Dallas tops Forbes list of ‘where you’re most likely to get in a car accident’

DALLAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) — Dallas is a risky place to drive.  

That’s according to a new report from Forbes, which has Dallas tied with Atlanta, Georgia, for the city where you’re most likely to get into a crash.

To note, Fort Worth came in at 15th, Houston was ranked eighth, and Austin sits at 17th. But Big D? Number one. And the booming population is an easy place to put blame.

“People moving here can’t drive,” Marielyn Vogel said. “I got in an accident last year myself—they went across four lanes and hit me.”

Driving school owner Chad Henry shared he’s “blown away” by the amount of people who will drive 100 to 120 mph on the freeway. “Dallas is a perfect environment for bad driving, because we have lots of flat land, lots of straightaways where we can build up a lot of speed. And we have a lot of people moving into the area.”

Navigating North Texas highways may seem to be all the proof that’s needed to show that the area is bursting at the seams, but experts say population growth isn’t the only factor driving that increased crash risk and higher premiums.

“It doesn’t matter who you are,” explained Michael Johnson, the owner of Big Mike Insurance. “Even Michael Deion Johnson got an increase, nobody is immune to this.”

He said everything from speeding and distracted driving to home affordability near jobs coming to North Texas can increase roadway risks. “They come in saying, ‘Mike…I can’t afford 2.5 million dollars, so I have to move out. And when I move out, I’m 30 to 40 minutes from my job that I go to Monday through Friday.”

Johnson said if you’re not driving as much—perhaps retired or working from home—talk to your insurer about policies that are rated based on the mileage you use. And by all means, when you do drive—slow down.

“They’re high-risk takers, which makes them bad drivers,” Henry said.

And according to Forbes, you’ll find more of them in Dallas.