Cheapest cars, most distracting songs, riskiest roads: We studied the studies so you won’t have to
How much does owning a vehicle cost in 2026? What’s the harm in switching songs while driving? Where are the most dangerous highways?
Every day, splashy, new transportation-related studies are churned out and dispatched to the Daily Herald. We’ve distilled the information overload into five things that are good to know.
First up, AAA reports the average cost of owning and operating a new vehicle in 2026 is about 11% higher than in 2025. Researchers found drivers will pay about $1,072 a month — $12,863 annually — for expenses ranging from fuel and financing to repairs and maintenance.
Those numbers were about $965 monthly, or $11,577 yearly, in 2025 and $894/$10,728 in 2022.
AAA integrated hybrids and EVs with standard vehicles into its annual Your Driving Cost analysis this year.
The change allows consumers to “better understand how total ownership costs vary by powertrain,” Automotive Engineering Director Greg Brannon said in a statement.
Other takeaways: EVs had “twice the depreciation of gas-powered models; electrics were 66% to 70% cheaper to fuel than traditional models; and hybrids “were the most consistently lower-cost alternative to gas,” AAA concluded.
Perilous corridors
What are Illinois’ most lethal roads? Not surprisingly, they include several in the metro area, a study of Illinois Department of Transportation data from 2021 through 2025 by Chicago’s Walner Law firm concluded.
For sheer volume of fatalities, the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) in Cook County ranks highest with 145 individuals perishing over five years.
Interstate 94 in Cook County was the second, with 135 individuals dying in collisions.
The Eisenhower Expressway earns the dubious honor of most crashes per mile with 19,944 between 2021 and 2025.
But based on deaths per mile, the riskiest highway is I-255 in St. Clair County near St. Louis. Seventeen people died on the short corridor over five years, which translates into a rate of .78 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles, higher than the three other highways.
Parking paradoxes
Transportation analysts INRIX recently calculated the easiest and hardest cities to find street parking midday on weekdays.
Sadly, Chicago was sixth worst in North America to find a spot. The most parking-hostile metropolis was Boston, followed by New York City, Philadelphia, Austin, Texas, and Seattle.
Conversely, Colorado Springs, Colorado has the most available spaces followed by Las Vegas, West Hollywood, California, Fort Worth, Texas, Beverly Hills, California, and Raleigh, North Carolina.
Siren call
Two new studies outline how the ostensibly simple task of selecting music while driving is risky.
A report in The Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that music streaming spikes by 43% on album release days by major music stars like Taylor Swift, Drake, Harry Styles, and Kendrick Lamar. On those same days, traffic fatalities across the nation increased by about 15%, data from 2017 to 2022 showed.
“These findings suggest that online music streaming through smartphones is associated with distracted driving and traffic fatalities,” scientists said.
Stick to smooth jazz?
In the same vein, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends spending no more than 2 seconds at a time taking your eyes off the road to perform a task, and 12 seconds total.
However, an analysis from the law firm Wettermark Keith shows that dashboard touch screen surfing often exceeds that benchmark.
Playing around with Spotify via Apple CarPlay can mean looking away for up to 14 seconds, and up to 20 seconds using Android Auto, the law firm said.
One more thing — songs with tempos faster than 120 beats per minute (BPM) have been “linked to unconscious acceleration and impulsive decisions,” researchers said.
What’s considered fast? “Chicago” by Michael Jackson is 176 BPM, “Mr. Brightside” by the Killers is 148, while “stupid song,” by Olivia Rodrigo is 128 BPM.
Got a transportation question or comment? Drop an email to mpyke@dailyherald.com.