A report released today shows traffic at its worst levels in 30 years. The report, by Texas A&M Transportation Institute and traffic monitoring firm Inrix, ranks Los Angeles second after Washington D.C. for worst traffic levels in the nation, with LA commuters averaging 80 hours annually in traffic related delays.
Bill Eisele, is a senior research engineer and a co-author of the study. He says as the economy improves from the recession, it's likely traffic will continue to get worse. "The average commuter in Los Angeles is wasting 25 gallons of gas annually, just by sitting in traffic."
With more people on the roads, Eisele says it's important that improvements are made to our current transportation system. "If we see this continued economic activity without additional resources put towards our transportation system, we will see congestion levels get worse."
The national average of time spent in traffic is 42 hours annually per driver.