Driving is Driving Us Crazy

Are your employees always complaining that commuting to work is a pain? Do you completely agree? Well, now it's official.

For the second year in a row, IBM has come out with their IBM Commuter Pain Index to helpfully point out to transportation experts that -- Hey! We could use some help out here! -- so we at AOL's Small Business Autos thought we'd dissect the index to show you how bad things really are.

How bad things really are: Pretty rotten, if we're to be believed. According to IBM's "commuter pain" survey, which questioned over 4,000 commuters, 70% of Americans agree that roadway traffic has gotten worse. Forty-four percent of Americans are reporting increased stress from driving; 25% say they're angrier during their drives than they used to be; 11% are reporting less sleep, though it isn't clear if that's due to worrying about the road, or more likely, waking up earlier, to beat the morning rush.

Reasons why things aren't improving: Lower gas costs. While it's great for the pocketbook that prices aren't what they used to be -- remember $4 a gallon? -- 19% of those polled said that they're carpooling less now, 19% are taking public transportation less than they used to, and 17% are working from home less than they used to. That means we're on the road more.

Worst cities to commute in: In order -- Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Miami, Chicago, Boston, New York, Atlanta, San Francisco, Dallas-Forth Worth and Minneapolis-St. Paul.

How employers can fix things: For this, we spoke to Naveen Lamba, who heads the "intelligent transportation" department at IBM. He's spent the last 15 years of his life working on intelligent transportation projects for governments and companies around the world, in fact. In other words, he knows his stuff, and Lamba says what you'd expect him to: "Employers must, wherever possible, offer workers the opportunity to work remotely." Still, if you wanted validation that your workers having a satellite office at their home might not be such a bad idea, there you go...

The future of commuting: If the government -- federal, state and local -- doesn't improve roads bridges and find better methods for people to commute, "left unchecked," says Lamba, "one hour commutes will become two-hour commutes, and so on. Cities that have moderate traffic congestion today will have the congestion that you see in Los Angeles today. The economic and health costs of such an outcome would be severe."

And in ways you might not predict. Lamba notes that regions that don't get a handle on their traffic may find that some businesses are reluctant to locate offices or plants in an area -- which, Lamba adds, is actually already happening. And so some cities may lose out on opportunities due to companies going where the traffic isn't so bad.

And then Lamba notes that a future with commutes that never seem to end means less time spent with family, exercising, sleeping and enjoying life. That, of course, will affect how you work (which may alleviate one problem -- once you're fired, you won't be commuting). The survey even notes that people who spend the most time on their commute are the most likely to talk on the phone and text while you drive, putting one's safety at risk. It's a pretty grim future for America's employers and employees if something isn't done -- if you imagine the worst and take what could happen to their natural conclusions. It makes one wonder why Hollywood bothers with blockbuster disaster films that involve the apocalypse and Mother Nature. Instead, directors and camera crews might want to consider going out to a few of the nation's busiest freeways, pointing their cameras at the road and start shooting.