You may think traffic is bad and motorists are rude where you live, but if you’ve ever traveled abroad and rented a car, you know there’s more than just language barriers to surmount while traversing international roads. After, say, about the fifth or sixth time spent circling the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile in otherwise idyllic Paris, France trying frantically to cross lanes and – eventually – reach the intended cross-street, you’re left wondering how on Earth do these people cope.
But that’s merely a leisurely jaunt through the countryside compared to navigating one’s way through some of the globe’s true cesspools of motoring. According to a study conducted by the German auto parts retailer kfzteile24, the least-desirable of 100 rated international cities for drivers is Kolkata, India. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the city deemed to be most hospitable to motorists is Dusseldorf, Germany.
That’s based on an analysis of local congestion levels, average cost of parking and fuel, average roadway speeds, air pollution levels, number of traffic injuries, and road quality. Also considered – and what should seem like a no-brainer to international travelers – is the frequency and perception of road rage.
Dusseldorf tops the list of driver-friendly metro areas, among other factors, because its highways are congested a mere 20% of the time, while in Kolkata the roads are 69% traffic-jammed, which is the highest level among all 100 rated global cities. Those arriving in Dusseldorf average 21.20 mph driving from the airport to the central city, while visitors to Kolkata crawl along at an average 11.20 mph.
For those keeping score, the international cities that suffer the most enraged drivers on the planet, according to the study, are Bordeaux, France and Helsinki, Finland, while the calmest can be found (perhaps arguably) In St. Petersburg, Russia and Bogota, Colombia.
German cities account for six of the 20 best cities for drivers, which may suggest some kind of “home field advantage,” given the source, but we’ll take kfzteile24’s researchers at their word. The United States, by the way, is represented in the top 20 by a single metro area, Seattle, Washington. As for the other local burgs on the list, Boston comes in at number 50, with Chicago at 52, San Diego at 56, Miami at 65, New York City at 70, and Los Angeles ranked at 76 out of 100, just beating out Beijing and Shanghai, China.
“Poor urban planning or a lack of civil education can make driving the most stressful experience of somebody’s day.” says Thomas Kloubert, CMO of kfzteile24. “We hope that this study will act as a catalyst for those cities in the negative end of the ranking to invest in safer, cleaner and more efficient roads, and consider how methods adopted by higher scoring cities can be utilized in their own locations.”
Here are the 10 best cities in which to drive, based on kfzteile24’s data analysis, noting the congestion level and average speed from the airport to downtown for each:
- Dusseldorf, Germany: 20% congestion, 21.20 mph average speed
- Dubai, UAE: 26% congestion, 31.70 mph average speed
- Zurich, Switzerland: 31% congestion, 25.50 mph average speed
- Tokyo, Japan: 26% congestion, 30.50 mph average speed
- Basel, Switzerland: 27% congestion, 17.50 mph average speed
- Singapore, Singapore: 38% congestion, 32.40 mph average speed
- Dortmund, Germany: 23% congestion, 19.90 mph average speed
- Vienna, Austria: 31% congestion, 28.00 mph average speed
- Munich, Germany: 30% congestion, 27.40 mph average speed
- Calgary, Canada: 20% congestion, 26.80 mph average speed
And here are the 10 worst spots on the globe for what we imagine are chronically cranky motorists:
- Kolkata, India: 69% congestion, 11.20 mph average speed
- Karachi, Pakistan: 59% congestion, 11.20 mph average speed
- Lagos, Nigeria: 60% congestion, 10.70 mph average speed
- Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: 65% congestion, 21.80 mph average speed
- Mumbai, India: 67% congestion, 8.10 mph average speed
- Bangalore, India: 64% congestion, 18.70 mph average speed
- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: 64% congestion, 14.90 mph average speed
- Bogota, Colombia: 48% congestion, 12.50 mph average speed
- Mexico City, Mexico: 66% congestion, 17.50 mph average speed
- Istanbul, Turkey: 49% congestion, 11.80 mph average speed
Here's a link to the full study.
