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Auto Blog
07-07-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Blog
These Are America's Riskiest Cities To Drive In
By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. Autoblog brings you car news; expert reviews and exciting pictures and video. Research and compare vehicles, too. Where you live can drastically affect the chances of being in a collision So many aspects of vehicle safety focus on how a car performs in a collision, with both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducting regular crash tests. However, crash avoidance is also important, which is why technologies like blind-spot monitoring have become so commonplace. 0:05 / 0:09 2025 Ford Explorer vs 2025 Chevrolet Traverse: Which is America's best family hauler? Watch More But your chances of avoiding a crash in the first place are much lower in some cities than in others, as Allstate – one of the country's major insurers – has found in its 2025 America's Best Driver's Report. If you live in the Northeast, the results don't make for pretty reading. Boston Is The Riskiest City For Drivers Source: why kei/Unsplash Allstate's study used auto claims data in the country's 200 most popular cities to determine how often a driver will experience a collision, on average. Based on the study, which analyzed data of crashes and property damage between January 2022 and December 2023, the average driver in this country will be involved in an accident once every 10.56 years. Boston emerged as the riskiest city of all, with drivers here expected to be involved in a collision every 3.07 years. Below are the five worst cities, with the average years between collisions indicated in brackets: Boston, MA (3.07 years) Washington, DC (3.87) Baltimore, MD (4.17) Worcester, MA (4.26) Springfield, MA (4.57) Of the 10 riskiest cities with the highest collision rates, seven are in the Northeast. The West Coast has three cities in the top 10 riskiest zones, those being Los Angeles, Glendale, and Oakland. Unsurprisingly, there is some correlation between congestion and the number of accidents, with LA previously ranking as the most congested city in the country. Autoblog Newsletter Autoblog brings you car news; expert reviews and exciting pictures and video. Research and compare vehicles, too. Sign up or sign in with Google Facebook Microsoft Apple By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. St. Louis dropped 90 spots to 175, with a major increase in the number of crashes since the 2015 study was conducted. In general, Midwestern states saw a decline. What Are The Safest Cities To Drive In? Source: Daniel/Unsplash On the other side of the spectrum, these are the five safest cities in the USA, with the average years between when drivers are expected to experience a collision indicated in brackets: Brownsville, TX (14.24) Boise, ID (13.9) Fort Collins, CO (13.36) Cary, NC (12.91) Laredo, TX (12.83) According to the data, Brownsville in Texas is where drivers will experience the longest gap between collisions. Four other cities in Texas rank in the top 20 for least risky. While Dallas was down at 165th, it and many other Texas cities improved their rankings in 2025. Compared to the 2015 study, Alaska, Oregon, and Washington saw significant reductions in collisions. The biggest improvement came in Bellevue, Washington, which climbed 133 ranking spots since 2015. Source: Dan Gold/Unsplash It must be noted that Allstate represents around 10% of all auto policies in the United States, so while that's enough to get an idea of the safest/most dangerous states, another insurer conducting the same study is likely to obtain slightly different outcomes. Although Allstate calls this report its 'Best Drivers' report, we should also consider that factors beyond the driver's control could also skew data, be it the condition of roads, general weather conditions, and the level of congestion. Still, the difference between the best- and worst-performing cities is enormous, demonstrating that where you live can significantly impact the likelihood of being in a crash. About the Author Karl Furlong View Profile
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
To steal today's computerized cars, thieves go high-tech
These days, cars are computer centers on wheels. Today's vehicles can contain over 100 computers and millions of lines of software code. These computers are all networked together and can operate all aspects of your vehicle. It's not surprising, then, that car theft has also become high-tech. The computers in a vehicle can be divided into four categories. Many computers are dedicated to operating the vehicle's drive train, including controlling the fuel, battery or both, monitoring emissions and operating cruise control. The second category is dedicated to providing safety. These computers collect data from the vehicle and the outside environment and provide functions like lane correction, automatic braking and backup monitoring. The third category is infotainment systems that provide music and video and can interface with your personal devices through Bluetooth wireless communications. Many vehicles can also connect to cellular services and provide Wi-Fi connectivity. The final category is the navigation system, including the car's GPS system. Computers in one category often need to communicate with computers in another category. For example, the safety system must be able to control the drive train and the infotainment systems. One difference between the network in your car and a typical computer network is that all devices in the car trust each other. Therefore, if an attacker can access one computer, they can easily access other computers in the car. As with any new technology, some aspects of today's cars make it harder for thieves, and some make it easier. There are several methods of stealing a car that are enabled by today's technology. One of the high-tech features is the use of keyless entry and remote start. Keyless entry has become common on many vehicles and is very convenient. The fob you have is paired to your car using a code that both your car and fob know, which prevents you from starting other cars. The difference between keyless entry and the remotes that unlock your car is that keyless entry fobs are always transmitting, so when you get near your car and touch the door, it will unlock. You had to press a button for old fobs to unlock the car door and then use your key to start the car. The first keyless fobs transmitted a digital code to the car, and it would unlock. Thieves quickly realized they could eavesdrop on the radio signal and make a recording. They could then 'replay' the recording and unlock the car. To help with security, the newest fobs use a one-time code to open the door. One method of stealing cars involves using two devices to build an electronic bridge between your fob and your car. One person goes near the car and uses a device to trick the car into sending a digital code used to verify the owner's fob. The thief's device sends that signal to an accomplice standing near the owner's home, which transmits a copy of the car's signal. When the owner's fob replies, the device near the house sends the fob signal to the device near the car, and the car opens. The thieves can then drive off, but once they turn the car off they cannot restart it. Carmakers are looking to fix this by ensuring the fob is in the car for it to be driven. The network used by all computers in a car to communicate is called a controller area network bus. It's designed to allow the computers in a car to send commands and information to each other. The CAN bus was not designed for security, because all of the devices are assumed to be self-contained. But that presumption leaves the CAN bus vulnerable to hackers. Car thieves often try to hack into the CAN bus and from there the computers that control the car's engine. The engine control unit stores a copy of the wireless key code, and thieves can clone this to a blank key fob to use to start the victim's car. One method is accessing a car's onboard diagnostics through a physical port or wireless connection meant for repair technicians. Thieves who access the onboard diagnostics gain access to the CAN bus. Another network hacking method is breaking through a headlight to reach the CAN bus via a direct wiring connection. Modern thieves also try the USB hack, which exploits a design flaw in Hyundai and Kia vehicles. This is more of an old-style hot-wiring of a car than a high-tech computer issue. It is named the USB hack because when thieves break into a car, they look for a slot in the steering column. It turns out that a USB connector fits into the slot, and this allows you to turn on the ignition. So all someone has to do is break the window, insert a USB connector and start the car. This technique has become infamous thanks to a loose affiliation of young car thieves in Milwaukee dubbed the Kia Boyz who have gained notoriety on TikTok. Hyundai and Kia have issued an update that closes the vulnerability by requiring the fob to be in the car before you can start it. Given there are so many different car models, and their complexity is increasing, there are likely to continue to be new and creative ways for thieves to steal cars. So what can you do? Some things are the same as always: Keep your vehicle locked, and don't leave your key fob in it. What is new is keeping your vehicle's software up to date, just as you do with your phone and computer. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Doug Jacobson, Iowa State University Read more: How Ukraine has defended itself against cyberattacks – lessons for the US US autoworkers may wage a historic strike against Detroit's 3 biggest automakers − with wages at EV battery plants a key roadblock to agreement Four strategies to make your neighborhood safer Doug Jacobson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
