Baltimore remains one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. for drivers, ranking third-worst in Allstate’s latest annual “Best Drivers Report.”
The 2025 report, which analyzes auto insurance claims in the 200 most populous U.S. cities, shows Baltimore still ranks near the bottom of the “safest driving cities” list at 198th – the same position it held a decade ago. Nearby Washington, D.C., ranked 199th, while Boston was last at 200th.
Baltimore drivers average just 4.17 years between collisions and are 50% more likely to be involved in a crash compared to the national average, according to the report.
“On any given day, when you’re on the roadways, you’ll see people engage in very aggressive driving,” said Ragina C. Ali, spokesperson for AAA Mid-Atlantic in Maryland and D.C. “They know they’re risky, but they’re doing it anyway.”
Baltimore ranks 159th in speeding, with an average of 75 miles driven at 15 or more miles per hour over the speed limit per 1,000 miles. The city also ranks 148th in phone handling behind the wheel with almost 75 phone-handling events per 1,000 miles, an Allstate spokesperson told The Baltimore Sun in an email.
Maryland as a whole reflects this trend.
A 2024 report from LendingTree ranked the state the eighth worst based on driving incidents per 1,000 drivers—accidents, DUIs, speeding and citations.
“Baltimore is beyond almost the bleeding edge of roadway violence in the state of Maryland,” said John Seng, chair of traffic safety nonprofit SafeRoadsMD. “It’s this poster child for what’s wrong with Maryland roadway safety.”
Baltimore City accounts for the third-most crashes in the state at 15.6% behind Baltimore County (18.7%) and Prince George’s County (18.2%), according to the latest crash report from the Maryland Highway Safety Office.
This year, the city reported 195 fatalities from crashes, 66 fewer than this time last year.
John Lazarou, a spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration, wrote in a statement to The Baltimore Sun that “safety on our roads begins with responsible choices.”
“Aggressive driving, speeding, impairment, and distraction remain leading causes of crashes in Maryland and across the country,” Lazarou wrote in the statement. “These behaviors endanger not only drivers, but also pedestrians, bicyclists, and unbuckled passengers—who are at greatest risk of serious injury or death.”
The conversation on risky driving moved to the forefront after a driver killed six Maryland highway workers in 2023. Christine Tacka, chief State’s Attorney at Hargrove District Court, said she sees around 1,000 incarcerable traffic matters per month in the courthouse. A contributing factor to risky driving, Tacka said, is the “exorbitant” number of drivers who drive without owning a license.
Seng said people in Maryland, from the average citizen up to state leadership, don’t embrace “health hygiene on the roadways,” and there is an “unfortunate lack of urgency.”
“Between people just having really bad habits on our roads because they’re in their own little world, and the lack of the lack of enforcement perceived or real, is why you have human beings just behaving like animals,” Seng said.
Ali pointed to an uptick in risky driving following the COVID pandemic. There were “open roads” during COVID, which led to an increase in aggressive driving. As people trickle back to work, there is “more congestion on the roadways, and probably a little more impatience among drivers,” Ali said.
A 2024 nationwide AAA survey found that most people acknowledge activity, such as speeding or phone use, is dangerous. However, many still admit to partaking. The survey also found that only 34.9% of drivers are classified as “safe drivers,” who rarely engage in risky behavior.
“Everybody’s in a rush, everybody’s got to be somewhere so quick,” Ali said. “Slow down, take your time. It’s incumbent upon all of us just to be civil on the roadways.”
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