Worst 5 U.S. Cities For Traffic (& Tires)

Why are we writing about cities with the worst traffic? Because stop-and-go traffic takes a toll on your vehicle and your tires. The quickest way to wear down your brakes and tires? Speeding, hard braking, quick turns and aggressive driving.

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If you think about the type of driving you do in traffic, this makes sense: Your car wasn’t built for frequent braking, sudden acceleration, and stationary idling for long periods!

In this article, we’ll overview the 5 cities with the worst traffic in America, then suggest how to avoid driving in heavy traffic, and explore potential effects that traffic congestion can have on your car. 

What’s In This Post

Cities in US With Worst Traffic 

These rankings were determined by TomTom GPS maps, which evaluates the average travel time per 6 miles and the congestion level of major cities across the world. We narrowed the search to just the United States. 

New York, NY

• Average travel time per 6 miles: 30 min 1s
• Congestion level: 30%

New York City usually finds itself at the top of lists because of its high population density and high volume of bridges and other bottlenecks that slow down driving. Many Manhattan residents forgo having a car entirely in favor of bikes, walking, and public transportation. These modes of transport can be equal to or better than the speed of driving!

San Francisco, CA

• Average travel time per 6 miles: 25min 37s
• Congestion level: 32%

San Francisco is another city with notoriously bad traffic. Many workers commute into the city by driving rather than taking public transportation and, as a result, the traffic gets pretty bad around rush hour. San Francisco also has its fair share of bottlenecks, such as the bridge that connects Oakland to downtown.

Honolulu, HI

• Average travel time per 6 miles: 19 min 56s
• Congestion level: 34%

This may be surprising, but Honolulu’s high population density and lack of space for roads make traffic especially bad. The islands of Hawaii are known for their mountainous terrain that’s difficult to build roads on or through. It’s surrounded by ocean, of course, which makes building new roads difficult. Most commuters have few options to avoid traffic. 

Chicago, IL

• Average travel time per 6 miles: 19 min 10s
• Congestion level: 31%

As another one of the largest cities in the U.S., Chicago has some of the worst traffic as well. The usual suspects are here: Commuter traffic and highway bottlenecks. However, Chicago does have a good public transportation network. The main issues cited are the sudden increase in freight traffic over the past few years. The city has yet to adjust to so many trucks on the road, and the traffic can usually get pretty bad. 

Philadelphia, PA

• Average travel time per 6 miles: 18 min 54s
• Congestion level: 22%

Philly’s bad traffic is attributed to a few factors. Some drivers cite the design and layout of the city itself. With short merging lanes onto highways, it’s difficult to efficiently enter and exit faster traffic. The city is undergoing construction to update its layouts and improve traffic. However, many commuters prefer parking outside the city and taking public transportation to downtown. 

How to Avoid Rush Hour Traffic

Public transportation

If you need to commute to a major urban center, it may save you time and energy to take a bus, train, or subway into the city rather than driving. The quality of public transportation will vary from city to city. Even if you can’t reach your destination entirely through public transit, you may still be able to get into town using a park-and-ride service. This is where you drive to a designated parking lot and board a train or bus to get into the city. 

While this is a great way to avoid driving in traffic, this won’t necessarily make it quicker to get into a city. Public transportation can be just as slow as driving, especially depending on how frequently it stops and how many buses or trains are running.

Try Moovit, a mobile app that helps you navigate bus and public transportation lines and schedules around the U.S. Available for Apple and Google Play.

Go in early, leave early

If you’re making a one-time trip into a city or need to cross a high-traffic area, try to plan your route so you won’t hit it around rush hours. This means driving before 8 a.m. or after 7 p.m. Sometimes, you’ll see breaks in traffic around midday while most people are working. 

For the daily commuter, this is more difficult. It may benefit you to talk to your manager, supervisor or HR office about options to come in earlier and leave earlier to avoid traffic. 

Try a different route

Rush hour traffic actually has two segments: morning and afternoon. The general flow is people going into the city during the morning and out of the city at night. If you’re finding yourself stuck in a traffic jam on your regular route, try different routes and time them to see if your commute improves. Sometimes, leaving 5 minutes earlier can make a 15-minute commute time difference.

You may also try a different GPS app if the one that you’re using is often hitting traffic. Most GPS apps include options for avoiding highways; try that! Some apps are more conscious of the current traffic situation and accidents/slowdowns and will help you avoid them.  

Consider alternative modes of transportation

Depending on the length of your drive, and the laws of your state, you may be able to mitigate the worst of traffic by driving a smaller vehicle. This is most effective in states like California, where lane splitting is legal. Lane splitting is where you drive between car lanes to bypass traffic. Proceed with caution!

Some cities have added bike lanes for bicyclers to get in, out and around. A bike, e-bike, or scooter can be a great choice if you don’t have to go very far and want to avoid the traffic! And of course, if you are able.

Can Driving in Traffic Damage My Car and Tires?

Bumper-to-bumper stop-and-go traffic puts a lot of wear on your vehicle. It’s one of the worst conditions to drive in for a reason. It’s slow, boring, produces low gas mileage, and can be very frustrating. But it is also bad for your brakes and tires. This is because you’re switching between frequently braking and accelerating over and over, wearing down your brake pads and rotor faster than normal. 

Extend the life of your brake pads

To brake properly in traffic, slowly press down the pedal to avoid any tire wear damage. While driving on the freeway, when you’re moving, try not to brake often. Instead, be aware of the road in front of you and where you need to go. You can get the same slowdown effect from letting your foot off the accelerator. 

• Don’t rapidly accelerate and brake.
• Leave a safe following distance between you and the car in front of you, and let go of the frustration aggressive drivers cause when they fill that gap.
• Take your foot of the accelerator to naturally allow your vehicle to slow.
• Gently tap the brakes.

By adopting a safe braking technique, you can make your brake pads last longer.

Maximize fuel efficiency

You use a lot of fuel with aggressive driving, as your engine uses the most fuel when you accelerate. When on a highway moving at high speeds, you’re actually not accelerating very much. You usually lightly press the accelerator to maintain speed. If you have cruise control, this process is automated. But in heavy traffic, you’re using gas constantly to speed up and then slow down to a full stop. 

Pay attention to your car’s temperature when in traffic, especially during the summer. Your car can’t cool down as efficiently when driving slowly, and you may need to turn down or turn off your air conditioner to avoid overheating, particularly in older cars. 

• Try to maintain a safe, cruising speed, even if it is below the speed limit (but within the flow of traffic).
• Avoid rapid acceleration; gradual acceleration uses less fuel.

Reduce tire wear in heavy traffic

If you’re in bumper-to-bumper traffic and slamming on the brakes, it may put extra strain on your tires. Slamming on the brakes may cause your tires to slide against the road, which can scratch and wear the tread. 

Likewise, avoid speeding up the moment there’s a space in front of you. In traffic, you should keep a length of two cars in front of you so you don’t have to accelerate and brake to a full stop as often. This will prevent you from suddenly slamming the brakes when the vehicle in front of you stops moving. 

Keep an eye on your brake pads and brake rotors if you’re frequently driving in traffic. These components will wear down if you’re frequently braking and can result in damage to your vehicle’s braking system if not maintained. 

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