Worst. Commute. Ever.

[Ronstang]

I go against traffic so usually my drive isn't as bad as afurryreptile, but where/when was 95 two lanes? I haven't driven the full extent into dc, but I am 99.99% sure it is four lanes from 695 to 495.

Two lanes in each direction. At least that is what I remember.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

I skateboard to university. Driving is for suckers.

 

[shocksyde]

My solution to the Bmore/DC traffic problem is to leave for work at 5AM. Works out pretty well, I usually get from southern Bmore to Potomac, MD (10 o'clock on the DC beltway) in ~35 minutes. I leave work at 3 and it usually takes under an hour.

It helps to drive like a NASCAR driver sitting on hot coals.

 

[shocksyde]

Two lanes in each direction. At least that is what I remember.

Nope. 4.

 

[Terzo]

2 hours and 20mins is a cakewalk. I have had a 4 drive and 6 hour drive home before in snow and ice..

I have no doubt others have had worse; as I said this is a "personal record" which I don't want to beat.

My solution to the Bmore/DC traffic problem is to leave for work at 5AM. Works out pretty well, I usually get from southern Bmore to Potomac, MD (10 o'clock on the DC beltway) in ~35 minutes. I leave work at 3 and it usually takes under an hour.

It helps to drive like a NASCAR driver sitting on hot coals.

That's quite impressive. I drive somewhat "slow" (I average around 70) so I don't think I could pull that off even without traffic.
By the way, does traffic seem heavier to you in the evening when compared to the morning? I don't understand, but the morning commute isn't that bad while the evening commute is usually is worse. I find it somewhat baffling.

 

[RaiderJ]

Moved from Alaska to DC.... definitely was amazing to see all that traffic. Luckily I avoided it all, as I live and work about 1/2 hour west of the big city.

 

[venkman]

I walk to work in 5 minutes

 

[Fingolfin269]

OP that is why I finally decided a M/T just wasn't worth it. They are so much more fun to drive but my left knee kind of sucks and getting stuck in traffic like that is pure agony after a little while.

 

[geno]

I assumed exit numbers wouldn't repeat, but thinking about it I guess they might. It was 95 between baltimore and washington, southbound.

Oh, they do.

 

[purbeast0]

when I worked in columbia, i would come home on 29 instead of 95.

95 to 495 in afternoon rushhour going that direction is always hit/miss.

edit:

now i have a 1 minute walk to a metro station, take that to crystal city, then don't even have to go above ground once i get there, really convenient

 

[Linflas]

The biggest difference that makes LA worse is cus there's actually some type of decent public transportation in DC.

Really? The only decent "public transit" I ever found before I dropped out of the DC commuting rat race was slugging and that is really a citizens solution to an unbearable situation.

 

[purbeast0]

Really? The only decent "public transit" I ever found before I dropped out of the DC commuting rat race was slugging and that is really a citizens solution to an unbearable situation.

i believe he is referring to the metro...

slugging is more for people who are farther outside of dc area who don't even hvae the option for the metro. at least the people i know who do that are farther out...

 

[crownjules]

Pro tip... The exit numbers reflect the mile marker on the highway. Exit 41 is at mile 41 in Maryland.

Pro tip: Your pro tip doesn't apply in all states. My state (MA) is an example.

 

[Linflas]

i believe he is referring to the metro...

slugging is more for people who are farther outside of dc area who don't even hvae the option for the metro. at least the people i know who do that are farther out...

I know he was talking about Metro. I dealt with that joke of a subway system for more years than I care to count. The sad thing is that it has the potential to be a great system if it was managed and maintained properly. The number one thing they need to address is the byzantine fare structure but it will never happen. Right now DC can't even figure out how to get a modern street car system up and running due to a requirement that there be no overhead wires. I might be sympathetic if as kid I hadn't seen street cars running all around the city without overhead wires. If they could figure out how to do it in the early 1900's surely it is not an unsolvable problem in 2010.

 

[purbeast0]

i dunno i've been taking the subway from rockville to virginia since i started my new job in january and am more than happy with it.

what is your issue with it?

 

[MetalMat]

I-35 going through Austin/Round Rock is the pits.

I gotta say the Houston & Atlanta traffic are worse though.

 

[Merithynos]

Pro tip... The exit numbers reflect the mile marker on the highway. Exit 41 is at mile 41 in Maryland.

Pro tip: Not in all states.

 

[ElFenix]

And they reset on state lines as well. They usually increase going east -> west and south -> north. At least I've never encountered an interstate that didn't. I-10 ends at almost 900 miles I think when you hit LA.

I-10 starts at the santa monica pier. at the AZ border it'd be about 240 miles


I-10 gets to about mile marker and exit 890 in orange, texas. that's miles from new mexico. orange is closer to jacksonville than it is el paso, and el paso is close to LA than it is to orange.

Pro tip: Not in all states.

i think PA had a different scheme. may be grandfathering in exit numbers from before the interstate system.

I-35 going through Austin/Round Rock is the pits.

I gotta say the Houston & Atlanta traffic are worse though.

after growing up in houston i had to laugh at how pathetic the 'awful' traffic in austin was. it barely qualified as a jam.

Really? The only decent "public transit" I ever found before I dropped out of the DC commuting rat race was slugging and that is really a citizens solution to an unbearable situation.

despite claims on the internets, 'slugging' is not unique to DC. it's done here in houston. we pick up at park & rides.

it is rare, though. the only other US city where it's done is san fran, apparently.

 

[DaWhim]

it was 4 hours for me returning from jersey to nyc. i was 1 river across but the frigging nj transit bus wouldn't come.

 

[nerp]

Pro tip... The exit numbers reflect the mile marker on the highway. Exit 41 is at mile 41 in Maryland.

I guess not in all states. In RI they just ascend or descend depending on direction.

 

[JD50]

The biggest difference that makes LA worse is cus there's actually some type of decent public transportation in DC.

To a degree, yes. The problem with the public transportation is that it's designed to get people in and out of the city. If you're not going directly into the city then the public transportation is worthless. Most of the jobs nowadays are outside of the city, in Northern VA.

 

[Linflas]

To a degree, yes. The problem with the public transportation is that it's designed to get people in and out of the city. If you're not going directly into the city then the public transportation is worthless. Most of the jobs nowadays are outside of the city, in Northern VA.

This. IIRC the last statistic I saw was under 25% of the area employment was in DC. As for Metro (the entire system, not just rail) they need to have a single unified fare structure like any other major metropolitan area based on a "trip" not the mode. The NY subway fare is $2.25 no matter where you are going on the system be it 1 station, or end to end. Further most transit systems let you transfer seamlessly between rail and bus, bus and rail. Metro never has. The system is not designed to deal with broken down trains, passengers can take an entire train out of service by blocking the doors too many times, the announcement system in the stations is almost unintelligible just to name a few of the issues I used to encounter when I had to use the thing.

 

[GregGreen]

i think PA had a different scheme. may be grandfathering in exit numbers from before the interstate system.

PA now does it based on mileage but NY still does it sequentially.

 

[marvdmartian]

Worst I ever saw was I-80, going up to my friend's house in Vallejo (CA) for Thanksgiving. Some trucker tipped his truck over, and spilled a load of mystery powder (I'm sure the CHP knew what it was, but I didn't, thus the mystery!) on 3 of 4 lanes going eastbound.

I got lucky, and was close to the accident when it happened. Only took me a half hour to go 1/4 mile to get past the wreckage/cleanup. That works out to ONE HALF OF ONE MILE PER HOUR, for half an hour.

Thank GOD that I was driving an automatic at the time (hadn't learned how to drive stick at that time......yeah, I know.....what a HEATHEN!!!)