Madisonians near top of safest winter drivers list

Keely Arthur by Keely Arthur

With snow and ice on the way, safe-driving practices are a must. According to one report Madisonians are some of the safest winter drivers around.

Allstate ranked Madison as having the fifth-safest drivers over all in the country and fifth least likely to get in a collision during sloppy winter weather.

Madisonians ranked some of the safest winter drivers around. That’s to @Allstate do you agree? Be safe tonight as we are expecting a few inches of snow! pic.twitter.com/3uORUfseP5 — Keely Arthur (@news3keely) November 16, 2018

The report ranked 200 cities nationwide on categories like the average years between claims for drivers, and the relative likelihood for a driver to file a claim. The report came out Thursday. Last year Madison ranked third overall. But do the professionals here agree with such high rankings?

“I don’t know,” Sgt. Nate Henriksen, of the Wisconsin State Patrol said. “I see a lot of people in the ditch and they don’t generally choose to be there on their own so.”

Henriksen said drivers are well-intentioned but there’s always room for improvement. He always urged drivers to buckle up, avoid texting and to slow down.

“Make sure you watch your following distances and leave yourself an out so if you need to make a lane change quickly you can move to the left or right if needed,” Henriksen said.

Madison driver Marcia Brown said she disagreed with Allstate’s ranking.

“I’m so surprised. Of course, I don’t agree with that,” Brown said.

Brown said some of the worst drivers on the road are those behind the wheel of an SUV who are overconfident in the snowy weather.

“One time I saw a guy with a big black truck going very fast and when I got further down there he was over in the ditch,” she said.

Madisonians can pat themselves on the back a little bit–they ranked far better than Milwaukee at 67.

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