Eugene ranks ninth best nationwide for collision claims, Allstate says

Eugene landed ninth among the 200 most populous U.S. cities in Allstate’s 2026 America’s Best Drivers Report, putting the city ahead of Salem at No. 63 and Portland at No. 107. Allstate says Eugene drivers go more than 12 and a half years, on average, between collision claims, a rate better than the national average of one collision about every 10 years.

The ranking is narrow, though. Allstate’s report measures property-damage claims, not every kind of crash risk, and it is built from auto insurance claims data rather than a full street-safety audit. Allstate says the report is now in its 18th year and also uses Drivewise behavioral data that tracks speeding, hard braking, phone use and nighttime driving. At the top end, Brownsville, Texas, led the list with drivers going nearly 15 years between collisions, while Boston was the most collision-prone city at 3.76 years.

For Eugene, the numbers point to a city where everyday driving may be producing fewer insured collisions than many larger metros, but the reasons are likely mixed. Road design, commute patterns, cycling culture and driver behavior all play into the result. The city has spent years pushing Vision Zero, a data-driven safety effort the Eugene City Council adopted in November 2015 and staff formalized as an action plan in March 2019. City staff also published a 2026 Vision Zero Action Plan Update in May and said Eugene is using crash data to identify its most dangerous streets and intersections.

That local work is showing up on the ground from River Road to South Eugene, where the city says it is investing in flashing crosswalks, protected bikeways, enhanced bike lanes, sidewalk connectivity and traffic calming. Eugene Police also said on April 1 that traffic safety would be a top priority in 2026, with officers focusing on distracted driving, disobeying traffic-control devices and illegal window tint. Those steps do not erase the city’s worst crash corridors, but they can reduce the speed and conflict that drive minor collisions and insurance claims.

The broader safety picture remains uneven. Eugene reported 10 traffic deaths in 2025, down 55% from a record 22 in 2024, but the city said all of those fatal crashes happened on arterial streets and at least 60% involved drugs or alcohol. For Lane County residents, the Allstate ranking is best read as a sign that Eugene is generating fewer collision claims than many large cities, even as the widest streets still carry the gravest risk.