(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Boston making the Top 10 on a Worst City For Holiday Traffic list should surprise no one. Let's be honest, it's bad here year-round!
The team at Fractl published this study a few weeks ago: Is Your City the Worst For Driving in America? Here’s What You Should Know. Their blog post is chock-full of chunky data and cool-looking graphics. And there's a lot about Boston to dive into. Let's take a look at a few of the major takeaways takeaways, to start with.
Fractl "analyzed Boston traffic along seven variables including traffic congestion, stops, and fatalities. Then, they compared this data with the 50 most populous US cities." Below are some highlights.
- Boston ranks #6 WORST US city to drive in
- Still, Boston’s traffic is better than Austin’sandMiami’s
- Boston’s traffic is 16% worse than Atlanta’s and 53% worse than it is out in Worcester
- Boston ranks in the bottom three for distracted driving fatalities and last mile speed
Boston is a Top 10 Worst City For Holiday Traffic
Once you crunch all the numbers, you see why Boston ends up in the Top 10 overall for "Worst Cities For Driving." The criteria used to come to this dubious distinction? Congestion Level, Traffic Jams, Length of Traffic Jams, Hours Lost In Congestion, Last Mile Speed, and Distracted Driving Fatalities. In other words, all the nasty, awful stuff that makes traffic, well, traffic-y.
Add holiday travel patterns into the mix and you end up with a not-so-Merry Christmas for folks on the road in and around Boston. Again, you can take a look at the entire study here. I'll take you through the Top 10 cities below so you can see exactly where Boston ranks and all the other cities you need to be mindful of this holiday season. Oh, and keep this list of Best Cities For Layovers handy, too.
