Birmingham One Of Country's Best Cities For Drivers

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Traffic, while the source of frustration among anyone - especially in an urban area - is a necessary and unavoidable part of life. But driving conditions certainly vary from city to city. A recent study looked at the best and worst cities for drivers, and Birmingham residents may be surprised to see where their city ranks.

The personal finance website WalletHub released its report on 2019's Best & Worst Cities to Drive in and Birmingham is ranked among the best for motorists.

To determine the most driver-friendly places in the U.S., WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities across 30 key metrics. The data set ranges from average gas prices to annual hours in traffic congestion per auto commuter to auto-repair shops per capita.

Birmingham ranked 6th overall among the best cities for drivers. Raleigh, N.C., ranked as the best city, while Detroit was listed as the country's worst.

Driving in Birmingham (1=Best; 50=Avg.):

• 5th – Annual Hours Spent in Congestion per Auto Commuter
• 18th – Accident Likelihood in City vs. National Avg.
• 22nd – Auto-Repair Shops per Capita
• 6th – Avg. Gas Prices
• 33rd – Auto-Maintenance Costs
• 20th – Avg. Parking Rates

Drivers annually spend an average of more than 310 hours on the road. That’s nearly 13 days. Add the costs of wasted time and fuel due to traffic congestions, and our collective tab comes to about $124 billion annually, or $1,700 per household.

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, America’s highways and bridges are underfunded, with an $836 billion backlog of repairs needed. The World Economic forum ranks U.S. roads at 11th in quality out of 140 economically developed nations.