You spend 62 hours a year stuck in traffic

WASHINGTON - Whether D.C.-area drivers want to wear it as a badge of honor, they have to deal with the second worst congestion in the nation - second only to the smog, clogged roads of Los Angeles.

This year's Urban Mobility Report, considered to be the authority on congestion rankings, delivers the news.

No. 2 is a familiar position for local drivers with this study. It's the same ranking that was bestowed on them in 2007, when the last report was issued. The only difference: In the last report, D.C. was tied with San Francisco for the second worst congestion. Now, the capital region can claim No. 2 all to itself.

"The D.C. region is once again one of the stars of our congestion story," says Tim Lomax, research engineer with the Texas Transportation Institute and co-author of the study. "Congestion is in fact up. The principal cause, we think, is the expansion of the federal government."

So how bad is it? According to the study, the average D.C. area driver spends 62 hours a year - more than a full work week and a half - stuck in delays. That leads to 42 gallons of fuel wasted per driver. The average nationally is 51 hours of delays a year and 35 gallons of fuel wasted per driver.

"The congestion increase or flattening in D.C. stands in contrast to many other places like San Francisco or Atlanta where congestion has actually gone down a little bit," says Lomax.

What's even more troublesome, the report shows that since 1982, no other urban area has seen a greater increase in the number of traffic delays than the Washington area. In 1982, the average local driver spent 16 hours a year stuck in delays - now it's 62, an increase of 46 hours.

"The solutions aren't being deployed in anywhere near a rapid enough rate to address the growing population and job market," says Lomax.

"It's really a case of, we need to do more. More roads and public transportation. But we also need to make better choices as individuals about when we get out on the road. Maybe if some folks can flex time or telecommute, that's a possibility."

As far as the overall congestion picture in the country, there was a slight reduction in traffic congestion since the last Urban Mobility Report was issued. Travelers spent one hour less stuck in traffic in 2007 than they did the year before and wasted one gallon of gasoline less than the year before. High gas prices at the end of 2007 and the current recession are listed as the causes for the reduction.

"This is a very small change," says study co-author and researcher David Schrank. "No one should expect to be driving the speed limit on their way to work because of this."

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