Does commute seem shorter? Report confirms less traffic

(CNN) — Americans are spending less time stuck in traffic and wasting less gas, according to a new report.

Rising joblessness and stinging gas prices have put the brakes on worsening trends in traffic congestion, according to a study issued Wednesday by the Texas Transportation Institute, the nation’s largest university-based transportation research facility.

“It’s temporary, but real,” said institute spokesman Bernie Fette about the declines. “As goes the American economy, so goes traffic. There’s fewer people going to work.”

The institute attributed the changes to the recession, but the U.S. economy did not begin to slow significantly until the end of 2007.

CNN