Even if you love driving, there are certain cities that you just never want to find yourself driving in. Whether its crazy drivers, traffic, road hazards or some other reason, driving in poor conditions is enough to raise stress levels and blood pressure, and many people find this happening on a daily basis in the 5 worst cities for driving in the US.
Atlanta, Georgia
Downtown Atlanta is a traffic nightmare. Most cities have a “rush hour”; Atlanta maybe has an hour or two that isn’t clogged and congested with traffic. Whether your off the interstate and trying to get around downtown, or on the I-85 itself, it’s simply a nightmare. On the Interstate, you see it coming for miles as traffic gets thicker and thicker as you approach the city. Sure enough, as you approach downtown, you roll to a stop. What should take you 20 minutes to drive through ends up taking you over two hours, and by the time you’re through, your blood is boiling.
New York, New York
Surely this isn’t a surprising one to have on the list; if you’ve been there, you know. Unless you’re a native to the Big Apple, you just don’t drive there. The city is full of horns honking and bumper to bumper traffic at all hours of the day and on most streets. While the grid can be fairly easy to navigate, what’s the point? In getting from A to B, even if you’re just going a few blocks, you will be yelled at, honked at, stopped for an hour, hit by a jaywalker, and your car will likely come out on the other side with a new dent or ding that wasn’t there before. When you’re not from the city and you choose to drive in it, you shave years off your life.
Detroit, Michigan
If you enjoy driving around aimlessly looking for a parking spot, go to Detroit; you’ll fit in well there. We’re not sure there’s anything quite as frustrating as not being able to find a parking spot when you need one, much less having this happen as a regular part of life every day. In Detroit, there’s approximately .50 parking lots for every 1,000 cars; making parking impossible.
Seattle, Washington
Sure, it’s beautiful country in Washington, but we warn you to stay out of Seattle. You know what it’s like to drive in the rain on your morning commute, no matter what city you’re in. It’s hectic because people seem to forget how to drive. Well, in Seattle, it rains sometimes almost half the year. Unfortunately, living in Seattle where you drive in the rain all the time doesn’t make you a great driver, either. Drivers there face 46% more traffic delays due to rain than everyone else in the nation.
San Francisco, California
Speaking of traffic delays, let’s talk about San Francisco. This city definitely has it’s peak hours for travel on a daily basis, and during those times over 53% of its population is commuting. That makes for some hectic travel conditions. One other really bad thing about driving in San Francisco? Car theft. It’s one of the highest ranked cities for car theft in America. Best just not to have a car at all, in our opinion.
So, if you find yourself driving the country, whether on a business trip or a nice road trip vacation, do yourself a favor and go around these cities.
