A California city has been ranked the worst place in the country to drive after a year packed with crashes, thefts and higher-than-average expenses for motorists – and surprisingly, it wasn’t LA.
Out of the country’s 100 largest cities, Oakland was dubbed the worst and most expensive place to be a driver for the second year in a row.
Finance website WalletHub compiled the list based on four key factors: cost of ownership and maintenance, traffic and infrastructure, safety, and access to vehicles and maintenance.
Oakland was also rated the second least safe city for driving.
When compared to the national average, the city is among the most accident-prone.
Traffic clutters an Oakland, California roadway in this stock image. The city was ranked the worst place to drive in America
Oakland City has reported 23 fatal crashes this year so far
Car thefts are also high in Oakland, with the city ranked the eighth worst on WalletHub’s Car Theft Rate list.
Last year, 33 people died in car crashes in Oakland. As of September of this year, 23 people had died in car crashes, the city reported.
Two people died on October 12 when the driver of a stolen car crashed into a telephone pole, KTVU reported.
In July, a woman died and another was fatally injured after a driver struck an interstate overpass pillar, The Mercury New reported.
The most common causes of crashes in Oakland are ‘speeding, failure to yield, dangerous turns, running red lights, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol,’ according to a report from GJEL Accident Attorneys.
The city of Oakland reported that 60 percent of all the city’s crashes occurred on just 8 percent of its roads, according to data collected from 2017 to 2021.
Your browser does not support iframes.
The city stated that some areas are more prone to fatal car crashes than others (stock image)
‘Crashes don’t impact our communities equally. Our data analysis shows that there are clear racial, geographic and age disparities in crashes,’ the report reads.
The city pointed to historic red-lining and stated that black Oaklanders were twice as likely to be killed or severely injured while driving than anyone else, according to the most recent Citywide Crash Analysis, which used data from 2012 to 2016.
Black residents were also three times more likely to be killed or hurt while walking.
Thirty percent of streets in predominately Asian neighborhoods fall in the City of Oakland Pedestrian High Injury Network, a map showing where the most fatal car accidents happen.
Senior citizens are two times as likely to be killed in a crash as other residents, the report said.
Additionally Oakland and neighboring San Francisco experienced tens of thousands of car thefts last year.
In 2023, the city had over 15,000 car theft incidents – a staggering 45 percent increase from the previous year.
Raleigh, North Carolina was ranked the best city to drive in America
In March, an outraged driver slammed her SUV into the car of someone who stole her purse.
In April, an 80-year-old man was heartbroken when his $200,000 vintage Corvette was stolen from his garage. The victim, Dave Lechthaler, blamed Oakland for being too light on crime.
‘There are no consequences in this city. People can steal and rob,’ Lechthaler told KTVU.
In January, shocking video captured the moment a brazen car thief stole someone’s vehicle at an Oakland gas station.
‘We are f***ed,’ an exasperated police officer declared at the Chevron station.
Three gas stations surrounding Oakland Airport have become hot-spots for car thefts.
Police claimed that within a single square mile, criminals strike a dozen times or more per day, mainly targeting victims who are headed to and from the airport.
‘We can’t do a car chase on nonviolent crime,’ the officer told DailyMail.com. ‘I can go behind the cars and try and turn on my lights, but why would they stop?’
Oakland’s car-theft crisis is linked to a crime wave sweeping the city. Oakland’s budget only allows for 678 officers, including those off work for disability, which is the legal minimum.
In a previous ranking, Oakland was named as one of America’s worst-run cities.
Forbes conducted its own research to find the worst places to drive across the country – with Oakland landing in the top spot.
Nationally, the city had the sixth highest gas prices, averaging at $4.52 per gallon of regular gasoline, Forbes reported in April.
Oaklanders also pay the eighth highest amount for car insurance, at an average of $3,680 per year.
In terms of infrastructure, the city is in the process of addressing a major pothole problem, ABC7 reported.
Despite the city’s best efforts, a lack of workers and bureaucratic processes have made the Department of Transportation’s goals hard to achieve.
City planner Warren Logan told ABC7: ‘We actually do have money to pave our streets.
‘But it does require that your City Council gives the authority to the Department of Transportation to go get a contractor to pave our roads.’
A traffic-filled Oakland street. The city also ranked poorly last year
He admitted that he was once sent to the emergency room after riding his bike over a pothole in Oakland.
After Oakland, WalletHub ranked Philadelphia the second worst driving city. It fell short in the categories of safety and traffic and infrastructure.
San Francisco and Los Angeles were ranked third and fourth on the list. Detroit was ranked the fifth.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Raleigh, North Carolina was crowned the best city for driving, with the second cheapest ownership and maintenance costs.
Forbes also ranked Raleigh in the top spot, citing its affordable car costs and relatively safe roads.
Boise, Idaho was ranked the second best city overall, and the safest city for drivers to operate a vehicle.
Corpus Christi, Texas came in third place.
A cleared street in Raleigh. Car ownership and maintenance costs in the city are among the nation’s lowest
Close behind in the overall rankings were Greensboro, North Carolina – the cheapest place to own and maintain a car – and Jacksonville, Florid.
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that 87 percent of daily trips are made in personal vehicles, for a collective 11 billion miles.
‘Living in one of the best cities to drive in can make owning and maintaining a car much cheaper,’ WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said.
‘However, costs aren’t the only factors that matter; the best cities for drivers also minimize commute times and traffic congestion, have accident rates well below the national average and keep their roads in good condition.’
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source link
