New report ranks Seattle among the worst U.S. cities for drivers

(The Center Square) – Many Washington state drivers may not be surprised to learn that Seattle is one of the worst cities to drive in, according to a Tuesday report from WalletHub.

The personal finance website compared the 100 largest cities across 30 key metrics – including gas prices, traffic congestion and road maintenance – to determine its rankings.

WalletHub’s report found Americans lose an average of $733 per year due to time spent in traffic.

"Seattle ranks 92nd among 100 cities for driver experience largely because of persistent traffic congestion, high vehicle maintenance costs, and frequent rainy days,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo told The Center Square. “Other challenges include high parking and gas costs, and when combined with the city's frequent precipitation – where it ranks 98th – can further slow commute times.”

Lupo offered up some possible solutions to the Emerald City’s traffic woes.

“Addressing Seattle’s traffic congestion issues and perhaps exploring public transit options could alleviate some of the city’s driving difficulties,” he said, “which would make commutes safer, smoother, and potentially less costly."

WalletHub’s ranking of Seattle was in line with an April Forbes study that rated Seattle as the 18th worst big city in the nation for drivers.

The Forbes report found Seattle had 4.36 fatal car accidents for every 100,000 residents, and 602 car thefts per 100,000 residents.

A previous WalletHub report from January ranked Washington as the second worst state for drivers, besting only Hawaii.

The Center Square contacted the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) for comment on the most recent WalletHub study and received the following response from RB McKeon, WSDOT's Northwest Region Communications Manager.

"Years of underfunding both the highway Operations & Maintenance and Preservation programs have put our transportation system in jeopardy. And unfortunately, there is a significant funding shortfall. The current Maintenance & Operations and Preservation backlog is approximately $1.1 billion per year, and that is only expected to grow as funding fails to keep up with growing needs. Given current backlogs, it would cost $2.07 billion each year to meet all of WSDOT’s maintenance and preservation needs, but the agency receives less than half that. In the meantime our maintenance and operations crews manage emergency repairs as they are needed on all state highways across the region."

The five best cities for drivers, according to WalletHub, are:

1. Raleigh, N.C.

2. Boise, Idaho

3. Corpus Christi, Texas

4. Greensboro, N.C.

5. Jacksonville, Fla.

The five worst cities for drivers are:

100. Oakland, Calif.

99. Philadelphia, Pa.

98. San Francisco, Calif.

97. Los Angeles, Calif.

96. Detroit, Michigan