U.S. Cities with the Most Traffic

One of the reasons that the United States consumes 25 percent of the world's fossil fuel is that, as far as traffic is concerned, the U.S. has some of the world's most congested cities.

Two main sources that report on the most congested cities in the United States are INRIX, a company that advises government entities, and the Texas Transportation Institute, an arm of Texas A&M University.

Their two lists of America's most congested cities are not identical. While Los Angeles tops both, INRIX ranks New York City second, while the Texas Transportation Institute ranks the Big Apple way down in ninth place.

Traffic Congestion Reduced for "Wrong" Reasons

The rise in gasoline prices that started late in 2007 and the economic downturn that emerged in 2008 are having at least one good side effect, according to the Texas Transportation Institute. Cities across the nation are encountering less traffic.

Researchers from the Texas A&M group also report that in calendar year 2007:

- Traffic congestion's cost was $87.2 billion. This figure is reached by combining the lost productivity of motorists stalled in traffic with the fuel that is burned while their vehicles are at a standstill. Broken down, this adds up to an average of more than $750 for every American traveler.

- The wasted time added up to 4.2 billion hours, nearly the equivalent of a 40-hour workweek for each motorist.

- More than 2.8 billion gallons of fuel were wasted, or roughly three weeks' worth of gas for every traveler. Explained in a different manner, approximately 6 percent of the gasoline that is consumed in the United States is burned in traffic congestion.

How Many Hours Spent in Traffic Congestion?

The Texas Transportation Institute also breaks down time spent in traffic on a city-by-city basis. Figures for calendar year 2008 start with Los Angeles at 70 hours stuck in traffic for a typical motorist, followed by Washington D.C. at 62 hours, Atlanta with 57 hours, Houston with 56 hours, San Francisco with 55 hours, Dallas 53 with hours, Detroit with 52 hours, Miami with 47 hours, and New York City and Phoenix at 44 hours each.

Researchers say Americans' motoring habits are the prime cause of traffic congestion. Census findings indicate that 81 percent of workers commute to their jobs in personal motor vehicles rather than taking public transportation. Of those workers, 66 percent drive to work by themselves and fewer than 15 percent carpool.

Sources:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/accidents-hazardous-conditions/traffic5.htm

www.inrix.com/companyoverview.asp

http://scorecard.inrix.com/scorecard/

http://tti.tamu.edu/

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Story?id=8031697&page=1

www.nrdc.org/air/energy/fensec.asp