a fairly safe city to drive in,” said city spokesman Tom Lorenz, adding that, according to the state’s Office of Traffic Safety, the city fairs poorly in one category — pedestrian-related accidents involving elderly people.

Glendale has made a number of improvements in recent years, which wouldn’t be reflected in this year’s Allstate report, which analyzes data from 2012 and 2013.

A $429,000 state grant awarded to Glendale police last year has allowed the agency to conduct dozens of traffic-safety operations, with some focusing on speeding and pedestrian safety, while others target drunk or drugged drivers.

Additionally, the city has re-engineered and repaved a number of city streets to improve traffic flow and safety, Lorenz said.

Even so, Klapthor said roads would be safer if drivers slowed down, put their phones away and stayed focused on the road.

“If we maintain our focus while we’re driving, we will become safer drivers,” he said.