Lubbock Ranks High for Safe Driving—But Have They Actually Driven Here?

Lubbock placed surprisingly high in a recent “safe drivers” survey—but that sure doesn’t match what I see on our streets.

Just this past week, we had a truck plow into a house. That’s practically a Lubbock tradition. It always seems like someone’s driving into a building around here. Add a little weather, and our roads erupt into full-blown chaos. And let’s not forget the daily white-knuckle experience of the Loop at rush hour.

Survey Says We're Safe—But Lubbock Drivers Know Better

So maybe things aren’t quite as bad as we think… or maybe this new survey just plain got it wrong.

In a study covering 191 U.S. cities, Lubbock ranked #45. Not exactly gold medal territory, but it still feels suspiciously generous. The survey looked at “Average Years Between Collisions” and “Relative Likelihood of a Collision.”

The national median for years between crashes is 10.56, and Lubbock clocks in at 10.53. Not bad, right? As for the odds of a collision, the survey gave Lubbock a mere 0.2% likelihood. Again, not terrible.

But as someone who’s spent a lifetime navigating Lubbock’s streets, I can tell you this: that number feels more like a punchline than a statistic. There’s some truly knuckleheaded stuff going on out there.

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So what gives?

Well, this particular survey is based on company auto claims—in other words, people who got into wrecks and reported it to their insurance provider. You see where I’m going with this?

What if the drivers who don’t report accidents—or don’t even have insurance—were factored in? I’d bet good money Lubbock’s ranking would slide faster than a pickup on a patch of black ice.