Three of the Top 20 Cities For Hours Lost To Drive Time Are In Texas

Since I’ve been a resident here in Central Texas (almost five years now) I’ve been told that people around here don’t measure driving distance by miles, they measure it by time.

Get our free mobile app

A new study shows that Texas is home to three of the top 20 cities in the nation for lost hours due to drive time.

Driving in Texas

It's been well documented that Texas is one of the deadliest states in America to drive in, so when I hear about all the 'lost hours' of time we spend driving, I immediately assume it's because of an accident. As it turns out, accidents aren't always the reason we spend so many hours of our life in traffic.

Traffic Report

According to 24/7 Wall St, a book out of 2018 titled 'Traffic' by Tom Vanderbilt cited drivers who fail to drive with the flow of traffic, ignoring better merging techniques, are the problem. This leads to the traffic congestion that can have you sitting in traffic for an extended amount of time.

Vanderbilt also notes that our lack of using mass transit systems also leads to more congestion. More cars on the road = more traffic = more congestion.

The same book also says that building new or widening existing roads only encourages more people to drive, and can lead to slower traffic.

Drive Time in Texas

Now that we know what leads to all this wasted time spent in traffic, let's look at what cities have the most hours lost to drive time. According to the list, the most hours lost are in New York with 80 hours lost per year, Los Angeles with 75 hours, and Miami with 64 hours lost per year.

Texas has three cities that check in to the top 20, with McAllen, Austin, and Houston all placing at number 16 on the list, with 45 hours lost per year.

My suggestion is to turn up the radio, and use that time to listen to your favorite station. It's basically therapy when you need it the most. AZ & Tamme will help you get through the tough times on I-35!