Circuit recently released a new study in which they ranked the worst U.S. cities for driving and, unsurprisingly to all of us, NYC took the number one spot for another consecutive year.
Based on data from the TomTom Traffic Index Ranking, INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard, and NHTSA Fatality and Injury Reporting System, Circuit looked at a number of factors, including:
- Hours spent in rush hour per year
- Hours spent in congestion per year
- Annual fuel costs due to congestion
- Last mile speed
- Number of fatal car accidents
- Number of delivery drivers job posts on Indeed
- Average annual salary
- Delivery driver employment per 1,000 jobs
New York City came out on top as the worst city for driving, scoring a total of 89.68.
Chicago came in second (79.46), Los Angeles in third (70.57), Boston in fourth (67.98) and Washington D.C. in fifth (67.11).
And not only that, but NYC drivers spend the most time in rush hour traffic—236 hours per year.
At the end of the day it’s no surprise that NYC is the worst city for driving, and why many NYers don’t even own a car or have a license.
Though public transport definitely comes along with a headache of its own (think: MTA fares being increased), and car services such as Uber aren’t always an option (ours are the most expensive out of any U.S. city!).
The full study can be found here, but one thing’s for sure–we’ll just stick to walking whenever possible.