Photo: www.life.time.com
Nobody can deny that congestion is certainly the biggest nuisance for drivers all over the world. But some major cities are considerably more gridlocked in slow moving traffic than others according to the most recent TomTom Americas Traffic Index.
It's also fair to point out that snail speed traffic results in rising levels of boredom, which leads to potentially hazardous distractions as cell phone usage. Even Jimi Hendrix covered this subject in "Crosstown Traffic".
But as opposed to the rock legend's love for traveling with no set destination, most of us travel by car on a daily basis because we have places to go out of necessity. So which are the most congested cities in the Americas?
As it happens, TomTom Americas Traffic Index hints that Brazilian city Rio de Janeiro is the worst place to find yourself in the driver's seat, closely followed by Mexico City. The study shows that their average delay from congestion is 55 percent and 54 percent respectively. What that basically means is that for every hour traveled in heavy traffic you lose most of those 60 minutes crawling at speeds under 5 miles per hour.
Compared to the two cities previously mentioned, L.A. has it pretty easy even though it's ranked as North America's most traffic-laden metropolis with its 36 percent average delay from congestion. That comes as no surprise if you take into account that the Los Angeles metropolitan area had circa 18.1 million residents in 2011. Vancouver, Canada sits marginally better, being rated at 35 percent, while other mentionable congested cities are San Francisco, Honolulu and Seattle.
On the lighter end of the scale, TomTom ranked Richmond, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Kansas City as some of the better places to commute by personal vehicle. The average delay from congestion level won't surpass 10 percent in these cities according to the Dutch sat-nav manufacturer's study.
You can check out the full 74-page TomTom Americas Traffic Index study by following this link.
But as opposed to the rock legend's love for traveling with no set destination, most of us travel by car on a daily basis because we have places to go out of necessity. So which are the most congested cities in the Americas?
As it happens, TomTom Americas Traffic Index hints that Brazilian city Rio de Janeiro is the worst place to find yourself in the driver's seat, closely followed by Mexico City. The study shows that their average delay from congestion is 55 percent and 54 percent respectively. What that basically means is that for every hour traveled in heavy traffic you lose most of those 60 minutes crawling at speeds under 5 miles per hour.
Compared to the two cities previously mentioned, L.A. has it pretty easy even though it's ranked as North America's most traffic-laden metropolis with its 36 percent average delay from congestion. That comes as no surprise if you take into account that the Los Angeles metropolitan area had circa 18.1 million residents in 2011. Vancouver, Canada sits marginally better, being rated at 35 percent, while other mentionable congested cities are San Francisco, Honolulu and Seattle.
On the lighter end of the scale, TomTom ranked Richmond, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Kansas City as some of the better places to commute by personal vehicle. The average delay from congestion level won't surpass 10 percent in these cities according to the Dutch sat-nav manufacturer's study.
You can check out the full 74-page TomTom Americas Traffic Index study by following this link.
Google News