The announcement might surprise many, but the 2010 Allstate America's Best Drivers Report ranks Brownsville drivers as the safest in Texas.

The city also ranks 23st nationally in Allstate's list of cities with the safest drivers.

"This is not an opinion-based survey, this is data," said Bill Mellander, an Allstate spokesman. "It's a real world snapshot of what is actually happening in Brownsville."

According to the report, Brownsville drivers are 16.3 percent less likely to experience a vehicle collision than the national average. The statistics are based on the number of accidents reported by Allstate clients. According to Mellander, more than 12 percent of the city's population owns Allstate insurance.

Brownsville's drivers were also named the safest in Texas in 2007 and 2008. To thank the community, Allstate gave away free gas to local motorists in September of last year.

The report credits not only the drivers themselves, but also the city's infrastructure with preventing accidents.

See all the details at http://media.timesfreepress.com/docs/2009/07/Allstate_driving_reports_0723.pdf
July 8, 2009 press release.