Tampa ranks 13th-worst city in US for traffic: ConsumerAffairs study

TAMPA - A study by ConsumerAffairs ranked Tampa as having the 13th-worst traffic after studying data in the nation’s 50 most populous metropolitan areas.

"The biggest thing that we saw and what led to (Tampa) getting their traffic rank being so much worse this year was congestion getting significantly worse," ConsumerAffairs media relations specialist Lauren Jobe told FOX 13.

Dig deeper:

To conduct this study, the Oklahoma-based research group pulled data from the Federal Highway Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

ConsumerAffairs looked at three factors: average commute times, daily hours of congestion, and the rate of fatal car crashes. Tampa ranked higher than the national average in all three categories, according to the organization’s research team.

"Roads are now congested for about four and a half hours a day. That's an hour and 45 minutes worse than the year before. So all in all, that adds up to about 40 days a year of drivers stuck in gridlock traffic - and significantly higher than the national average," Jobe said. "So Tampa drivers are spending about a week and a day longer than the average American."

We asked the ConsumerAffairs team why they think congestion has gotten worse in Tampa.

"It can also be a sign of a solid economy," Jobe said. "People moving to Tampa or any other major city: That can actually be a pretty good economic indicator that there's a lot of growth happening."

Researchers found the Tampa driver has an average commute time of 28.3 minutes, which is a 1.1% decrease from last year, but is still higher than the national average (26.9 minutes). Meanwhile, Tampa reported 14.01 fatal car crashes per 100,000 people, which is a 12.8% decrease from last year, but is also higher than the national average (11.33).

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Local perspective:

Several Tampa Bay area drivers told FOX 13 they believe 275 has some of the worst traffic.

So what do they think is causing the congestion on roads across the area?

"The construction -- the constant construction! -- and just people that don't know how to drive," Terrie Mills said.

"I honestly don't know, but it seems like it's that way every single time -- even when we come down to the beach -- every single time, it's always at 275, there's a standstill," Amanda Maggio said. "Traffic is just always, it's horrible."

Big picture view:

According to ConsumerAffairs’ worst traffic list, Miami came in 3rd; Orlando in 12th; Tampa in 13th, and Jacksonville in 23rd. For a look at the full list, click here.