Washington, D.C., Virginia Beach risky road trip destinations based on crash data

Washington, D.C. and Virginia Beach are among the riskier summer road trip destinations based on auto collision data, according to analysis from Erie Insurance.

The Pennsylvania-based insurer looked at 10 popular vacation destinations and ranked them in terms of crash risk and traffic congestion.

For collision risk, the company used five years of crash data from the Highway Loss Data Institute to determine an average daily collision claim rate per 100,000 people.

Of the 10 metropolitan areas analyzed, Washington, D.C. had the highest risk, at 7.7 per 100,000, while Las Vegas had the lowest, at 4.05 per 100,000.

Chicago was the average, at 5.33 per 100,000.

The full rankings based on Erie’s data analysis are:

1. Washington, D.C. – 7.77 per 100,000
2. Virginia Beach – 6.76 per 100,000
3. Philadelphia – 6.17 per 100,000
4. Chicago – 5.33 per 100,000
5. San Antonio – 5.07 per 100,000
6. Orlando – 4.62 per 100,000
7. Seattle – 4.59 per 100,000
8. Nashville – 4.39 per 100,000
9. New York – 4.37 per 100,000
10. Las Vegas – 4.05 per 100,000

Washington, D.C. was also the most congested metropolitan area based on Erie’s analysis, with the average commuter spending 67 hours each year struck in traffic.

It used the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s Annual Urban Mobility Report, which shows the number of hours the average commuter spends delayed in traffic each year.

San Antonio was the least congested, with commuters experiencing an average of 38 hours in traffic per year. Philadelphia and Seattle tied in the middle, with 48 hours of delay per year.