Surprise! National Survey Finds Baltimore And D.C. Are Tough Places To Drive

From Maryland Matters:

By Josh Kurtz

September 3, 2020

It will surprise no one who has tried to learn that Baltimore and Washington, D.C., have been declared two of the toughest American cities to drive in, according to a newly released national study. But the survey still provides some interesting tidbits and context.

The study, released this week by WalletHub, a national financial services company, rated the top American cities to drive in, from No. 1, Lincoln, Neb., to No. 100, Oakland, Calif. Baltimore ranks 87th on the list, and D.C. is 86th.

The company convened a team of experts and rated the cities’ driving environments on four broad criteria: cost of vehicle ownership and maintenance (Baltimore was 71st, D.C. was 58th); traffic and infrastructure (Baltimore was 77th, D.C. was 91st); safety (Baltimore was 94th, D.C. was 90th); and access to vehicle maintenance (Baltimore was 63rd, D.C. was 68th).

On the metric of highest accident likelihood in a city compared to the national average, Baltimore and D.C. were dead last (or first, depending on your perspective) — tied with Boston and Los Angeles. D.C. was No. 5 in highest number of hours spent in traffic congestion per vehicle (Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Philadelphia were tied for first).

jkurtz@marylandmatters.org

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