10. Rome
Italy has one of the highest car ownership densities worldwide. Accident stats reinforce its reputation as a nation of crazy drivers with little regard for road laws or pedestrian rights of way. Romans are, perhaps, the most aggressive motorists in the nation, if not the world. Cars, Vespas and other vehicles thunder down narrow cobblestone alleys, have no patience for pedestrians and consider road signs to be optional. You can always count on seeing some colorful hand gestures from Roman drivers in thick traffic.
11. Bangkok
Bangkok’s traffic is so thick you can literally taste it in the city smog. Car ownership is a status symbol in the developing Thai capitol, and so today there are five million vehicles on overburdened roadways that shouldn’t cope with more than than two million cars. The result is slow chugging traffic where it can take an hour to get somewhere that should be a ten minute journey. During the rainy season, flash floods are common which can impact the traffic, too.
12. Houston Texas
On September 21, 2005, Hurricane Rita’s scare prompted in a massive evacuation from Houston. About 2.5 million tried to leave the city, resulting in a 100 mile long traffic jam along Interstate 45. Some were stuck in this traffic jam from Galveston to Dallas for 48 hours. When everything came to a standstill, some drivers got out of their vehicles to play catch or chat with their fellow evacuees.
