According to Forbes Advisor, travel across the nation's roads surged by 2.1% in 2023, reaching an unprecedented 3.3 trillion miles, marking a new annual pinnacle. For commuters in certain cities, the daily drive proves more arduous. Dallas is one of those cities.
Forbes Advisor analyzed the most challenging cities to navigate, evaluating the 47 most populous cities with available data across 15 metrics spanning four crucial categories: driving experience, safety, cost of car ownership and accessibility to car maintenance.
At the summit of the list of the most challenging cities for driving sits Oakland, California, trailed by Miami, Florida; San Francisco, California; Houston, Texas; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Dallas, coming in ninth, was the second Texan city to clinch a spot in the most challenging cities for driving. The ranking is attributed to its dismal commute durations, steep yearly car insurance costs and a significant occurrence of fatal road mishaps.
In terms of safety, Dallas holds the tenth position, marked by the 10th highest rate of fatal car accidents, standing at 14.85 per 100,000 inhabitants. As Local Profile previously reported, Dallas faces notable issues with drunk driving incidents and speeding-related fatalities.
The study also showed that Dallas shares the spotlight with Houston, Atlanta, Fort Worth and Louisville, boasting the 12th slowest average speed in downtown areas, clocking in at a mere 16 mph. A similar study from 2023 showed that North Texas has some of the worst commute times in the nation. The average commute time in Dallas is 25.7 minutes, but 6.5% of workers experience a "severe" commute of 60 minutes or more.
Despite Dallas’ low ranking, another North Texas city is one of the best cities for driving. Local Profile previously reported that Plano was found to be the fourth-best city to drive in. The North Texas city secured the fourth position for safety, while it landed in the 20th spot for ownership and maintenance costs, 29th for vehicular accessibility and 37th for traffic and infrastructure. Plano boasts the sixth-highest density of gas stations per capita and holds the 15th-lowest average gas prices.
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