Atlanta's drivers aren't quite as bad as you think, Forbes study says
Traffic enters Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021. Residents of the Atlanta area are experiencing the worst inflation among major U.S. cities, with October prices up 7.9% from a year ago -- more than double the rate in San Francisco. P
ATLANTA - If you ask drivers in metro Atlanta, they'll tell you it's a perilous city to navigate.
Rush hour seems perpetual, and Atlanta itself feels like it's an hour away from Atlanta.
On Interstate 285, the minimum acceptable speed is 80 mph. Meanwhile, on I-75 and I-85, drivers are expected to match their speed with the highway number.
Stopping at a stop sign or a yellow light might just invite a rear-end collision.
But honking? Better think twice; it could escalate into something more dangerous.
Road construction is constant, and potholes are a permanent fixture.
Watch out for pedestrians, possums, dogs, cats, deer, squirrels, discarded furniture, electric scooters and traffic cones—they're all potential hazards.
And if you're attempting a left turn, be prepared for other drivers to speed up and block you.
If someone has their turn signal on, they probably hit it accidentally. Drivers in Atlanta don't use turn signals.
For many, driving in Atlanta feels like participating in a competitive and dangerous sport.
And each morning, residents are inundated with reports of crashes and traffic delays by the local media, making them rethink their commute.
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Surprisingly, Atlanta doesn't crack the top 10 of cities with the worst drivers, according to Forbes Advisor. It ranked No. 16 in their latest study of cities with the worst drivers.
Forbes took a look at the 50 biggest cities and considered factors like total fatalities, drunk driving fatalities, distracted driving fatalities, and speeding-related fatalities over the past five years to determine their list of 25 cities with the worst drivers.
Albuquerque, New Mexico, took the dubious honor of having the worst drivers, followed by Memphis, Tennessee; Detroit, Michigan; Tucson, Arizona; and Kansas City, Missouri.
Memphis, coming in second, also had the highest rate of fatal crashes involving drunk drivers.
Three Texas cities—Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio—make the top 15.
As for Atlanta, 15.43 people per 100,000 city residents were killed in crashes, 3.77 of those involved alcohol, 0.28 involved distracted driving, and 3.33 crashes involved speeding.
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So, the next time you are sitting in traffic in Atlanta, just console yourself with the fact that there are places where it is worse.
Unfortunately, Forbes Advisor also says that fatal car crashes are steadily increasing across the country, with the number of deadly crashes increasing by nearly 10% between 2020 to 2022.