Study shows Americans spending more time in traffic

WASHINGTON - Here&#39;s a study almost everyone can identify with. <br> <br> We&#39;re spending more time sitting in traffic. <br> <br> The Texas Transportation Institute&#39;s annual survey of 75 urban areas across the U.S. finds rush hour traffic conditions are lasting longer and are more widespread. <br> <br> Statistics show the average urban motorist in 2000 spent a total of 62 hours sitting behind the wheel during that year -- compared to 16 hours in 1982. <br> <br> Rush-hour drivers in Los Angeles spent the equivalent of more than three 40-hour work weeks sitting in traffic, while those in San Francisco and Washington spent more than two work weeks&#39; worth of time in congestion. <br> <br> Atlanta came in number nine among the 25 urban areas with the longest annual delays per rush-hour driver, with motorists spending 70 hours stuck in traffic. <br> <br> The study also finds that over half of the major roads in the surveyed areas are crowded during rush hour, compared to a third in 1982. <br> <br> And while no one can calculate the amount of stress involved with sitting in traffic, the national cost in wasted time and gas is being put at 68 billion dollars a year.

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