On Average, Atlanta Drivers Will Spend, Over a Lifetime, 484 Days in their Cars

ATLANTA – On average, Atlanta drivers will spend, over a lifetime, 484 days in their cars commuting to and from work.

But time isn’t the only expense that comes with navigating Atlanta’s roads.

Researchers at EducatedDriver.org, a driver safety website, calculated how much time drivers spend commuting, how much money is spent and how many miles commuters log in 100 major U.S. cities.

For its study, EducatedDriver determined the average driver spends 11,250 days working/commuting over the course of a 45-year career.

Then, it “used data from the U.S. Census Bureau on average daily round-trip commute distances, as well as data from AAA on the total cost per mile of operating a vehicle (60.8 cents per mile for the average sedan when gas, insurance and maintenance costs are considered).”

The average American, according to the study, “will spend $108,727 on gas and vehicle maintenance costs associated with commuting, while driving 173,203 miles to and from work in their lifetime.”

Atlanta drivers, however, don’t get off that easy. Atlanta commuters will spend $182,886 and 288,000 miles over the course of a lifetime — more than in any other city in the survey.

Dallas and Houston tied for second place, with $174,314 and 274,500 miles.

Landing high on a ranking of worst commutes is nothing new to Atlanta.

A 2017 INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard ranked Atlanta as having the eighth-worst traffic congestion in the world for the second consecutive year.