Posted by: Richie Bernardo

Most Americans rely on cars to get around. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, “87 percent of daily trips take place in personal vehicles.” And even with growing access to public transportation in U.S. cities, most people still choose to travel by car, mainly for reasons such as “comfort and reliability.”

In truth, however, driving is often a major hassle and expense. Drivers annually spend an average of more than 290 hours on the road. For a full-time worker, that’s the equivalent of a seven-week vacation. Add the costs of wasted time and fuel due to traffic congestions, and our collective tab comes to about $124 billion annually, or $1,700 per household.

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, America’s highways and bridges are underfunded, with an $836 billion backlog of repairs needed. The World Economic forum ranks U.S. roads at 10th in quality out of 137 economically developed nations. It’s clear there’s room for improvement.

But some cities are better for those behind the wheel. To determine those places, WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities across 29 key indicators of driver-friendliness. Our data set ranges from average gas prices to average annual hours of traffic delays to auto-repair shops per capita. Read on for our findings, tips and insight from a panel of experts, and a full description of our methodology.

1. Main Findings
2. Ask the Experts
3. Methodology

Main Findings

Embed on your website<iframe src="//d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/13964/geochart-cardrivers.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="https://ift.tt/2KZmpNi>  

Best & Worst Cities to Drive in

Overall Rank (1 = Best)	City	Total Score	‘Cost of Ownership & Maintenance’ Rank	‘Traffic & Infrastructure’ Rank	‘Safety’ Rank	‘Access to Vehicles & Maintenance’ Rank
1	Raleigh, NC	68.40	1	17	27	55
2	Corpus Christi, TX	68.26	10	1	18	82
3	Orlando, FL	67.35	8	3	83	4
4	Greensboro, NC	66.31	2	25	45	66
5	Plano, TX	64.71	20	30	8	48
6	Winston-Salem, NC	64.70	5	16	56	92
7	Durham, NC	64.50	4	34	37	89
8	El Paso, TX	64.34	28	20	6	71
9	Jacksonville, FL	63.87	9	11	65	33
10	Tampa, FL	63.67	38	28	46	7
11	Birmingham, AL	63.43	3	9	96	22
12	Las Vegas, NV	62.93	52	5	53	6
13	Arlington, TX	62.41	21	47	30	27
14	Austin, TX	62.32	32	43	38	13
15	Lincoln, NE	62.31	36	37	11	86
16	Fort Worth, TX	62.09	25	50	32	19
17	Laredo, TX	62.00	16	41	12	99
18	Nashville, TN	61.76	37	18	44	39
19	Charlotte, NC	61.60	7	44	66	32
20	Scottsdale, AZ	61.57	62	2	21	51
21	Gilbert, AZ	61.44	56	19	4	94
22	Wichita, KS	61.42	13	27	47	87
23	Mesa, AZ	61.39	47	15	22	58
24	Virginia Beach, VA	61.14	17	65	14	74
25	Boise, ID	61.13	41	12	29	81
26	Chesapeake, VA	60.60	11	68	17	96
27	Oklahoma City, OK	60.03	29	54	36	36
28	Tucson, AZ	59.71	30	6	88	40
29	Lubbock, TX	59.60	23	10	68	83
30	Henderson, NV	59.52	65	22	7	77
31	Norfolk, VA	59.47	6	63	49	85
32	Chandler, AZ	59.33	55	7	25	90
33	Lexington-Fayette, KY	59.00	12	33	72	88
34	Irvine, CA	58.97	88	4	1	30
35	St. Petersburg, FL	58.74	15	38	70	70
36	Dallas, TX	58.31	34	64	73	11
37	Irving, TX	58.19	31	59	40	59
38	Fort Wayne, IN	58.06	22	61	43	80
39	Indianapolis, IN	57.83	19	51	82	26
40	Garland, TX	57.69	35	42	63	43
41	Kansas City, MO	57.53	18	24	87	68
42	Toledo, OH	57.37	14	48	77	84
43	San Antonio, TX	57.34	42	58	79	12
44	Phoenix, AZ	56.85	49	31	74	24
45	Colorado Springs, CO	56.70	44	70	28	67
46	Houston, TX	56.16	48	77	69	2
47	Omaha, NE	56.14	40	73	48	60
48	Cincinnati, OH	56.11	27	46	92	16
49	Atlanta, GA	56.08	24	62	94	9
50	Columbus, OH	55.97	33	60	84	31
51	Reno, NV	55.82	67	32	35	79
52	Tulsa, OK	54.95	50	49	71	38
53	Sacramento, CA	54.90	83	36	23	15
54	Riverside, CA	54.62	80	26	15	50
55	Fresno, CA	54.54	78	21	19	72
56	St. Paul, MN	54.28	51	76	39	65
57	Memphis, TN	54.12	39	39	93	61
58	Madison, WI	54.08	66	74	5	91
59	North Las Vegas, NV	53.77	60	23	57	97
60	Portland, OR	53.63	46	69	81	25
61	Chula Vista, CA	53.46	91	13	2	64
62	Louisville, KY	53.19	59	52	75	45
63	Baton Rouge, LA	52.94	57	53	76	54
64	Fremont, CA	52.83	98	45	3	44
65	Bakersfield, CA	52.72	82	8	62	63
66	Glendale, AZ	52.23	53	14	85	93
67	St. Louis, MO	52.21	26	67	100	8
68	Anchorage, AK	52.11	45	93	24	100
69	Anaheim, CA	51.83	94	35	16	20
70	Minneapolis, MN	51.72	69	83	34	46
71	San Diego, CA	51.26	95	55	10	10
72	Pittsburgh, PA	51.04	68	80	67	21
73	Santa Ana, CA	50.95	87	75	9	17
74	Miami, FL	50.60	70	84	90	1
75	Denver, CO	50.41	63	87	54	29
76	Albuquerque, NM	50.26	43	56	98	53
77	Buffalo, NY	49.93	74	71	50	75
78	Hialeah, FL	49.89	72	81	64	41
79	New Orleans, LA	49.73	77	57	59	76
80	Stockton, CA	49.70	79	29	55	98
81	Aurora, CO	49.54	61	91	51	73
82	Milwaukee, WI	49.14	64	86	80	49
83	Jersey City, NJ	48.78	73	98	33	35
84	Long Beach, CA	48.18	93	66	20	23
85	Cleveland, OH	47.73	58	82	97	18
86	Honolulu, HI	46.79	85	79	42	34
87	San Bernardino, CA	45.89	89	40	58	95
88	San Jose, CA	45.75	96	72	13	69
89	Baltimore, MD	45.05	71	78	95	62
90	Washington, DC	44.93	54	95	89	52
91	Chicago, IL	44.49	81	99	41	14
92	Los Angeles, CA	44.41	97	90	31	5
93	Newark, NJ	43.29	75	96	86	28
94	New York, NY	43.28	92	100	26	3
95	Boston, MA	42.59	76	97	60	78
96	Seattle, WA	42.03	90	88	61	42
97	Philadelphia, PA	41.29	84	89	91	37
98	Oakland, CA	38.44	99	85	78	56
99	San Francisco, CA	36.05	100	92	52	57
100	Detroit, MI	35.13	86	94	99	47

Ask the Experts

With cost, safety and environmental impact ranking among the top concerns for the auto industry, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

1. What money-saving tips do you have for drivers now that gas prices have begun to bounce back?
2. When do you think there will be more self-driving than human-driven cars?
3. Considering all potential consequences, do you think that automated vehicles will be a net benefit or net negative for society?
4. When evaluating the best cities for drivers, what are the top five indicators?
5. What can local authorities do to reduce traffic and improve safety?

< >

• Joel Ohman Certified Financial Planner and the founder of CarInsuranceComparison.com
• Eyal Amir CEO, Ai Incube (Parknav) & Adjunct Professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Joel Ohman Certified Financial Planner and the founder of CarInsuranceComparison.com

When do you think there will be more self-driving cars than human-driven?

While there is much excitement about self-driving cars, and rapid strides have been made, it's becoming more and more apparent that going from semi-autonomous to fully autonomous is orders of magnitude more difficult than the progress we have made to date. And yet, babies being born today will likely find themselves, at age 16, wondering what this thing called a "driver's license" is that their parents said they used to be so concerned with.

Considering all potential consequences, do you think that automated vehicles will be a net benefit or net negative for society?

One of the single biggest ways that AI will affect the insurance industry will be in the major role it plays in autonomous/self-driving vehicles. In the near term, auto insurance rates will likely increase, since insurers will be uncertain how to price the uncharted territory of self-driving vehicles. However, in the long term, rates will likely decrease significantly because of the likely increase in safe driving habits that self-driving cars will exhibit as compared to their fallible human counterparts.

It is highly likely that with the introduction of self-driving cars, the number of auto insurance claims will plummet. This is fantastic for the average motorist, but potentially a big negative for car insurance companies since they could long-term see premiums decrease substantially.

Eyal Amir CEO, Ai Incube (Parknav) & Adjunct Professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

What money saving tips do you have for drivers, now that gas prices have begun to bounce back?

There are apps that could help you find free parking, or that helps compare pricing in garages and on-street. Using those one could make more informed decision on where to park and when to not take a car at all and use other transportation modes instead.

When do you think there will be more self-driving cars than human-driven?

Self-driving cars are cars where a human does not play any role (security or otherwise) in driving. I think it would be at least 10 years before fully autonomous (Level 5) self-driving cars are out there in mass production. Once they are available, it would take 10 more years before they surpass human-driven cars.

Considering all potential consequences, do you think that automated vehicles will be a net benefit or net negative for society?

I think all in all autonomous vehicles would be a net benefit to society, just as adding roads enables faster and easier driving. However, just as adding roads does not eliminate or significantly alleviate traffic-jam problems (more roads means fewer jams, which encourages more people to drive or use shared cars, which creates more jams), autonomous cars would bring their own issues, such as more cars on the road and more traffic jams as a result (if you can work while driving, you would mind less about driving thru traffic, therefore increasing traffic jams).

Methodology

In order to determine the best and worst cities for drivers, WalletHub compared a sample of the 100 most populated U.S. cities across four key dimensions: 1) Cost of Ownership & Maintenance, 2) Traffic & Infrastructure, 3) Safety and 4) Access to Vehicles & Maintenance. Our sample considers only the city proper in each case and excludes cities in the surrounding metro area.

We evaluated those dimensions using 29 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for drivers. Data for metrics marked with an asterisk (*) were available at the state level only. For metrics marked with two asterisks (**), the square root of the population was used to calculate the population size in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across cities.

Finally, we determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Cost of Ownership & Maintenance – Total Points: 30

• Cost of New Car: Full Weight (~4.29 Points)
• Average Gas Prices: Double Weight (~8.57 Points)
• Average Annual Car Insurance Premium: Full Weight (~4.29 Points)
• Auto Maintenance Costs: Full Weight (~4.29 Points)
• Total Extra Vehicle Operating Costs per Driver: Full Weight (~4.29 Points)Note: Additional vehicle operating costs (VOC) are the “result of driving on roads in need of repair, lost time and fuel due to congestion-related delays, and the costs of traffic crashes in which roadway features likely were a contributing factor,” according to transportation research firm TRIP.
• Average Parking Rate: Full Weight (~4.29 Points)

Traffic & Infrastructure – Total Points: 30

• Annual Hours Spent in Congestion per Auto Commuter: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)
• Number of Days with Precipitation: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)
• Number of Cold Days: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)Note: This metric specifically measures the average number of days with a minimum temperature of 32 degrees F or lower.
• Average Commute Time by Car (in Minutes): Full Weight (~3.64 Points)
• Number of Alternative-Fuel Stations per Capita: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)
• Quality of Roads: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)
• Quality of Bridges: Quarter* Weight (~0.91 Points)
• Roadway Miles per 1,000 Persons: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)
• Waze Driver Satisfaction Rating: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)

Safety – Total Points: 30

• Accident Likelihood in City vs. National Average: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
• Traffic Fatality Rate per 100,000 Population: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
• Share of Adults Who Always or Nearly Always Wear a Seatbelt: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
• Number of Hard-Braking Events per 1,000 Miles: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)Note: Hard-braking data is based on customers voluntarily enrolled in Allstate’s Drivewise® telematics program from 2014-2015.
• Rate of Car Thefts: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
• Rate of Larceny: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
• Strictness of DUI Punishment: Half* Weight (~2.00 Points)Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s “Strictest & Most Lenient States on DUI” ranking.
• Punitiveness of High-Risk Driver’s Insurance: Half* Weight (~2.00 Points)Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s “States with the Highest & Lowest Insurance Premium Penalties for High-Risk Drivers” ranking.
• Driving Laws Rating: Half* Weight (~2.00 Points)

Access to Vehicles & Maintenance – Total Points: 10

• Car Dealerships per Capita**: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Auto-Repair Shops per Capita**: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Car Washes per Capita**: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Gas Stations per Capita**: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Parking Lots and Garages per Capita: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)

 

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Council for Community and Economic Research, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, INRIX, National Centers for Environmental Information, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Automobile Association, The Road Information Program, Federal Highway Administration, Waze Mobile, Allstate Insurance Company, U.S. Department of Energy, QuinStreet Insurance Agency, Yelp, Parkopedia, TrueCar and WalletHub research.

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