Traffic at Worst Level in 30 Years

Traffic in 2014 was worse than during any year since 1982, according to a study to be released Wednesday. Based on numbers examined by Texas A&M’s Transportation Institute and the data analysis firm Inrix, commuters spent an average of 42 hours in traffic last year. The numbers also claim that this time resulted in 3.1 billion gallons of wasted fuel, and cost the economy $160 billion. “It follows the economic thread,” said one of the researchers, because traffic decreased during the recession. “There’s clearly this relationship that the higher congestion levels are a downside of this increase in economic activity.”