Are you a traffic lemming?

[StageLeft]

Are you the sort of person who would sit in traffic with everyone else or devote all your waking moments to identifying the quickest way around?

For the past 6 weeks I've been going to work about 20 miles away. The direct route is up the 65 and it takes 30 minutes if traffic is good or 50 if it's bad. However recently I found that if I go out of the way up the 459, then west on the 20 - doing two ends of the triangle instead of just one on the 65, although I'm doing a good 30 miles I can get there in 30 min regardless of traffic! It's sweet times, baby.

Then coming home from work there is a big exit ramp that people line up at and you can spend seriously 15 minutes getting on the freaking road that you want to be on, but if instead you drive one exit further, maybe two miles each way, you can shave a whack of time off the trip.

Thing is most people obviously just go the direct route, whereas if you detour a little bit not only is the drive infinitely more relaxing, but also a good bit quicker.

Why am I posting this? Boredom.

 

[gopunk]

well i don't devote all my waking moments, but i do look for faster routes.... yes...

 

[Evadman]

I love my faster routes. I am glad I have 4 wheel drive. show me some grass, and I am all good

 

[Fausto]

Kind of. I spend time perusing maps of metro atlanta looking for alternate routes I can take on my bicycle in order to avoid main roads (and thereby lessen my odds of becoming road kill). Fine with me if I have to ride a few extra miles.

I only do the alternate route thing in my car if traffic on the main route is at a dead stop. People cutting through residential areas in their cars (usually at 50+ mph :|) has gotten bad enough around here that they've had to install those damn "traffic calming" (an utter misnomer) humps in many of the side streets to keep speeds down.

 

[ElFenix]

faster is good. slower is still good if you're moving the whole time rather than parked in traffic. with commutes at 10:45 am and 8:15 pm i don't have much of a problem.

 

[yellowperil]

Actually, I enjoy sitting in rush hour traffic.




What kind of question is this? Quickest route always, whenever possible.

 

[Viper GTS]

Perhaps now that I can see well enough to read traffic signs I might try alternate routes, but previously if I deviated from my normal route I was in trouble since I:

1) Don't know my way around very well

And

2) Couldn't read street signs

#2 is partly dependant on #1, since I typically only drove places I was familiar with the route to - as in I had ridden with someone previously.

Viper GTS

 

[HappyPuppy]

I get paid travel time and mileage to and between my calls. The longer it takes me to get somewhere the less work I have to do each day. So, on one hand I'm not a traffic lemming, but on the other hand I don't care if it takes me 3 hours to travel 30 miles either.

 

[mithrandir2001]

You should see the serpentine route I take when I go home in the evening.

In the morning, I make a left out of my residential street onto a state route and take that 5.5 miles to my office building. Very straight and simple.

In the evening, that same route is horribly clogged with cars. Why the difference? In the morning, I'm on the road at around 9:45AM. Almost everybody is at work. At night, you've got people leaving work late, soccer moms putting around and people driving to restaurants and whatever. The roundabout way I go home requires almost 8 miles and it's probably no faster than taking the state route but it's basically non-stop driving. Few things aggravate me more when driving than waiting 2-3 cycles to get through a signal light. I wil go out of my way so that I'm not idling and bored.

 

[Aves]

I do the same, I want a smooth quick ride so if I see trouble, like backed up cars I avoid it.

If you are talking about the exit ramp I think that you are, we frequently go past it and save a good bit of time and more importantly frustration.

 

[MrDingleDangle]

i've tried finding the faster route, did that for about a year, but then i realized i live in Los Angeles and there is traffic everywhere, so there is no "fastest route"

 

[bmacd]

Originally posted by: gopunk
well i don't devote all my waking moments, but i do look for faster routes.... yes...

-=bmacd=-

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: aves2k
I do the same, I want a smooth quick ride so if I see trouble, like backed up cars I avoid it.

If you are talking about the exit ramp I think that you are, we frequently go past it and save a good bit of time and more importantly frustration.

Where the 65 South merges onto the 459 and then immediately onto the 31. Generally I'll drive along the 459 and either take the next exit and turn around or, if I can find a nice gap, go in at the last second. I shaved off about 10 minutes doing that last night; you can often find somebody who isn't paying attention and leaves a big gap to go in

 

[Aves]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: aves2k
I do the same, I want a smooth quick ride so if I see trouble, like backed up cars I avoid it.

If you are talking about the exit ramp I think that you are, we frequently go past it and save a good bit of time and more importantly frustration.

Where the 65 South merges onto the 459 and then immediately onto the 31. Generally I'll drive along the 459 and either take the next exit and turn around or, if I can find a nice gap, go in at the last second. I shaved off about 10 minutes doing that last night; you can often find somebody who isn't paying attention and leaves a big gap to go in

That's the one.

The worst part of my trip to work is always just getting on 65 and merging into 59 to get to 20. I would consider going the other way and taking 459 but it seems to take considerably longer to do that.

 

[microAmp]

I tried a couple of times but with little success. I just ended up taking the longer route since there was no traffic, instead of sitting in traffic and getting to the same destination at the time. I just preferred to always being moving and not sitting.

 

[lilFajita]

I cannot stand to sit in traffic, which is a problem since I drive in downtown traffic for about 50 miles a day. So, I spend every waking (driving) moment searching for the perfect shortcut. I probably end up spending about the same time or longer navigating around in residential areas or on the feeder. I mean, I definetly think I've had a few real winners, but the satisfaction comes from feeling like I am moving and getting somewhere rather than staring at the breaklights in front of me.

It is truly painful to be traveling down an overpass and see the sea of cars that seperate you from AnandTech....

 

[Mill]

Yes I found a new way from my house to your apartment last night Skoorb. I will have to tell you about it. Much faster and you never have to get on 150 or 31.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Millenium
Yes I found a new way from my house to your apartment last night Skoorb. I will have to tell you about it. Much faster and you never have to get on 150 or 31.

You must be crossing the 31 south of the 150 and going in behind...? I didn't realize you lived so far away that you had to find a quicker way ;0

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Millenium
Yes I found a new way from my house to your apartment last night Skoorb. I will have to tell you about it. Much faster and you never have to get on 150 or 31.

You must be crossing the 31 south of the 150 and going in behind...? I didn't realize you lived so far away that you had to find a quicker way ;0

all ways are quick in millenium's car

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Millenium
Yes I found a new way from my house to your apartment last night Skoorb. I will have to tell you about it. Much faster and you never have to get on 150 or 31.

You must be crossing the 31 south of the 150 and going in behind...? I didn't realize you lived so far away that you had to find a quicker way ;0

all ways are quick in millenium's car

Not these days they ain't

 

[Aves]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Millenium
Yes I found a new way from my house to your apartment last night Skoorb. I will have to tell you about it. Much faster and you never have to get on 150 or 31.

You must be crossing the 31 south of the 150 and going in behind...? I didn't realize you lived so far away that you had to find a quicker way ;0

all ways are quick in millenium's car

Not these days they ain't

lol

 

[CPA]

I did the same thing after the first Texans game. we waited in traffic almost 2 hours. So the next game, instead of taking the 610 loop, I went straight to downtown Houston and took Main st. in. Went from 2 hours to 50 minutes, tops.

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: aves2k

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Millenium
Yes I found a new way from my house to your apartment last night Skoorb. I will have to tell you about it. Much faster and you never have to get on 150 or 31.

You must be crossing the 31 south of the 150 and going in behind...? I didn't realize you lived so far away that you had to find a quicker way ;0

all ways are quick in millenium's car

Not these days they ain't

lol

I don't live but about 5 minutes away, but I found any even quicker way. If I leave my house and go down Rocky Ridge Ranch, I can take one or two more turns and come out in Riverchase and be very close to your place.

Trust me, wait until Christmas around here. You will need every shortcut in the world because it gets downright pathetic around here.

BTW- the plastic bag that I brought the beer in has my change in it! It has a 1.75 in it. Did you throw it away? Keep that for the lack of money I had for the pizza. I felt like a bum.

 

[Tallgeese]

Originally posted by: Millenium
Trust me, wait to Christmas around here. You will need every shortcut in the world because it gets downright pathetic around here.

You can say that again. The Galleria metroplex is ungodly evry year, from Thanksgiving until New Year's.

280 isn't much better nowadays, what with the Summit up there drawing all the shop-hoppers.

 

[Tallgeese]

Every time I have moved to a new place, I take a couple of weeks to scout out best routes, especialy in case an accident shuts down a major road, bridge, etc.

Out of habit, when I'd go somewhere for training for a week, usually take an hour or two after class to do some mini-scouting.

I just like to know the lay of the land.
Also, I will NEVER stop for directions. :|