U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Vehicle Technologies Office

Fact #433: July 17, 2006
Road Congestion

The congestion on our nation's highways continues to worsen. In 2003 road congestion caused a delay of 3.7 billion hours (total), which in turn wasted 2.3 billion gallons of fuel. The graph below compares recent congestion statistics with those of the two previous decades.

Congestion Statistics, 1982, 1993, 2002, and 2003
Graph showing the effect delays caused by road congestion have on the amount of gasoline wasted during the last two decades. For more detailed information, see the table below.

Supporting Information

Congestion Statistics
Year Total Hours of Delay (billions) Total Gallons of Wasted Fuel (billions)
1982 0.7 0.4
1993 2.4 1.3
2002 3.6 2.2
2003 3.7 2.3

Source: Schrank, David, and Tim Lomax, "The 2005 Urban Mobility Report" Texas Transportation Institute, The Texas A&M University System, May 2005

 

Return to 2006 Facts of the Week