By Richard J. Ashton, Chief of Police (Retired), Frederick,
Maryland; and Grant/Technical Management Manager, IACP n a
perfect world, we could drive from here to there in the actual
time required to do so at lawful speeds and in obedience to
traffic control signals. However, every commuter knows that we
do not live in a perfect world. Drivers and passengers who
typically traveled during peak periods in 439 U.S. urban areas
spent 34 additional hours in 2010—20 more than in 1982—traveling
at congested speeds rather than at free-flow speeds. Further,
they wasted 14 gallons of fuel in 2010—8 gallons more than in
1982. The time lost equated to four vacation days and, when
coupled with wasted fuel, translated for the average commuter
into an expense of $713 in 2010 compared to an inflation-
adjusted $301 in 1982.1 Aside from the obvious frustration that
traffic incidents evoke in highway users, traffic incidents
cause about one-quarter of the congestion on U.S. roadways, and,
for every minute a freeway lane is block