Commuters in some of America’s largest cities wasted nearly 60 hours of their lives sitting in rush-hour traffic jams last year, according to the annual National Traffic Scorecard compiled by traffic and navigation service provider INRIX in Kirkland, Wash.
Still, this represents a 30 percent drop in congestion over 2010, and is largely attributed to the still-sputtering economy. “What these results suggest is a ‘stop n’ go economy’ where a lack of employment combined with high fuel prices is keeping Americans off the roads,” says Jim Bak, co-author of the National Traffic Scorecard.
Here’s INRIX’s list of the 10 cities in America having the most congested roads, noting along the average time spent wasted in traffic, versus driving when roads are typically clear:
1. Honolulu (58 hours)
2. Los Angeles (56 hours)
3. San Francisco (48 hours)
4. New York (57 hours)
5. Bridgeport, Conn. (42 hours)
6. Washington, D.C. (45 hours) 7. Seattle (33 hours) 8. Austin, Texas (30 hours) 9. Boston (35 hours) 10. Chicago (36 hours) — Jim Gorzelany © CTW Features