Is Houston One Of The Worst Cities To Drive In?

Let’s be honest, there are no great cities to drive in. Not in real life, not even in Grand Theft Auto. But some are less awful than others.

A new national study ranked 100 U.S. cities to find the best and worst places to drive, using 30 different factors like traffic, gas prices, parking, and maintenance costs.

And somehow… Houston landed at #66.

Sixty-six?! Clearly, whoever did this study has never tried to merge onto I-45 at 5 p.m. while dodging a guy hauling a mattress, another doing 95 in a Dodge Charger, and three separate F-150s driving like they are audition for the next “Fast & Furious” movie.

Meanwhile, Texas still came out looking good overall, Corpus Christi topped the entire list, with Laredo, Lubbock, Plano, and Austin also cruising in the top ten.

The worst cities? Philadelphia, Oakland, D.C., New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Detroit, L.A., San Jose, and Baltimore.

But come on… if Houston’s only 66th, this list must’ve been made by someone who’s never spent an afternoon trying to merge from I-45 to 59. Around here, driving isn’t transportation, it’s survival training. Never have the words “defensive driving” been more literal!

So congratulations to the other Texas cities. As for Houston? We’ll keep our chaos, our potholes, and our unspoken rule that blinkers are optional. Because if you can drive here, you can drive anywhere, and probably need a vacation afterward.

Doug O’Brien