Complaining about traffic is an American pastime. Traffic congestion in most major U.S. cities has been a problem since the 1960s, and residents of Los Angeles, New York, Houston and many other major cities literally spend dozens of hours every week sitting in their cars on bumper to bumper freeways. That said, it turns out LA is the only U.S. city in the top ten worst cities for traffic in 2015, and the City of Angels barely cracked the list at 10th.
The TomTom Traffic Index is an annual report produced by the GPS maker of the same name. The TomTom Traffic report looks at data from 146 cities worldwide to determine which metropolitan areas have the most congested traffic and the longest wait times.
Details on the 2015 TomTom Traffic report – Istanbul has the worst traffic
Istanbul, Turkey has the worst traffic in the worst traffic in the world. A drive that would take 30 mins in average driving conditions takes a solid hour during evening rush traffic. Residents of Instanbul spend up to 125 hours stuck in traffic every year. The highway system is especially clogged in Istanbul, with a 79% congestion rate.
Mexico City second worst traffic
According to TomTom Traffic, Mexico City suffers from the second worst traffic of any city across the globe. With a 55% overall congestion rating, the average person spends more than 110 hours annually in his or her unmoving car in traffic.
Rio de Janeiro has third-worst traffic problems
Despite major highway expansions over the last decade or so, Brazil biggest city, Rio de Janeiro, still suffers from major traffic issues. The TomTom report notes that Brazil has the third-worst global traffic among the 146 cities examined with a 51% congestion rate. The average Brazilian spends at least 99 hours stuck in her car waiting for traffic to clear.
Los Angeles is 10th worst city worldwide for traffic
TomTom Traffic reports that Los Angeles came in 10th in the 2015 worst traffic cities report with a 39% congestion rate. The average Angeleno will spend around 95 hours in their car stuck in traffic this year.
