Was not the internet, working at home, and GPS units with traffic alerts going to reduce vehicular traffic? Many assumed less cars will be on the road for Rush Hour, because of all our modern technology. Well, maybe more cars would be on the road if we didn’t have Face Time, Skype, or alternate route info, yet a recent study perhaps fails to map out the true cost of traffic.
The study by INRIX and the Centre for Economics and Business Research tells us that sitting in your vehicle, when stuck in traffic, is costing the average household in America, $1,700.00 a year in fuel and time. Yes, that old adage, “time is money” also comes into play here because all this wasted time will cause an increase in the cost of goods.
“Each American stuck in traffic will spend an average of 111 hours per year sitting in it”
Los Angeles is the number one American city for the most traffic and each American stuck in traffic will spend an average of 111 hours per year sitting in it. Forecasters say traffic will only get worse and the study concluded that the cost to Americans stuck in car jam ups last year was $124 Billion dollars.
I beg to differ… Where are the costs to our environment and our physical health from air pollution? Los Angeles may come in first for the most traffic, but don’t they also come in first for the most smog? Additionally, being static in your car doesn’t eliminate noise pollution! What about dripping oil leaks onto the roadways due to owners neglecting their car’s maintenance? That oil will eventually wash, with the rain, into our water systems!
Then there is all the costs to our mental health. You may have seen people stuck in traffic sticking there heads out the car windows and yelling something like, “Get me out of here!” or perhaps, “I can’t take it anymore!”
On the surface, this study appears it didn’t go the full mile, the work didn’t go the distance and it hit a wall half way to the true cost of traffic. So please, do the most you can to avoid getting stuck in traffic. Better still, take public transportation whenever you can. Save yourself money, time and our environment. Thank you.
Bill Lauto, GTG
Environmental Scientist at
GoingTrueGreen.com
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Mr. Lauto has an Environmental Science degree from St. John's University, Energy Auditor Certification from New York Institute of Technology, and Certification in Thermal/Heating from S.U.N.Y. at Farmingdale. He interned at Equitable Environmental Health that brought him to evaluate the environment at LILCO's Nuclear power plant that never opened. As an entrepreneur, he operates EnergyHotwire.com, GoingTrueGreen.com and holds a U.S. Patent with a Trademark on an environmental and energy-related product.
Mr. Lauto has done and managed thousands of energy audits for homeowners. Not one recommended a single action that implied sacrifice. He never stated once that to save money and energy one must turn down their thermostat and wear a sweater. During the 20th Anniversary of Earth Day, Bill Lauto was the Energy Advisor to the Earth Day Committee in New York. Mr. Lauto was the attending expert witness to the press conferences of former New York’s Major Dinkins and Commissioner Mark Green. His expertise has been utilized by power companies such as: the New York Power Authority and the Long Island Lighting Company as well as by Mr. Mark Green, former Commissioner of Consumer Affairs, NYC.
Mr. Lauto has served as the Environmental and Energy expert on several television news and radio talk shows. He has provided information and consulting services on topics such as: air, cooling, heating, lighting, appliances, recycling stations, solar, wind, bio-fuels, hydrogen and water to: Clearwater, Consumer Report Magazine, European American Bank, Home Depot, LILCO, NBC, Macy*s, New York Power Authority, NYPIRG, Time Warner, EPA, thousands of homeowners, celebrities, small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and many government accounts.
Information about Mr. Lauto, his articles, and work have been published in newspapers across the country, including: Consumer Report magazine, Kiplinger's Financial magazine and Business Ethics magazine. Mr. Lauto has been interviewed by ABC news, the New York Times, Cable News L.I. and was in a special television home audit hosted by Al Roker of NBC, but was never aired due to breaking news.
For over twenty years, Mr. Lauto has been stating that we don’t need foreign oil, we have the technology to make America energy independent. EnergyHotwire.com serves to educate the public for free on how to lower energy cost by 60% or more, while GoingTrueGreen.com uses videos and Mr. Lauto's Blog to help dispel mis-information and provide the facts about truly Going Green.
