According to a new report from the popular online finance, education, and health magazine NerdWallet, New York City, the city Alicia Keys calls the “concrete jungle where dreams are made of,” has earned itself the distinction as the worst city in the United States for drivers. The report notes that with the average annual insurance rate being north of $1600, the Big Apple is the most expensive place for drivers to keep a car on the road. Insurance agencies typically inquire as to how a car is being kept when a driver applies for coverage. In the case where vehicles are parked along the road, as they frequently are in New York, rates tend to be higher. It’s all about risk.
Traffic, Auto Theft Add to the City’s Reputation
Of course, there’s a lot more playing into New York’s dubious distinction than insurance rates. The city sees just south of 40,000 auto thefts per year. Compared to the 24,000 in Los Angeles and the 6,700 in Boston, it’s not hard to see the city as a hostile place for drivers.
New York’s legendary traffic also plays a key role in earning the city its spot as the worst city for drivers in the States. As reported by The Atlantic, drivers in New York will spend just shy of 60 hours a year trapped in congested traffic as a result of their daily commutes to and from work. In this case, New York City is well behind Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and San Francisco, but taken together with the other less- than-driver-friendly features of the Big Apple, it’s no wonder why 55% of New Yorkers opt to take public transportation to get to work and otherwise enjoy everything one of the greatest cities in the world — minus the driving situation — has to offer.
