What those officials rarely acknowledge is how much that four-wheeled love affair is actually costing us. Various research studies conducted over the last 20 years strongly suggest that commuting by car — which is how 91 percent of residents in metro Atlanta get around each day — is not only expensive, but also takes a serious toll on our health and quality of life. A new term has even been coined to describe the deleterious effects of sitting behind the wheel for too long, "Repetitive Driving Injury," or RDI.

Drivers with poor posture at the wheel are risking what a British ergonomics expert calls repetitive driving injury, an ailment similar to the repetitive strain injury that has dogged the computer industry.

Professor Mark Porter says almost half of Britain's 30 million drivers are at risk of long-term muscle, joint and spinal injuries from the painful new medical condition.

The Loughborough University lecturer says his research revealed the five most common RDI injuries are foot cramp (81 per cent), lumbar pain (74 per cent), stiff neck (74 per cent), side ache (74 per cent ) and headache/eye strain (73 per cent).

Poor posture is causing many motorists to suffer what experts are calling repetitive driving injury (RDI) according to eBayMotors.co.uk

As many as 48% of drivers could be RDI victims as they are not adjusting their car seats properly.