Richard Read – The Car Connection – “When it comes to predicting and tracking traffic trends, INRIX is the go-to authority. The company says that traffic congestion surged in 2013, growing over three times as fast as the U.S. economy. According to INRIX, traffic in the U.S. reversed two consecutive years of declines with a six percent increase in 2013. The country’s GDP, by comparison, grew 1.9 percent last year. INRIX suggests that continued economic growth will result in more traffic congestion, longer commutes, and more productivity losses. (We’re not so sure: see below.) Not surprisingly, INRIX found the country’s worst traffic in Los Angeles, California. There, drivers lost 64 hours to traffic jams last year. Rounding out the ten most congested metro areas were Honolulu, HI; San Francisco, CA; Austin, TX; New York, NY; Bridgeport, CT; San Jose, CA; Seattle, WA, Boston, MA; and Washington, DC. INRIX also identified some future trouble spots. Traffic in Colorado Springs, CO is up a whopping 58 percent from last year. It’s trailed by Charleston, SC; Grand Rapids, MI; Little Rock, AR; Providence, RI; Salt Lake City, UT; Riverside, CA; Boston, MA; Denver, CO; and New Haven, CT.  Traffic is worsening in Europe, too, where stats have also ticked up after two years of decline. Commuters have it roughest in Belgium, where they wasted 58 hours of their lives in traffic last year. The Netherlands, Germany, France, and Luxembourg round out the top five.”

• INRIX’s Traffic Congestion Scorecard for 2013