Waze study: Thursdays are worst for Los Angeles traffic

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Southern California has some of the most congested freeways in the nation. But could the day of the week actually have an impact on your drive time? The answer is yes, according to a new study.

"L.A. has one of the worst records of traffic in history," said Julie Mossler, a spokesperson for Waze, the free navigation app that helps drivers avoid traffic backups.

Mossler says judging by the speeds of their users, one day in particular is the worst for Los Angeles motorists.

"Thursday is the slowest day. It's the day that they're crawling all over, whether it's highways or side streets," said Mossler.

Waze found that Fridays seem to have most accidents reported by its users. And no surprise -- weekends are the best days to drive.

Even ABC7's Traffic Specialist Alysha del Valle, with a lifetime of living in L.A. traffic and eight years tracking it on the Eyewitness News Morning Show, will tell you Fridays feel like the worst. But she can see how Thursdays can jam up the best-laid plans.

"A lot of people get Friday off, so Thursday is their day to hit the road early. So you have all these people trying to beat traffic and they cause traffic," said Del Valle.

While driving on holidays is often a breeze, Del Valle says it most likely will be short-lived.

"The day after a holiday tends to be really bad. It's almost like drivers got the day off and they forget how to drive. It's really awful out there," said Del Valle.