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A view of Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai. Image Credit: Antonin Kélian Kallouche/Gulf News Archives

Dubai: The multi-lane highways, low petrol prices and a relatively low incident rate of road rage has qualified the city of Dubai to take the second spot for the best city in the world for driving.

A French-based survey was released on Wednesday, ranking 100 global cities to determine which were the best, and worst, destinations for drivers.

According to the report, the best city in the world for driving was Calgary, Canada, while Ottawa and Bern, Switzerland were ranked third and fourth respectively.

The results indicated that drivers in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia experienced the most incidents of road rage, while drivers in Osaka, Japan experience the least.

The study took three factors into consideration when drawing up comparisons and how to decide which city made a good location to drive: infrastructure, safety and costs.

“Despite advances in the accessibility of transportation, cars remain the most commonly used mode of transport in the world. Whether running on fuel or electric power, cities will continue to have to make adjustments so that they can accommodate the flow of vehicles,” said Sebastien Rohart, Managing Director of Mister Auto.

“Our study shows that while many cities already have the infrastructure and legislation in place, there’s still a lot of work to be done towards making driving safe and affordable across the board,” he said.

To determine a city’s infrastructure, a number of factors were examined, such as the number of cars per capita, traffic congestion, road and public transport quality , among others. Air quality levels were also investigated in order to determine the city's commitment to providing fresh air and good visibility for its drivers and citizens alike.

Finally, the costs associated with driving in each city were evaluated, including not only the price of combustibles and annual road tax paid in each location, but also the purchase parity of each country to determine how affordable driving was for its inhabitants.

Top 10 cities for drivers

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The Bow Tower in downtown Calgary, Canada. Image Credit: Corbis
  1. Calgary, Canada
  2. Dubai, UAE
  3. Ottawa, Canada
  4. Bern, Switzerland
  5. El Paso, USA
  6. Vancouver, Canada
  7. Gothenburg, Sweden
  8. Dusseldorf, Germany
  9. Basel, Switzerland
  10. Dortmund, Germany

Worst cities for drivers

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An aerial view of Mumbai city skyline. Image Credit: Pixabay
  1. Mumbai, India
  2. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
  3. Kolkata, India
  4. Lagos, Nigeria
  5. Karachi, Pakistan
  6. Bogota, Colombia
  7. Sao Paulo, Brazil
  8. Mexico City, Mexico
  9. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  10. Moscow, Russia

Cities with least incidents of road rage

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Couple asian women wearing traditional japanese kimono in sakura garden in Osaka, Japan. Image Credit: Supplied
  1. Osaka, Japan
  2. Tokyo, Japan
  3. Singapore, Singapore
  4. Dubai, UAE
  5. Graz, Austria
  6. Copenhagen, Denmark
  7. Zurich, Switzerland
  8. Essen, Germany
  9. Dusseldorf, Germany
  10. Bremen, Germany

Cities with the most incidents of road rage

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A view of Ulaan Baatar, the capital of Mongolia, where poor and rich neighborhoods co-exist Image Credit: For The Washington Post
  1. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
  2. Moscow, Russia
  3. Karachi, Pakistan
  4. Kolkata, India
  5. Lagos, Nigeria
  6. Mumbai, India
  7. Istanbul, Turkey
  8. St. Petersburg, Russia
  9. Bogota, Colombia
  10. Mexico City, Mexico

Source: Driving Cities Index 2019