Analysis: Atlanta is the worst U.S. city for driving in 2024

Josh Green

Thu, 11/14/2024 – 13:57

Nobody needs a data guru to tell them driving for any considerable distance in Atlanta can be, well, a challenge these days. Even on weekends. But the worst driving experience in the USA?

A national analysis released this week set out to determine the top 10 U.S. cities where residents shouldn’t drive a car, based on traffic snarls, cost of vehicle ownership, and fatality rates.

And yes the ATL—unfortunately but not surprisingly—landed at No. 1.

The study, compiled by Chicago-based Conboy Law Injury & Medical Malpractice Lawyers, analyzed 36 major U.S. cities based on three primary factors to calculate a Driving Risk Score. Those were traffic delay times, vehicle ownership rates, and traffic-related fatalities in urban areas per 100,000 people. (The study applied to the city proper and not metro areas, it should be noted.)

The City of Atlanta’s composite score of 100—as bad as it gets, basically—crowned/befouled it as the most challenging urban area for drivers this year. That’s one slot ahead of/below Los Angeles.

Conboy analysts found that almost 95 percent of Atlanta’s adult population owns a car. That translates to crowded roads and long commutes, with an average delay of 61 minutes, per the study.

Atlanta finished first/last in the 10 Worst U.S. Cities for Driving list this year. Courtesy of Conboy

On the surface, Atlanta’s 90 traffic fatalities per year on average looks strong among the top 10—but the city proper also counts the smallest population on the list.

The findings continue a dismal recent track record for Atlanta when it comes to expensive, time-consuming, and generally hellacious commutes.

Clever, a real estate data company, ranked Atlanta the second worst U.S. commuter city in 2022 and third worst last year, based on rankings that took into account public transit scores, insurance premiums, annual fuel costs, and other factors.

Which, hey, is improvement, right?

Connector on-ramp traffic in 2019. Shutterstock