If you’ve lived in the Cincinnati area for a while (or even driven through) you’re familiar with traffic delays. There’s the annual onslaught of orange barrels, disappearing lanes and unanticipated detours, and other slowdowns due to weather, shopping seasons, and roads accommodating more and more vehicles every year.

If you drive more than a few miles around here, you’ve seen it. Drive from Blue Ash to Price Hill at 4 p.m., or from Covington to Kenwood at 5:30, and prepare for an exercise in patience.

All this time lost to traffic and now been documented nationwide by the Texas Traffic Institute, in their recent 2011 Annual Urban Mobility Report. Thankfully, while we’re not nearly the worst, we’re far from the best. Some of the general findings include:

• The average commuter was delayed and average of 34 hours each year.
• Congestion costs an estimated $750 per every commuter in the United States.
• Traffic congestion is increasing outside of the typical “rush hour” and creating significant issues for business delivery and production.

Out of 101 urban areas evaluated, Cincinnati ranked 27th, the highest-ranked Ohio urban area. Cleveland was the next most congested at 28th, followed by Columbus at 36th. The most congested area, boasting the greatest amount of time lost to traffic? The New York/New Jersey area. The rest of the top five, in order, are Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and Philadelphia.

For more information, visit the study’s website.

Whether you’re driving in traffic from Mt. Lookout, Walnut Hills, Hyde Park, or Finneytown, we’re ready to serve you with free estimates, answers to questions about auto body repair, or anything we can do for you or your car. Give Nate or Jason a call at 513-631-2406 or email us at cccollision@gmail.com.