The Jewel City is known for many great things, including diversity, a safe and sustainable living environment, a hotspot for entertainment, and its reasonable distance from several well-known places and attractions. Although these qualities undeniably make this city great, they’re unfortunately overshadowed by our infamous driving issues.
Let’s be honest with ourselves for a minute: we’ve all witnessed this, and some of us might even be guilty of it. Running stop signs, speeding up to narrowly pass under a yellow light, or people trying to “test out” their new car on Glenoaks. All of these qualities may sound cool to some people, but they make the streets dangerous for everybody.
In 2025, for what seems to be the twentieth year in a row, Allstate Insurance placed Glendale near the bottom of the list for riskiest driving cities in America. It’s a shame that the superb aspects of Glendale are being undermined by a problem like this.
Nevertheless, it’s undeniable that Glendale drivers are known as “bad” or “reckless.” This tarnished reputation is well-earned. C&B Law Group highlights that the major causes of accidents in our city include improper lane usage, driving at unreasonable speeds, failure to yield the right of way, and the overall careless driving nature of our citizens.
As the worst driving city on the West Coast, our drivers must pay 50% higher premiums than the state average, as insurance companies use zip codes for risk assessment. On top of paying higher insurance premiums, the history of reckless driving makes it dangerous for all residents. A report by DefensiveDriving.Org in 2023 noted that Glendale drivers are 79% more likely to have an accident than the average American, and they make an insurance claim once every five and a half years on average.
Thankfully, the problem of “poor driving” is reversible, and fixing these issues will make life easier and safer for everybody. Some people believe in hiring more Glendale police officers and enforcing harsher penalties on perpetrators, but these solutions will not fix the root cause.
With the proper instruction of new drivers and focusing on their bad habits, we can ensure that the upcoming generations of drivers do better than their predecessors and create a safer community. Moreover, introducing drivers to the idea of defensive driving and anticipating potential dangers or complications will make us more cautious on the roads.
Earlier this August, there was a police pursuit that resulted in the hospitalization of four individuals, which ended in a crash. Even though the chase lasted around two minutes, it demonstrated that this might be the cause of the “Glendalian” way of life. Today, it’s four people in a police chase, but tomorrow it could be an innocent pedestrian, who could be any of us. When will we get together as a community and say that enough is enough?
The only way to help fix our city’s reputation for bad drivers and high insurance premiums is by instructing the next generation of drivers. If you didn’t already have a reason to be more cautious as a driver and a pedestrian, I really hope you have one now. Stay safe on those streets, Nitros, and check out why “We Deserve a Safer Community” by Erica Hovanesian!
