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I’ve never lived in a place where people thought they didn’t have the worst drivers.
In my experience people always think the drivers in the next closest jurisdiction are the worst. For example, here in the D.C. area, Virginia people think Maryland drivers are the worst and Maryland people think Virginia drivers are the worst. Funnily enough, people don't have strong views of D.C. drivers (to some extent because they're rarely encountered even just outside D.C.).
Based on the number of potholes, Southeast Michigan is definitely a crap place to drive. But at least traffic flows with some kind of semblance of logic here. Washington, D.C. would get my vote for the worst place to drive based on the sheer volume of traffic and clueless drivers, though L.A. isn't too far behind.
In my experience people always think the drivers in the next closest jurisdiction are the worst. For example, here in the D.C. area, Virginia people think Maryland drivers are the worst and Maryland people think Virginia drivers are the worst. Funnily enough, people don't have strong views of D.C. drivers (to some extent because they're rarely encountered even just outside D.C.).
I swear, I didn't read this post before making mine.
In my experience people always think the drivers in the next closest jurisdiction are the worst. For example, here in the D.C. area, Virginia people think Maryland drivers are the worst and Maryland people think Virginia drivers are the worst. Funnily enough, people don't have strong views of D.C. drivers (to some extent because they're rarely encountered even just outside D.C.).
No offense, but I think Virginia drivers are pretty bad, but not as much when they're in Virginia. It's when they get here in North Carolina. It seems like Virginia is draconian on lots of issues (i.e. no radar detectors, requirement for a front license plate, etc.), and then when Virginia drivers get here, it's like they're a wild little puppy being let out of the fence from their oppressive masters, mainly with fast and aggressive/reckless driving.
I wish I had an opinion on Detroit drivers, but I do have a thought for one of the measurements in the study, which is the physical quality of the road. I can see that being one of the reasons Detroit ranks poorly because they get winter weather that is horrible on a road's lifespan, plus they aren't exactly in prosperous fiscal shape to go out and make the necessary repairs. Also, the high insurance costs were mentioned and it's likely there are a higher than average percentage of people just scraping by who don't have the proper insurance on their vehicles.
Detroit is the worst city to operate a car in based on their methodology.
30% of which is cost of ownership. Michigan has the highest insurance rates in the country, and Detroit has the highest rates in the state!
30% was based on "safety". They ranked Detroit the worst in the country. Includes rate of uninsured drives - which is high cause insurance rates are very insane.
30% was "traffic & infrastructure". Detroit was bad, but and BAD. Traffic isn't bad but infrastructure quality is miserable.
10% was "access to vehicles and maintenance". Detroit was mid-pack. There are dealerships on every corner, even imports.
I drove a truck all over the US - 750,000 miles in five years.
Detroit isn't all that bad. Roads are pretty bad.
Atlanta people drive fast, but they know how to do it, so it's not all that bad. Same with Boston and Long Island.
Dallas/Ft Worth is just fine. New Orleans is usually under construction and it's confusing, but it's OK. I never saw anything in Houston that I hadn't seen in a hundred other places.
The worst, I think.....
Memphis. Second place goes to Birmingham.
The thing about driving an 18 wheeler I liked the most was simply driving the Big Pretty Truck down the highway.
It is not the worst place to drive, but the worst place to own a car. "ownership costs, traffic, the quality of the roads, accident rates and the availability of automotive services like parking and repair."
The poor ranking is likely mostly about insurance. Michigan has the hugest insurance rates in the USA and Detroit car insurance rates are astronomically high even by Michigan standards. I know a number of people who live in the city but maintain an address outside the city so their car is not registered to a Detroit address.
Detroit roads are bad, but I have seen worse. Drivers are not bad comparatively. Traffic is light. traffic engineering is quite good. While accident rates are not that high in number, they are high in dollars because people in Detroit tend to sue for big money (hence the insanely high insurance rates). Parking is not terrible. If you hunt enough you can still find free or cheap parking almost anywhere. Repair costs are lower than in the suburbs. when practical I bring my cars to the city for repair because it is cheaper (probably due to lower overhead). However, it is rarely practical.
Worst cities to drive in - a lot of front runners come to mind immediately. Boston tops the list for me. LA, New York, Denver, Seattle, Ann Arbor, Austin
Each has a different reason. Illogical layout of streets. Lack of parking. Insane driving habits. Complete cluelessness about anything or anyone being around them (Denver). Crazy traffic. entitled idiots walking out into the street without paying any attention whatsoever (Students - Ann Arbor, but almost any college town really). Poor driving skills (Seattle). ignorance to ignorance of the rules of traffic (Boston). Actually Boston is blessed with pretty much all of these things.
I drive in Detroit every day. It is a pleasant place to drive even if it is a horrible place to own a car. Street layout makes sense. Traffic is light. People are generally good drivers even if they are often excessively aggressive, at least they usually have good knowledge of how to control their car. Pedestrians act reasonably. the only difficulties are those crazy electric scooters zipping around ont he streets but ignoring traffic laws and the psychokillers who drive Dan Gilbert's parking shuttle busses. I would throw in the valet "drivers" at the Book Cadillac, but they are only on the street for a few seconds. They are primarily a hazard int he parking garage.
You would think with the nutso bus parking shuttle drivers mixing it up with the oblivious electric scooter riders the electric scooter riders would begin to diminish in numbers, but not so, there seem to be an endless supply of replacements.
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