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What city has the safest drivers?

Washington, D.C. — A new study from U.S. News & World Report's 360 Reviews finds Boston to be the top city in the U.S. for safe driving, followed by New York City (No. 2) and Honolulu (No. 3).



According to the 2026 Numbeo Safety Index and global traffic accident statistics, Abu Dhabi, UAE and Qingdao, China consistently rank at the top for driver safety and overall road security. Abu Dhabi has held a top-three position for over a decade due to its rigorous traffic enforcement, high-tech "smart" road monitoring systems, and exceptionally well-maintained infrastructure. In Europe, cities like Oslo, Norway and Helsinki, Finland often report the lowest traffic fatality rates per capita, largely due to "Vision Zero" policies that prioritize pedestrian safety and low speed limits in urban cores. In North America, cities in the Pacific Northwest and parts of Canada (like Ottawa) often score higher for "driver courtesy" and lower accident frequency compared to the high-density hubs of the Northeast. Driver safety in these cities is typically a result of a combination of strict licensing requirements, heavy investment in automated traffic cameras, and a cultural emphasis on "defensive driving" rather than speed.

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1. Brussels, Belgium. Brussels takes the top spot as the hardest city to drive in, with an overall score of 23 out of 100. In Brussels, the average person spends 236 hours in rush hour a year, with the average speed during this time being 12.4 mph.

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The 10 U.S. cities with the worst drivers, based on ConsumerAffairs' analysis, were:
  • Memphis, Tennessee.
  • Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
  • Albuquerque, New Mexico.
  • Macon, Georgia.
  • St. Louis, Missouri.
  • Cleveland, Ohio.
  • Detroit, Michigan and Victorville, California (tied)
  • Hesperia, California.


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The state of Washington was ranked number one. This study considered the requirements to obtain a driver's license and the difficulty of the written exams and road tests.

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Key takeaways. The worst cities for driving are New York City, Chicago, Miami, Austin, and Los Angeles. Chicago drivers lost an average of 104 hours to traffic congestion during peak rush hour in 2021.

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