According to 2006 census data released this week, Americans are leaving home earlier and earlier to beat the rush hour crush and get to work on time.
In 2000, one in nine workers was on the road by 6 a.m. By 2006, it was one in eight.
Robert Smith is one of them. During his commute Thursday morning, Smith called a fellow traveler, Peter Stacy, a lawyer whose commute in southern California lasts about an hour. Stacy leaves his house around 5:30 a.m. to stay ahead of bad traffic, and to be able to leave work early so he can get home before his kids are in bed.
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