Traffic is coming.
That's actually not true because we live in Atlanta and traffic is always happening. Always.
WalletHub released it's list of this year's worst and best cities for traffic and Atlanta ranks pretty poorly but we're not the absolute worst, so we can hold our heads high.
The list revealed that according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 87 percent of daily trips take place in a personal vehicle. Even as our cities grow and we invest more in public transportation, most people would rather travel by car because it's reliable and comfortable, of course.
The study took into account factors ranging from car theft rates to average gas prices to parking rates to compile this list.
One of the more notable metrics used was the annual hours that are spent in congestion per driver. Basically, how long we all sit in traffic on 75/85 during rush hours.
Guess what Atlanta. We're the worst - when it comes to sitting in traffic. Drivers in Atlanta, Georgia spend 102 hours annually in congestion. So, we all spend 102 hours just sitting in our cars every single year.
Best cities for traffic based on annual hours spent per driver in 2017:
1. Greensboro, North Carolina (4 hours)
2. Wichita, Kansas & Corpus Christi, Texas (6 hours)
3. Lincoln, Nebraska (7 hours)
4. Fresno, California; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Madison, Wisconsin; Winston-Salem, North Carolina: (9 hours)
5. Tuscon, Arizona; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Toledo, Ohio; Durham, North Carolina; Lubbock Texas (10 hours)
Worst cities for traffic based on annual hours spent per driver in 2017 (Guess who's in this list):
1. Atlanta, Georgia (102 hours, we win)
2. San Francisco, California (91 hours)
3. Los Angeles, California (79 hours)
4. New York, New York (70 hours)
5. Miami, Florida (64 hours)
The lists above are based on just ONE metric. The entire study with all metrics factoring in reveal that the BEST city to drive in is Raleigh, North Carolina and the absolute worst city to drive in is Detroit, Michigan. Overall, Atlanta ranked 49th out of 100 - not too shabby.
