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Poor Road Conditions Cost Area Drivers $2,200 A Year

By: Armando Trull // February 28, 2013
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Traffic accounts for some costs caused by roads, in the form of lost wages.
Traffic accounts for some costs caused by roads, in the form of lost wages.

Lousy roads cost drivers in the D.C. Metro area an estimated $2,200 a year, according to a report from the research group TRIP.

The group says that roads that lack some safety features, have insufficient capacity to meet travel demands, or have poor pavement conditions generate that figure for motorists. The figure includes additional vehicle operating costs and the cost of lost time and wasted fuel due to traffic congestion.

This study also looked at Maryland roads specifically, and found that 41 percent of them need improvement and that a quarter of the state's bridges are in need of repair or replacement.

The report comes at a time when Maryland lawmakers are agonizing over how to pay for the state's transportation needs.

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