Traffic jams cost Spaniards 1,000 euros a year

Traffic jams are the great problem for drivers who use their car every day. By getting used to them, some of us cope with them more easily than others, testing our composure and patience. But do you know how much time can be lost in the jams we suffer every day in large cities? A study by the European Commission sheds a little light on the matter.

Traffic jams in Spanish cities cost drivers around 1,000 euros a year, according to the study mentioned. Of course, the bigger the city, the higher the likelihood of jams, so it is no surprise that the study tells us Seville, Barcelona and Madrid are the three cities with the most traffic. But beyond the annual cost of these jams, each driver endures around 33 hours a year stuck in them, a figure that is indeed surprising.

The cost of spending 33 hours a year sitting in the car in traffic jams not only represents a high fuel expense, but also affects work activities, lost time and labour competitiveness. But the most incredible figure is that if we add up all the jams across Europe, it is estimated that a jam of more than 7,500 kilometres forms on European roads every day.

Drivers in Madrid and Barcelona suffer the most from traffic jams. For them, and for drivers in other European cities, the EC proposes that working hours be made more flexible, so that not everyone starts or finishes work at the same time. Obviously, a suggestion like this can only be implemented if companies agree to it, and not all of them are willing to do so.

On the other hand, the EC has proposed the use of public transport or the bicycle, something that should be achieved through proper management of public transport, more bike lanes and regulations that allow cyclists to ride more safely while still obeying traffic rules like everyone else.

Source | ABC