Aurora is the top five most dangerous cities for driving in America

If you’ve ever merged onto I-225 in Aurora and immediately started questioning every life decision that led you to that moment, science has validated your instinct. Aurora has been named the fourth-most dangerous city for driving in the entire United States, according to a new ranking from Visual Capitalist. 

The ranking, which used fatal crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, measured cities based on a combination of traffic safety indicators including fatal crashes involving speeding, impaired driving, distracted driving and other dangerous behaviors behind the wheel. Memphis, Tennessee, took the top spot — its rate of fatal crashes linked to risky driving is roughly four times the national average — followed by Knoxville and Waterbury, Connecticut, which has the highest rate of DUI-related traffic deaths per capita in the country. And then, at No. 4, there’s Aurora, Colorado, sandwiched between a Connecticut city with a drinking problem and an Arizona city with a speed problem.

The timing is ironic, too. Just weeks ago, Allstate ranked Fort Collins and Colorado Springs among the 10 best driving cities in America, with Denver’s overall numbers landing well above the national average. Apparently Colorado is a state of extremes: Some of the best drivers in the country live an hour north on I-25, and some of the most dangerous are right across Havana Street.

Southern cities dominated the overall list, making up 11 of the top 20. But Aurora’s presence at No. 4 — the only Colorado city on the list and the highest-ranked city in the entire Mountain West — is the kind of distinction that makes you want to take the light rail. The full top 10 also includes San Bernardino, Billings, Montana, and Charleston, South Carolina.