Los Angeles is the second largest city in the United States. There are over 5.8 million cars registered in the county, which contains over 10 million people.

As a result, traffic is often terrible in Los Angeles, and surrounding counties. In a Caltrans study from this month, Los Angeles was judged to have four of the top five worst traffic bottlenecks in the state, with a stretch of Orange County freeway the only exception at number two on the list.

Los Angeles is likely the worst city as far as traffic, but the outlook compared to the rest of the country is not much better. Los Angeles often tops lists of the worst metropolitan areas in the country.

According to a California Department of Transportation report, the worst stretch of freeway to drive on is the section of Interstate 5 that lies between the 710 and 605 freeways. This 5.8 mile stretch can take 40 minutes or more during rush hour. On that stretch of the freeway, commuters waste 47 total years annually.

Even during the middle of the day, traffic is still bad in the worst stretches. At 2:00 on a Tuesday, there were at least five freeways where the speed was below twenty-five miles per hour, according to Sigalert.com.

Traffic is a way of life in Los Angeles. Avoiding traffic is often nearly impossible, and wastes large amounts of time for the many Los Angeles residents. Taking advantage of modern technology, from websites such as Google Maps, or apps like Waze, is a great timesaver, but even the gains from great routes are minimal.

Los Angeles is one of the most populous areas in the world, which means that there are great museums and sports teams packed in a dense area, but also comes with a major downside. With so many people driving to work, traffic is an unavoidable consequence for many.