Sometimes practice doesn’t make perfect, no matter what your mom or dad said.

It’s not your imagination. Despite our wet environs, Portlanders are some of the worst drivers in the country when it rains.

That’s according to an analysis released Wednesday by the Allstate Insurance Company.

In a ranking of the 200 largest U.S. cities, with No. 1 being the best, Portlanders rank 190th when it rains or snows, according to Allstate. Baltimore landed dead last, with the worst drivers in wet or snowy conditions.

The best wet weather drivers in the nation? They’re in Brownsville, Texas.

Seattle and Tacoma are better than Portland, coming in at 179th and 167th respectively.

The average driver gets in an accident every 10 years, but in Portland that average is 5.9 years.

Portlanders are far more likely to slam on the brakes suddenly, according to Allstate’s analysis, with Rose City motorists logging 22.4 hard braking events per 1,000 miles, compared with the national average of 19. A hard-braking incident consists of slowing down up to 10 miles per hour in a one-second period.

That type of driving behavior is more dangerous on wet roads in particular, where braking distances increases 27 percent compared with dry pavement, according to the insurance company.

Drivers who slam on the brakes usually are following too closely or could be distracted by their cell phone or other devices.

The wet driving rankings come after Allstate’s 14th annual report on overall driving in America released in August. Portland came in 190th on that list as well. Portland plunged three spots in that ranking from last year.

And don’t get high and mighty, Portlanders, and blame others, because Vancouver or Hillsboro driver aren’t bringing you down in the rankings. Portland drivers are more likely to have an accident than the overall metro area , whose drivers register an accident every eight years.

Vancouver has the 149th worst wet weather drivers in the country, according to the rankings.

But drivers in Boise ranked high, coming in third.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen