Truck Topics

Going Nowhere Fast

Sitting in traffic for hours is enough to make even the most saintly driver cut loose with a stream of very imaginative epithets. It's a nuisance for the typical motorist who is commuting to and from work, going to the grocery or taking the family to grandma's house, but for the freight transportation industry, traffic congestion is a giant sponge that sucks time, money and fuel from our transportation system.

The estimated cost of this congestion to trucking is 243 million hours lost each year sitting in traffic and a cost of $7.8 billion annually. It’s frustrating, nerve-wracking and expensive, but the experts in traffic matters tell us that it's only going to get worse.

The U.S. Department of Transportation projects that by 2016, total vehicle miles traveled will increase about 2.5 percent annually, while truck vehicle miles traveled will increase more than 3 percent annually.

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) projects that freight tonnage hauled by truck will grow nearly 33 percent in that same time period.

Bob Costello, the ATA's Chief Economist says, ìI expect congestion in Washington D. C., but when you encounter it in places like Louisville, Kentucky, and Des Moines, Iowa, you know you have a problem. Traffic congestion is now moving beyond metropolitan areas and into freight corridors.

The primary culprit for this congestion? Bottlenecks, say the traffic analysts.

Bottlenecks at interchanges, intersections, steep grades and lane reductions account for about 40 percent of vehicle delays, according to an FHWA study.

The remaining 60 percent of delays can be attributed to construction zones, crashes, breakdowns, extreme weather and other factors.

Breaking it down, interchange bottlenecks cause the most truck hours of delay, estimated at about 124 million hours annually in 2004 with a price tag of $4 billion per year (assuming a conservative $32.15 per hour).

If no major changes are instituted, experts say, conditions will only deteriorate. Unless real improvements in highway capacity or efficiency occur, population and economic growth and the resulting demand for freight transportation will push overburdened roadways beyond their limits.

The FHWA estimates that without major capacity investments, by 2020, 29 percent of U.S. urban highways will be congested or exceed capacity for much of the day and 42 percent will be congested during peak periods. (FHWA’s Highway Performance Monitoring System considers a roadway intensely congested when traffic volume approaches 90 percent to 95 percent of the road’s capacity.)

The American Trucking Associations projects that freight tonnage hauled by truck will grow nearly 33 percent by 2016. At the same time, the U.S. Department of Transportation projects total vehicle miles traveled will increase about 2.5 percent annually, while truck vehicle miles traveled will increase more than 3 percent annually.

Because of industry deregulation, competition and just-in-time manufacturing, we've cut the cost of transportation in half, says one analyst. Much of this efficiency stems from industry deregulation, competition and just-in-time manufacturing, he says. “Truckers have done their part to make the system as efficient as possible,” he adds.

Perhaps the most important aspect of congestion is the impact it has on safety. It stands to reason that when highways are over-crowded with drivers vying for sometimes non-existent traffic openings at exits and entryways, there is an increased likelihood of accidents. One expert estimates congestion is a factor in up to 13,000 of the 43,000 lives lost annually in traffic accidents.

And what about the driver frustration that traffic congestion can cause? Does it lead to aggressive driving and even road rage?
Truckers, who witness more bad driving than other motorists, certainly think so. Two-thirds of respondents to a 2006 Overdrive magazine survey said congestion is a major contributing factor in road rage.

The bottlenecks and traffic congestion that rob all of the motoring public of time, money and safety will continue to affect transportation and the nation’s economy for the foreseeable future or until massive spending programs tied to long-range traffic planning are implemented.



The Top 10 Highway Interchange Bottlenecks For Trucks
(October 2005 Federal Highway Administration study: An Initial Assessment of Freight Bottlenecks on Highways)

CITY: Buffalo-Niagara Falls
LOCATION: I-90 at I-290
DAILY TRUCKS: 33,100
ANNUAL DELAY: 1.66 million hours


CITY: Atlanta
LOCATION: I-285 at I-85 Interchange (Spaghetti Junction)
DAILY TRUCKS: 27,100
ANNUAL DELAY: 1.64 million hours


CITY: Phoenix
LOCATION: I-17 (Black Canyon Freeway) AT I-10 Interchange to Cactus
DAILY TRUCKS: 28,900
ANNUAL DELAY: 1.60 million hours


CITY: Chicago area
LOCATION: I-90/94 at I-290 Interchange (Circle Interchange)
DAILY TRUCKS: 26,300
ANNUAL DELAY: 1.54 million hours


CITY: Los Angeles
LOCATION: San Bernardino Freeway
DAILY TRUCKS: 34,900
ANNUAL DELAY: 1.52 million hours


CITY: Chicago area
LOCATION: I-94 (Dan Ryan Expressway) at I-90 Skyway Split
DAILY TRUCKS: 31,600
ANNUAL DELAY: 1.51 million hours


CITY: Atlanta
LOCATION: I-285 at I-75 Interchange
DAILY TRUCKS: 25,700
ANNUAL DELAY: 1.50 million hours


CITY: Los Angeles
LOCATION: S.R. 134 at S.R. 2 Interchange
DAILY TRUCKS: 29,600
ANNUAL DELAY: 1.49 million hours


CITY: Charlotte
LOCATION: I-77 at Tryon Road
DAILY TRUCKS: 29,600
ANNUAL DELAY: 1.49 million hours


CITY: Los Angeles
LOCATION: Long Beach Freeway
DAILY TRUCKS: 27,500
ANNUAL DELAY: 1.38 million hours