This City in New York Is Among Nation’s Worst Places to Drive
Driving in New York can sometimes feel like you're starring in "Mad Max: Fury Road," but one city in the Empire State has just been voted one of the worst place for drivers in America.
Driving in downtown Utica can give you gray hairs, especially if you get trapped behind the conga line of unsynchronized red lights on Genesee Street.
That said, it's hard to think of a city that has worse driving conditions than that. But WalletHub is out with a new survey that proves just that.
The Nation's Worst Cities for Drivers
If you have a road trip coming up, WalletHub is letting you know what cities to avoid.
They compared the 100 largest cities across 30 key metrics to determine which are the most terrible to drive.
They used data pertaining to gas prices as well as annual hours in traffic congestion per auto commuter and auto-repair shops per capita.
The top worst cities for drivers, unsurprisingly, came from California - with Oakland and San Francisco respectively claiming first and second place.
Third place went to Detroit, Michigan, while The District of Columbia and Los Angeles, California, respectively rounded out the top five.
I don't think anyone will argue those places don't deserve to be at the top of the list, but some may think a certain city in New York should definitely take the crown.
Read More: Americans Say New York Drivers Are Among Worst in Nation
If you love idling in traffic, dealing with aggressive drivers, getting trapped by impatient pedestrians and getting ripped off at auto repair shops - then you'd know what city earned a spot in the top 10.
New York Claims 7th Worst City for Drivers
After being beaten out by Philadelphia and Chicago, New York City bowed in seventh place in the top 10 worst cities for drivers.
New York City scored poorly across all four major categories: cost of ownership and maintenance, traffic and infrastructure, safety, and access to vehicles and maintenance.
As someone who had to fight through the Big Apple in her little Ford Fiesta for three years, I can tell you that traffic in the big city is nothing short of nightmarish - no matter what time of night it is.
I worked the night shift. I've seen some things. New York claimed fifth place in a national roundup for highest annual hours spent in congestion per auto commutures.
New York also was #1 with fewest auto repair shops per capita. The Big Apple also claimed #1 when determining which cities had the most expensive parking rates.
Read More: How Much of a Threat Are New York's Teen Drivers?
I can definitely vouch for that since I had to park my car in a garage that had a "special rate" for employees at my old job.
And while New York City rightfully earned a spot at the bottom of the list, another city in New York managed to score somewhat favorably in this roundup.
Slow Clap It out for Buffalo
You heard right, Buffalo managed to earn a spot in this latest roundup and actually had some pretty decent marks.
Buffalo was ranked the 31st best city for drivers in America. While it offered better parking rates and had more auto body repair shops and car washes for commuters - it did get dinged for the strangest thing.
Buffalo came in dead last for having the most days with precipitation out of all other big cities in the United States.
While no one enjoys driving in the rain. it was strange to see that factor weigh in so heavily on this latest roundup.
Methodology
WalletHub based its findings off data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Council for Community and Economic Research, the National Highway Safety Administration, various insurance agencies, and more.
From there, the website compared cities based off factors such as driving laws in effect and their punishment for violators, rate of car thefts, traffic fatality rates, weather patterns that influence drivability, annual hours spent in traffic jams, as well as cost of gas prices and insurance premiums.
Read More: Which Upstate NY Highway Is among Nation's Most Feared?
That said, do you agree New York City deserves to be called the 7th worst city in the U.S. for drivers while Buffalo earned a score of being one of the best cities for drivers?
If you could nominate a city, no matter its size, for the #1 spot for worst drivers - which would it be and why?
Let us know in the comments below!
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Gallery Credit: Kaylin
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