Stats of our lives: The cost of commuting
The monetary and environmental price tag of sitting in traffic — and more in our collection of surprising facts and figures
$818
Cost to the average American commuter, in wasted fuel and time, of sitting in traffic in 2011
5.5 billion
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Extra hours that commuters spend on the road each year due to traffic
56 billion
Extra pounds of carbon dioxide released into the air each year as a result of idling in traffic
Source: The Associated Press
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Samantha Rollins is TheWeek.com's news editor. She has previously worked for The New York Times and TIME and is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
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