Nashville Traffic Costs You 33 Hours a Year

In a recent study by INRIX, they produced a Global Traffic Scorecard. This ranks cities throughout the world according to how bad commuting is in those cities. This information can be found at inrix.com/scorecard. This study ranked Nashville as the 27th worst city in the U.S. for traveling in traffic jams and dealing with congestion. Of the 1,360 cities ranked throughout the entire world, Nashville ranked 150th.

The population boom has caused this very noticeable increase in time spent in the car on the road. So we decided to look into some of the plans and projections for how driving in the area will change over the next twenty years or so.

The report has some truly astounding numbers. The report anticipates 76% more population by 2040 than in 2010 with 86% more volume on the roads. There is also a projected 162% more time spent driving in congested traffic.

The numbers highlight the need for better infrastructure and planning but also a need for those of us driving the roads to use additional patience and care while driving. We all see everyday drivers who take chances, do things that make us shake our heads, or who simply are not being attentive. It is in our individual control to do what we can to make the roads safer for ourselves and everyone else. So, please let’s try and limit the amount of time we lose in traffic and make the roads safer so we all can get home as soon as possible to those we care most about.

Nashville Drivers Spend Many Hours Each Year in Traffic

For example, it estimated that Nashville drivers will spend about 33 hours a year driving in a congested traffic situation. This is far better than say Los Angeles which averaged 102 hours a year lost in traffic. However, that still means sitting in traffic for the equivalent of almost a full 40 hour work week here in Nashville. It is no surprise that traveling in Smyrna to and from Murfreesboro or Nashville the sheer amount of traffic is staggering. These numbers validate the loss in time by simply commuting. Said another way, people in Nashville spend about 11% of their driving time in a congested traffic situation.

Car Accidents Are Often To Blame For Traffic Congestion

Unfortunately, this traffic and driving in congested traffic situations often is the result of car accidents. These accidents all too often are the result of a distracted driving situation. We all want to get home safer and sooner, and the best way to do that is limit distractions while driving. Also, I know sitting in a traffic jam can also test the patience of anyone, especially if the delay is unusually long.