Los Angeles, Calif.
In 2011, the city of Angels was already the city with the second-worst traffic in the U.S., and since then it’s gotten worse. The average Angelino spent 59 hours in traffic in 2012. The San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405 southbound and northbound), The Santa Monica Freeway (I-10 eastbound), The Riverside Freeway (State Road 91 eastbound), and the Santa Ana, Golden State Freeway (I-5 southbound) were cited as the worst offenders.
Honolulu, Hawaii
Many might not expect to have to deal with traffic in the peaceful state of Hawaii, filled with people who’d rather be on their surfboards than in their cars. But they still need to get to the beach somehow! Honolulu was the second-worst city for traffic in 2012.
San Francisco, Calif.
Traffic rose by 3 percent between 2011 and 2012 in the home of the Golden Gate Bridge, and experts are linking it to the growth in the tech industry. The eastbound drive on the State Road 4 from Bailey to Somersville is ranked the 25th worst section in the country.
Austin, Texas
This southern city with a happening culinary, art and music scene has drawn in the creative types by the hoards. That could be why the average commuter in Austin sits in traffic for 38 hours every year.
New York, N.Y.
New York’s worst highway is The Cross Bronx Expressway (I-95 southbound). Drivers who regularly use it lose six days a year sitting in traffic. Also up there in the ranks as the worst roads of 2012 are the Long Island Expressway (I-495 eastbound), Brooklyn Queens Expressway (I-278 westbound) and the Van Wyck Expressway (I-678 southbound).
Bridgeport, Conn.
Although Connecticut is supposed to be a quiet getaway from nearby New York City, drivers still lose 39 hours a year sitting in traffic here. The scary part is that the city was down by 19 percent in traffic from 2011.
San Jose, Calif.
San Francisco’s quieter suburban neighbor still experiences plenty of traffic. The average driver sits in 31 hours of traffic on the intricate and massive San Jose highway system. Traffic has risen by 6 percent here since 2011.
Seattle, Wash.
Even on a sunny day, Seattle locals experience terrible traffic. Can you begin to imagine what it’s like when the roads get wet in those frequent Seattle rainstorms? Drivers here lose 35 hours a year sitting in traffic, and that’s down 10 percent from 2011.
Washington, D.C.
D.C. has a lot of important places and people, and a lot of places to go. That could be why drivers here lose 41 hours every year sitting in traffic. At least they’re looking at gorgeous architecture.
Boston, Mass.
Because traffic dropped by 22 percent since 2011, Boston is the considered the “best” worst city for traffic in the U.S. But commuters still lose 31 hours sitting in traffic every year.
