101 Is the Highway From Hell, Study Confirms

LOS ANGELES, CA -- You’ve long suspected it, and now science has confirmed it: your daily commute is the worst.

Driver’s attempting to navigate a stretch of the Ventura (101) Freeway on a daily basis from Topanga Canyon Boulevard to downtown endure the worst slog in the nation,according to a recent study by the Auto Insurance Center. During rush hour, drivers in the Valley can expect to spend an average of 91 minutes in stop-and-go traffic. The trip tops the Auto Insurance Center’s ignoble list of “Highways from Hell: America’s 10 Most Packed Roadways.”

However, it’s not the only LA freeway to make the list - not by a longshot. Six of the nation’s worst commutes crisscross the City of Angels. According to the Auto Insurance Center, the 101 is so bad, it’s both the first and second worst freeway in the nation. Drivers commuting the 26 miles down the 101 from Topanga Canyon Boulevard to Vignes Street have the nation’s worst commute, averaging 91 minutes during rush hour. Drivers heading the 21 miles from Soto Street to Haskell Avenue up the 101 have the second worst commute, averaging 70 minutes during rush hour.

The 10 Freeway from 20th Street 15 miles to Alameda Street is the nation’s third worst with an average rush hour commute of 73 minutes.

Interstate 5 from Cesar E. Chavez Avenue to Valley View Street averages 69 minutes to travel 17 miles during rush hour, making it the nation’s 6th worst commute. Another stretch of the 5 from Artesia Boulevard to Cesar E. Chavez Avenue is 8th on the list from hell, and another stretch of the 10 Freeway from the 5 Freeway to National Boulevard rounds out LA’s slog of shame, coming in at ninth worst in the nation.

Time isn’t the only thing you’re wasting while stuck in traffic. The Auto Insurance Center estimates that traffic costs the average American $960 per year and 19 gallons of gas wasted idling in traffic jams. However, time is the biggest casualty of a bad commute. The most eye-opening finding in the report is just how much time LA area drivers can expect to spend stuck in traffic over the course of a 40 year career: 6.7 months.

“Long commutes are also associated with health issues: Time spent on the road can lead to elevated blood pressure, higher cholesterol, and a heightened risk of anxiety and depression, among other concerns,” the report concludes. “If there’s any way to cut down on your commute – whether moving closer to work or requesting to work remotely some days – you may want to try. One study revealed that when it comes to happiness levels, cutting out a daily hour-long commute each way is the equivalent of earning an extra $40,000 a year."

Photo via Wikimedia Commons