Safe drivers rewarded with free gas

Drivers lined up at a central Phoenix gas station Thursday morning to get free gas as Allstate Insurance celebrated Phoenix being named the safest big city for drivers in America.

Allstate sponsored the gas giveaway at the Circle K, at Osborn Road and Third Street, from 6 a.m. until 8 a.m. Motorists could get 10 gallons.

"It's great, it's a big help," said one woman, while a man said, "I was actually about to run out of gas getting here."

Another woman said, "You know, the economy is bad for everybody. So everyone who waited, we all have a need. It's a necessity."

There were no complaints about the wait.

"It was so beautifully done," one woman said. "We had no problems, hardly any wait times. It was great."

Phoenix ranked first among big cities in the 2009 Allstate America's Best Drivers report, which ranks cities based on the likelihood drivers will be involved in an auto collision.

According to the report, the average driver in Phoenix will experience an auto collision every 9.2 years. That makes them 8.8 percent more likely to be involved in a collision that the national average. By comparison, drivers in San Diego -- the second-safest city with a population over 1 million -- will experience a collision on average every 8.8 years, 13 percent more than the national average.

Overall, Phoenix drivers ranked 95th safest on the Allstate Best Drivers list. The top city in Arizona is Tucson, at No. 26. Chandler leads the Valley at No. 43. The number one city in America is Sioux Falls, S.D.