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D.C. Most Congested Area The Fourth Year Running

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Commuters in the D.C. Metro area waste a whopping 67 hours per year sitting in traffic.
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Commuters in the D.C. Metro area waste a whopping 67 hours per year sitting in traffic.

For the fourth year in a row, the D.C. area takes the top spot as having the worst traffic congestion in the nation.

According to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute's annual report, each commuter wastes an average of 67 hours stuck in traffic each year, the most of any of the urban areas in the study.

The D.C. Metro area also has the highest Planning Time Index, a now measure which accounts for how much extra time commuters need to plan into important trips that take place during rush hour. For District commuters planning on making what could be a 20 minute drive on a good day, they have to allow for nearly 2 hours of buffer drive time, according to the report.

The Metro area also produces the most carbon dioxide during traffic congestion, and wastes 32 gallons of gas per year.

Los Angeles is rankes second, followed by San Francisco, New York and Boston.

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