For five weeks, the FIFA World Cup 2026 put 11 US cities at the center of the world’s biggest sporting event, drawing millions of fans from around the world and across the country. The tournament provided a unique opportunity to explore how a large-scale global sporting event influences driving behavior around host cities and stadiums.

CMT analyzed driving behavior across every match in all 11 US host cities, from the tournament’s first match in the US on June 12 through the Final on July 19. We measured distracted driving, hard braking, and slow-speed congestion across the travel network surrounding each stadium to understand how the World Cup affected road safety and traffic.

This analysis highlights the most significant findings from each host city, uncovers key behavioral trends across the tournament, and includes an interactive dashboard to explore the driving behaviors from every match in each city in detail.

For more insight into how the analysis was conducted, visit our Group Stage Analysis.

The tournament had a measurable impact on driving behavior across the 11 host cities. Distracted driving increased on 78% of World Cup game days, while hard braking increased on 53% of game days. The highest-risk period came after matches ended, with distraction increasing after 88% of games.

Host City Highlights

Los Angeles:
Distraction increased after all eight matches

Los Angeles averaged a 4.4% increase in distracted driving across eight matches. Distraction increased after all eight matches, averaging 11.4% above baseline, with four of five group-stage matches exceeding 14%. The United States vs. Paraguay opener resulted in one of the city’s two highest post-game distraction increases (+16.6%). Hard braking also increased after seven of eight matches, averaging 6.7% above baseline post-game.

Boston recorded the tournament’s highest increases in distracted driving (+8.9%) and near-stadium congestion (+79%). Post-game distraction increased after every match, rising 22.1%, while hard braking increased 20.3% after matches.

Norway vs. Iraq produced the city’s largest distraction spike (+40.8%), while Germany vs. Paraguay generated the city’s highest congestion surge (+272.2%). Post-game hard braking averaged 12.9% during the group stage, then increased up to 41% during the knockout rounds.

New York/New Jersey:
Largest post-game congestion surge of the tournament.

New York/New Jersey averaged a 3.1% increase in distraction across eight matches. Post-game distraction increased after every match, though the rate varied considerably, ranging from 2% to 13.8% above baseline. The city’s biggest roadway impact came from congestion, with Norway vs. Senegal producing the tournament’s largest post-game traffic surge (+527.2%) and contributing to a 69.3% average increase in near-stadium congestion.

San Francisco:
Home to the tournament’s two largest distraction spikes.

San Francisco recorded the tournament’s second-highest average distracted driving (+8.5%) across six matches. Post-game distraction averaged 22.7% above baseline, with all six matches recording increases after the final whistle. Austria vs. Jordan (+63.6%) and Paraguay vs. Türkiye (+50.4%) resulted in the tournament’s two largest distraction spikes. Hard braking declined 4% overall and averaged a 13.4% reduction while matches were underway.

Dallas:
Highest average hard braking across the tournament.

Dallas recorded the tournament’s highest average hard braking increase (+7.5%). Post-game hard braking rose after every match, averaging 23.7% above baseline. Jordan vs. Argentina produced the tournament’s largest hard braking spike (+78.3%). Post-game distraction averaged +11.9%, with all four knockout matches also recorded post-game distraction increases of at least 5%.

Houston:
Hard braking increased after six of seven matches.

Houston averaged a 3.4% increase in distracted driving across seven matches. Hard braking increased after six of seven matches, averaging 18.6% above baseline post-game. Portugal vs. DR Congo generated the city’s largest hard braking spike (+41.4%), while Portugal vs. Uzbekistan climbed from +24.5% before kickoff to +32.5% after the match. 

Philadelphia:
One of the few cities where distraction remained elevated during matches.

Philadelphia averaged a 2.6% increase in distracted driving across six matches. Unlike most host cities, distraction remained elevated during play in five of six matches, including an 11.3% increase during France vs. Iraq. Post-game distraction exceeded 6% in only three matches. Hard braking remained below baseline throughout most of the group stage before increasing across every travel window during the Round of 16 between Paraguay and France.

Atlanta:
One of the tournament’s most stable host cities.

Atlanta averaged a 1.5% increase in distracted driving across eight matches. Post-game distraction averaged 4.9% above baseline, while hard braking declined 0.7% overall. Morocco vs. Haiti produced the city’s largest post-game distraction increase (+14.6%). The semifinal between England and Argentina generated increases of just 0.4% in distracted driving and 0.5% in hard braking.

Miami:
Congestion exceeded 50% in six of seven matches.

Miami averaged a 1.2% increase in distracted driving across seven matches. Near-stadium congestion averaged 75.2% above baseline and exceeded 50% in six of seven matches. Colombia vs. Portugal produced the city’s largest roadway impacts, including a 10.4% increase in post-game distraction, a 21.6% increase in hard braking, and a 199.8% surge in congestion. Distracted driving and hard braking otherwise remained comparatively stable throughout the tournament.

Seattle:
Lowest average distracted driving of any host city.

Seattle recorded the tournament’s lowest average distracted driving increase (+0.6%) and saw hard braking decline 3.9% overall. Both metrics remained near or below baseline throughout most of the tournament. The Round of 16 matchup between Belgium and the United States produced the city’s highest post-game distraction (+12.4%) and hard braking (+6.4%). No other match generated a comparable increase.

Kansas City:
Hard braking showed some of the tournament’s greatest variability.

Kansas City averaged a 3.8% increase in distracted driving across six matches. Hard braking fluctuated more than almost any other host city, ranging from a 15.1% post-game decline following Algeria vs. Austria to a 25.3% post-game increase following Colombia vs. Ghana. Unlike most host cities, distraction also frequently remained elevated while matches were underway rather than easing during play. The city’s biggest roadway impacts came from congestion, with Argentina vs. Algeria (+350.2%) and Tunisia vs. Netherlands (+215%) generating two of the tournament’s largest post-game traffic spikes.

Behavioral trends across the tournament

1. Distraction increased in the pregame, eased during the match, and spiked after the game

Across the host cities, distraction followed a similar rhythm. It increased as fans traveled to matches, moderated while games were underway, and then climbed again after the final whistle as crowds dispersed. In 41 of the tournament’s 78 US matches (53%), distraction was elevated both before and after the match, with both periods exceeding distraction levels during play. The post-game period was consistently the riskiest, with distraction increasing in 88% of post-game periods (69 of 78 game days). 

2. Distracted driving remained the tournament’s biggest risk 

Distraction increased more consistently than hard braking throughout the tournament. Distraction increased during 78% of game days (61 of 78 game days), compared to 41 game days (53%) for hard braking. Before and during matches, hard braking frequently remained near baseline or even declined, then rebounded after the final whistle. The findings showed that keeping drivers off their phones remained the tournament’s most persistent road safety challenge.

3. Every host city had its own risk profile

While game days followed a similar behavioral pattern, roadway impacts varied considerably across the 11 host cities, with few consistent regional trends emerging. Boston led the tournament in distracted driving (+8.9%), yet neighboring Northeastern host cities New York/New Jersey (+3.1%) and Philadelphia (+2.6%) experienced smaller increases than both San Francisco (+8.5%) and Los Angeles (+4.4%). The clearest regional trend was in Texas, where Dallas (+7.5%) and Houston (+6.5%) recorded the tournament’s highest average hard braking. Elsewhere, roadway impacts were shaped more by the nature of individual cities than by the region itself.

4. Suburban stadiums saw the greatest congestion

Near-stadium congestion varied widely across host cities, but suburban stadiums generally experienced the largest increases in slow-speed congestion. Boston (+79%), Miami (+75.2%), and New York/New Jersey (+69.3%) recorded the tournament’s highest average congestion. All three stadiums are located outside the urban core. Meanwhile, Atlanta (+23.4%), Seattle (+11.3%), and Philadelphia (+34%), whose stadiums are in more urban areas, saw smaller increases. 

5. The group stage generated the most road risk

Road safety was more consistently impacted during the group stage. Distracted driving increased in 44 of the 52 group-stage matches (85%), compared with 17 of 26 knockout matches (65%). Average post-game distraction also declined from +10.8% during the group stage to +6.3% during the knockout rounds. While roadway impacts became less widespread during the knockout rounds, several marquee matches continued to generate significant spikes in risky driving, including Boston’s knockout games, the semifinal in Dallas, and the Final in New York/New Jersey.