Poor road conditions costing drivers big money in vehicle upkeep costs; rural roads in poor shape

Poor road conditions are costing residents in six states—Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, California, Oklahoma and Michigan—more than $600 per year per driver in extra vehicle upkeep costs, according to analysis from TRIP, a national transportation research group, Christopher Ingraham reports for The Washington Post. The average cost per state is $400-$500, with only two states—Minnesota and Tennessee—below $300. 

A report released last year by The Road Information Program, funded by lobbies interested in highways and their safety, found that one-third of rural roads in some states are rated as poor, while TRIP says federal transportation data from 2012 gave 15 percent of the nation's major rural roads a poor condition rating and another 40 percent a mediocre or fair rating. (Post graphic)