Dubai is second only to Canada's Calgary when it comes to the driving experience, according to the 2019 Driving Cities Index study by Mister Auto.
The survey ranked 100 cities on three main criteria: infrastructure, safety and costs. Under infrastructure came factors such as congestion, road quality, average car age and air quality. Safety measured road rage and fatality rates. Costs included those of parking, petrol and road tax.
Close on the (w)heels of Calgary's perfect score of 100, Dubai scored 97.87.
The top three factors working in the emirate's favour are: low cost of petrol, relatively less congestion, high-quality roads and low annual road tax by affordability. Compared to Calgary's 93.82 air quality score, though, Dubai got 39.26, however, sand in the atmosphere can affect that rating.
Here are some more interesting findings...
10 best cities for drivers
1. Calgary, Canada
2. Dubai, UAE
3. Ottawa, Canada
4. Bern, Switzerland
5. El Paso, United States
6. Vancouver, Canada
7. Gothenburg, Sweden
8. Dusseldorf, Germany
9. Basel, Switzerland
10. Dortmund, Germany
10 worst cities for drivers
100. Mumbai, India
99. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
98. Kolkata, India
97. Lagos, Nigeria
96. Karachi, Pakistan
95. Bogota, Colombia
94. Sao Paulo, Brazil
93. Mexico City, Mexico
92. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
91. Moscow, Russia
The study threw up several more interesting insights about drivers and their experiences in other cities around for world.
Road rage
Osaka and Tokyo in Japan have the least incidents of road rage, while eight of the 10 worst cities are also listed as those with most incidents of road rage, with the exception of the two Brazilian cities.
Dubai comes in at number four out of 100 - meaning we're all far calmer than we think during peak hour on Sheikh Zayed Road.
Quips aside, Sebastien Rohart, managing director of Mister Auto, says road rage is an important factor in one's driving experience.
"Everyone has witnessed or been a victim of road rage at some point in their lives, but certain cities are more prone to this. The frequency of road rage is a revealing indicator of a city’s overall driving culture,” says Rohart.
“Firstly, it's a measure of the aggressiveness of its drivers, and secondly, it exposes the level of frustration experienced due to stressful city driving conditions like traffic and congestion.”
Car age
The oldest cars are to be found on the streets of Mumbai, Kolkata and Athens, while Dubai has the lowest average car age in the world, followed by Singapore and Tokyo.
Road quality
Switzerland takes top honours here, with Geneva, Zurich and Basel all scoring a perfect 100, while Dubai comes in at number 10. The worst roads are to be found in Lagos, Bogota and Rio.
Fatal accidents
The highest fatality rates are in Lagos, Orlando and Mumbai, while Manchester has the lowest rate of accidental deaths during driving. Out of 100 cities, calculated by per 100,000 inhabitants, with Lagos at number 100 and Manchester at one, Dubai was number 66 on this particular index.
Congestion
Malmo in Sweden and El Paso in the US both score 100 in the best average daily congestion score. Of the 100 cities, Dubai is the 18th least congested, while Mumbai is the most congested city in the world.
Parking
Sydney, New York and Brisbane are the three most expensive cities, paying between $39.23 and $30.87 for two hours of parking, while Mumbai is the cheapest, at $0.45 for two hours.
Dubai is the 24th most expensive city in the world parking-fee-wise.
Best public transport
The New York metro ranks first, followed by public transport in Singapore and Tokyo, while you wouldn’t want to be getting on a bus or train in Karachi anytime soon. Dubai came in 83rd on the list for this, but the bus, metro and tram systems here are developing rapidly.
Petrol
Fortunately, Dubai is the second cheapest city in the world to fuel up. Lagos, Nigeria, has the cheapest petrol at Dh1.47 per litre, while drivers in Oslo, Norway, shell out the most for petrol – at Dh7.02.
