Three Canadian cities among best in world for driving — Calgary is No. 1

What makes a city “the best” for driving? Apparently a lot of cold weather and not a lot of hills.

According to the 2019 Driving Cities Index, the city of Calgary is better than any other as far as getting from one place to another in a vehicle. Who knew? Calgarians, even?

The annual survey was conducted by the U.K.’s Mister Auto and measured 100 cities (whittled down from a larger cross section) from around the world, compiling them into a list of best and worst for driving.

“At Mister Auto, we understand that many people spend a great deal of their lives behind the wheel,” says the study.

“Considering that drivers lose over 200 hours a year commuting in the U.S. alone, we decided to delve into the multiple factors that affect motorists on a daily basis.

From infrastructure and congestion, to driver behaviour, our comprehensive study takes a deeper look into cities which are successfully utilizing infrastructure and legislation to improve conditions for vehicle users.”

Surveyors looked at a whole raft of stats and measurements including traffic, road rage, average vehicle age, number of vehicles per capita, accident fatality rate, public transportation quality, road quality, air quality, cost of tax and more.

Calgary found itself at the very top, followed by Dubai in second and Ottawa in third. So, two of the top three “best driving cities” are Canadian cold-weather capitals, and the place in between is pretty much the exact opposite.

Vancouver also makes the top 10 at No. 6, while Montreal secured No. 28 and Toronto No. 51.

The list was anchored by Mumbai, India, which scored one point, compared to Calgary’s 100.