Has Traffic Spoiled the American Dream?

Sept. 10, 2001 -- Atlanta-area commuters lose an average of 53 hours of their lives sitting in traffic delays every year, while Los Angelenos kiss about 56 hours goodbye annually for the same reason.

Metropolitan area dwellers are behind the wheel an average of 90 minutes daily, according to the latest national traffic figures from the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), an agency that collects data on 68 urban areas across the nation.

Atlanta schoolteacher Mary Anna Elsey told ABCNEWS' Good Morning America that she often sits in traffic for 20 minutes at a time on Georgia Highway 400, moving a distance that seems like about five feet. Hands clenched on the wheel, she worries about being late for work.

"I'm a nervous wreck, I mean just an absolute nervous wreck," Elsey said. "In the past year I've developed an ulcer. My doctors have told me, "Get off of 400."

In fact, she might be better off somewhere in South Dakota, according to TTI research. The states with the shortest commutes are those with large and wide-open spaces: Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana, and the Dakotas. North Dakota has the lowest average commute, at 15.4 minutes. (Tell us about your commute)

Hazards of Highway Air

The highway Elsey takes, GA 400, is one of Atlanta's many jumbled and jammed highways.

"You're completely stopped on the highway," she said. "You might go, you know, 20 miles an hour for a little while, then slow down to nothing."

It's not just stress that makes commuting in traffic dangerous. Researchers are discovering that breathing highway air is linked to various health problems.

"People are in their cars being exposed directly to diesel exhaust. At the same time we're generating more ozone in the atmosphere, and this is causing more asthma attacks," said Dr. Gerald Teague, head of Emory University's Asthma Clinic.

In the 68 urban areas the TTI studies, congestion cost a total of $78 billion in wasted fuel and lost time in 1999, with an estimated 4.5 billion hours of delay and 6.8 billions of excess fuel consumed. The combined costs are up 39 percent since 1990, TTI said.

Tee Time?

In cities across the nation, millions of people have moved to the suburbs in search of picket fences and backyards where their children can play. But instead of realizing the American dream, they ended up riding a national nightmare.

Atlantans Michael and Lisa Parks wanted to live next to a golf course, and now they do. But the costs of doing so went beyond the price of the house: Michael's two- to three-hour daily commute cuts into time with his family.

"My little daughter, who's now 3, I put her to bed each night and one of the last things she'll always say to me is, "Will you be here in the morning when I wake up?" Parks said.

To avoid the worst traffic, Parks leaves home around 6:15 a.m. He multitasks as he drives in.

Parks said he tries to make the most of the time he is in the car. "I listen to books on tape. Then I make a lot of phone calls," he said.

Medical studies have linked long commutes to a series of health problems, including high blood pressure, sleep deprivation and depression. Despite that, the Parks family will keep things as they are for now.

"We moved there for the quality of life and for my children, and I still think it was the right decision," Parks said.

At one time the highways in the Atlanta area may have stood for progress and growth, but to Elsey, they symbolize loss.

"I think it stands for a loss of family, a loss of children. We're all so busy with our commutes and doing our jobs that we're not working as a family unit," she said.

And even though he now lives on a golf course, Parks finds he has little time to play. He gets out on the green one day a week. The rest of his time is split up between his family, his work and his daily commute.