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CNN Live Today

Report Finds L.A. Traffic to be Worst in U.S.

Aired June 20, 2002 - 10:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, a new study on traffic trends tells motorists something that most already know firsthand. We waste a lot of time sitting behind the wheel, and the situation is getting worse.

The report lists Los Angeles as having the worst rush hour in the country. That is followed by San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. It has got folks here in Atlanta wondering how come we are not higher up.

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez shows us what drivers in L.A. face every commute.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All lanes are stopped there, Northbound 405 at Artesia (ph) Boulevard.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Traffic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's really frustrating.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The stop and go traffic, the clogs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is traffic jam, bumper to bumper.

GUTIERREZ: Every year, studies are published on just how bad it is.

(on camera): It is no surprise to those of us who live here that Los Angeles tops the list as one of the worst places to drive during rush hour.

(voice-over): The Texas Transportation Institute just released a new report tracking traffic trends in 75 U.S. urban areas.

(on camera): What researchers found in their study is something that we as commuters know firsthand. I drive 40 miles to and from CNN every day. That's 20 miles one way. The drive should take about 20 minutes. But on the average, it takes me two or three times as long.

(voice-over): It's stop and go most of the way. According to the study, the average American spends 62 extra hours stuck in traffic. But not Angelenos. We top the list at 136 extra hours a year -- in this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have life, but...

GUTIERREZ: Yes, you could. You could you go to 45 baseball games, 68 movies, play 34 rounds of golf, or watch 136 hours of "Larry King Live."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would I go on vacation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Things I want to do -- is spend with my kids.

GUTIERREZ (on camera): Instead?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am sitting in traffic.

GUTIERREZ: So far, we have travelled about 12 miles southbound on the 101. It has taken us about 36 minutes, and believe it or not, with all the stop and go traffic, this is considered a good day.

Sitting in traffic is more than just frustrating -- it costs money, and time and wasted fuel. Again, researchers found that the cost of congestion for those of us who commute in Los Angeles is the highest of any place else in the nation.

(voice-over): Our so-called congestion cost? About $2,500 a year per rush hour driver. Researchers got that figure in part by asking drivers what they thought their time was worth. Compare that to Washington, D.C., about $1,600 a year. Or Detroit, about 1,000 dollars a year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On a motorcycle, you should be able to save tons of money on fuel, but I'm not.

GUTIERREZ: Like it or not, call it the cost of living here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Has too many other benefits to give up just for the traffic.

GUTIERREZ: Even if it means you spend the better part of your day in your car.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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