A California city has been ranked the worst place in the country to drive after a year full of accidents, thefts and higher-than-average costs for motorists – and surprisingly, it wasn’t Los Angeles.
Of the 100 largest cities in the country, Oakland was ranked 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 vehicle access and maintenance.
Oakland was also rated the second least safe city to drive in.
Compared to the national average, the city is among the most accident-prone.
Traffic jams a highway in Oakland, California, in this file image. The city was ranked the worst place to drive in the United States.
The city of Oakland has reported 23 fatal accidents this year so far
Car thefts are also high in Oakland, with the city ranking eighth on WalletHub’s list of car theft rates.
Last year, 33 people died in car accidents in Oakland. As of September this year, 23 people had died in car accidents, the city reported.
Two people died Oct. 12 when the driver of a stolen car crashed into a telephone pole. KTVU reported.
In July, one woman was killed and another was fatally injured after a driver crashed into a pillar of an interstate overpass. The Mercury New reported.
The most common causes of accidents 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 Lawyers.
He city of oakland reported that 60 percent of all city accidents occurred on just 8 percent of its roads, based on data collected from 2017 to 2021.
The city said some areas are more prone to fatal car accidents than others (file image)
‘Accidents do not affect our communities equally. “Our data analysis shows that there are clear racial, geographic and age disparities in accidents,” report read.
The city pointed to historic redlining and said Black Oaklanders were twice as likely to be killed or seriously injured while driving than anyone else, according to the most recent study. Citywide accident analysiswhich used data from 2012 to 2016.
Black residents were also three times more likely to be killed or injured while walking.
Thirty percent of streets in predominantly Asian neighborhoods are in the City of Oakland’s High Injury Pedestrian Network, a map that shows where the most fatal car crashes occur.
Seniors are twice as likely to die in an accident as other residents, according to the report.
Additionally, Oakland and neighboring San Francisco suffered tens of thousands of car thefts last year.
In 2023, the city had more than 15,000 car theft incidents, a staggering 45 percent increase from the previous year.
Raleigh, North Carolina Ranked Best Driving City in America
In March, an angry driver crashed her truck into the car of someone who stole her purse.
In April, an 80-year-old man was left 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 steal,” Lechthaler said. KTVU.
In January, shocking video captured the moment a brazen car thief stole someone’s vehicle at an Oakland gas station.
“We’re screwed,” declared an exasperated police officer at the Chevron police station.
Three gas stations surrounding the Oakland airport have become hotbeds for car theft.
Police claimed that in a single square kilometer, criminals strike a dozen or more times a day, mainly targeting victims heading to and from the airport.
“We can’t do a car chase for non-violent crimes,” the officer told DailyMail.com. “I can go behind cars and try to turn on the 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 who are off work due to disabilities, which is the legal minimum.
In a previous ranking, Oakland was named one of the worst-run cities in the United States.
Forbes conducted its own research to find the worst places to drive nationwide, with Oakland in first place.
Nationally, the city had the sixth-highest gas price, averaging $4.52 per gallon for regular gas, Forbes reported in April.
Oakland residents also pay the eighth highest amount for auto insurance, averaging $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 difficult to achieve.
City planner Warren Logan told ABC7: ‘We actually have money to pave our streets.
“But it does require your City Council to give the Department of Transportation the authority to find a contractor to pave our roads.”
An Oakland street filled with traffic. The city also ranked poorly last year.
He admitted that he was once sent to the emergency room after running his bike over a pothole in Oakland.
After Oakland, WalletHub ranked Philadelphia as the second worst city for drivers. It fell short in the safety and traffic and infrastructure categories.
San Francisco and Los Angeles were third and fourth on the list. Detroit took fifth place.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Raleigh, North Carolina, was crowned the best city to drive in, with the second-cheapest ownership and maintenance costs.
Forbes also ranked Raleigh first, 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.
A clear street in Raleigh. Car ownership and maintenance costs in the city are among the lowest in the country.
Close behind in the overall ranking were Greensboro, North Carolina, the cheapest place to own and maintain a car, and Jacksonville, Florida.
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that 87 percent of daily trips are made by personal vehicles, for a total of 11 billion miles.
“Living in one of the best driving cities can make owning and maintaining a car much cheaper,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.
‘However, costs are not the only factors that matter; The best cities for drivers also minimize travel times and traffic congestion, have accident rates well below the national average, and keep their roads in good condition.’