Avoid Contributing to Traffic Congestion
If you live in an urban area, traffic congestion can be a major daily headache. It's bad enough that there isn't enough road capacity for the increasing numbers of vehicles travelling on them, and rude and aggressive drivers make things even worse. Do you want to avoid being part of the problem and contribute to your community in a positive way? Taking mass transit, riding a bike or walking, and using good driving techniques are all ways you can avoid contributing to traffic congestion.
Steps
- Take Mass Transit. The best way to avoid contributing to traffic congestion is to take mass transit. When travelling around town, jump on a bus or train instead of in your car. Taking mass transit can be faster, cheaper, and more relaxing. It also helps minimize environmental damage caused by excessive car use.
- Try Active Transportation. Active transportation (walking, jogging, roller blading, riding a bicycle, etc.) is another great way of reducing congestion. Active transportation takes cars off roads and is the most cost effective means of transportation for short distances. This is also an easy way to improve your health, cut your gas bill and save the environment.
- If you ride in the street, don't obstruct or confuse motorized traffic needlessly. Stay to the slow side of the road as long as it's safe and practical. Signal your turns.
- Combine Active Transportation and Mass Transit. If your destination is too far away for active transportation or mass transit alone, combine the two to increase your commuting range allowing you to ride to and from the transit stops nearest your destination. Many mass transit systems are designed with cyclists in mind with racks on the fronts of buses, bike lockers at major stops, or even entire train cars designated for bicycle storage during travel. Check and see what options are available for combining active transportation and mass transit in your area!
- Pay attention. Sounds obvious, but most drivers are zoned out in their own little worlds, paying little attention to what's going on, even a car-length or two ahead of them. Start making an active effort to stay alert by scanning ahead as far as you can see. Your peripheral vision will take care of what isn't directly ahead of you. Watch for slowing ahead for road hazards and for accidents or other problems at the roadside. Anticipate slowdowns and back off or downshift even if you are driving an automatic. Don't be a brake tapper on the freeway. It can cause a ripple effect for miles. If you see a road hazard, such as debris in the road, call your local law enforcement agency through a non emergency line and report the hazard. The sooner someone reports a problem, the less impact it will have on the commute. See also How to Practice Zen Driving.
- If someone is creating a minor problem through not paying attention remind them with a brief toot of the horn and don't worry about it if it isn't resolved to your satisfaction. Use a long, loud honk only for danger.
- Plan ahead. When you will be using a freeway junction or exiting the freeway, entering or exiting the carpool or express lanes, don't wait until the last minute to merge over. You don't have to get over miles ahead, but merging smoothly keeps traffic flowing.
- Use the "zipper method" to merge. The "Zipper method" of merging utilizes the entire roadway and ensures a smooth and even merge of 2 lanes of traffic by alternating between the two lanes. Instead of racing to the end of the merge lane, or merging prematurely before the end of the lane, drivers in the merging lane should continue to the end of the lane at a speed that is matched to the second lane. Drivers in the second lane should then allow the merging lane to alternate one for one as they merge together into a single lane. Racing to the end of the merging lane infuriates other drivers, and merging prematurely creates a situation that inefficiently uses the roadway. Smoothly alternate one for one with the "zipper method."
- Thru Traffic, Thru Lanes. Often, congestion occurs simply from drivers passing through an area driving in the merge lanes. This results in the potential for unnecessary congestion for mergers. If you don't plan to exit the freeway you are driving on, stay in the thru lane or fast lane(s). When your exit is the next up, simply shift your car into the lane necessary to exit the freeway. This will likely also shave time off your commute! Please keep in mind the Keep Right Except to Pass laws that exist in many states. These laws are not just for safety, they also help expedite the overall traffic. If you are camping in the left lane and cars are having to pass you on the right, you are contributing to the congestion. Use the left lane to pass, then move back to the right.
- Accelerate briskly from stop lights. After stopping at one of a series of stop lights in a city or elsewhere with many stop lights, accelerate briskly to and, particularly if you are starting late from toward the back of a queue, the speed limit. Then, with luck, you can continue at the speed limit through many stop lights which are generally synchronized to let a batch of cars going that fast through.
- Accelerate "briskly" as economy cars go, not at full power in a fast car, and do not follow too closely. It could be unexpected and dangerous.
- Anticipate slowdowns on city streets. If there are multiple lanes in the same direction, choose a center lane to go straight because the others can back up with cars turning left and right. If there are only two, glance ahead for signs of slowing traffic, maintain some distance in front, and signal and prepare to turn if you see a backup. Even if you can't find an opening to safely change lanes yourself, you will help direct traffic around the obstruction.
- Don't rubberneck. When there's an accident or a breakdown on the side of the road, stopping (or slowing down) to take a look is the worst thing you can do. Remember, it creates a logjam that prevents emergency vehicles from getting help to the injured, and it slows down everyone behind you. Consider how you would feel if you or your mother or child were victims of the accident. You would want those paramedics at the accident site instantly, not stuck in traffic while strangers gawked at the unfolding tragedy. Traffic collisions may be interesting and compelling to see, but slowing down to look causes huge traffic jams that can take hours to clear. And if it's just a roadside breakdown, let's face it: we've all seen what a flat tire or a steaming radiator looks like. The last thing everyone needs is one more person slowing down to take a picture or video, or just a really long, nosy look.
- Pull over quickly and completely if you have a problem. If your car begins to break down, move to the slow lane if you can, slow down, and pull over as soon as it's safe to do so. A flat tire can do terrible damage to the rest of your car if you attempt to continue driving on it, and almost any car trouble is made worse by allowing the engine to run until it actually breaks down and quits. Pull over and stop your car, then signal or use your cell phone to get help immediately. On the side of an expressway it's best to pull the hood release and remain in your car until help arrives because it's easy to get hit when not in your car. In metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, you can call 311 to get emergency help even if you don't have something like AAA.
- Avoid the temptation to talk on the phone, text, put make-up on, or read the newspaper even if traffic is moving very slowly. Texting or reading, or doing other things that require your attention is inconsiderate to other drivers who must then either honk to wake you up to the rest of the world, or wait until you wake on your own. The idea is to remain alert enough to keep traffic flow moving as best it can. Remember: in most jurisdictions, it is now illegal to talk/text on your phone or even fiddle with a GPS unit while in traffic.
- Don't react to aggressive or rude behaviors of others. Some of these people can work on your last nerve, but reacting by returning the "favor" of slamming on your brakes just as you get in front of them, or by attempting to cut them off to repay them for cutting you off will just make things worse for everyone. It's also dangerous. Rage shootings and collisions may be rare, but they do happen. Don't give anyone a reason to pull anything on you. Flipping the bird or screaming at others does not help. It only focuses an already aggressive, perhaps dangerously so, person's rage on you. If you can make some sort of sign for "I'm sorry," do it. Nothing lets the air out of a big gasbag faster than just apologizing, whether you did anything wrong or not. There's no matter of principle to uphold, and it's not a race -- you just want to get home in one piece.
- Drive courteously. When you can see someone signalling - or even drifting - for another lane, fall back if your front grill is behind the driver of that car. If you are neck and neck, either speed up to allow the other driver in behind you, or if you are very gallant, fall back and "block" for him. If you slow a bit to allow that driver to come in ahead of you, traffic will recover almost instantly. If you try to speed ahead to let him in, and he also tries to speed ahead of you, eventually one of you will have to give way. Don't play this sort of "chicken" game. Let him in and keep traffic moving, rather than forcing him to rudely wedge himself in front of you, or worse, nearly forcing him off the road if the lane is ending. So many drivers seem to feel that allowing another to change into their lane from an adjacent one is somehow a "loss." You're all travelling to some destination; the driver next to you is not going to win a prize if he finishes "ahead" of you. It's not a race; just let him have the lane.
- Relax! If you find you are constantly frustrated, eyes bulging and angry, every single time you have to make your commute, try to remember: there is little you alone can do to alleviate traffic congestion. All you can do is change your own attitude. If your daily commute causes your blood pressure to rise every day, consider changing jobs or moving closer to work. Or, simply accept that traffic is going to be a hassle and just use the time on the road for reflection and relaxation. Take audio books or music along - an audio book can be quite involving, and if you can get into it, can make your commute much more enjoyable due to your interest in finding out what happens next.
- Be cool. You have a lot of power here. Use your power for good. When someone else wants a lane ahead of you, graciously fall back and let him have it. When someone else makes a mistake, remember that you have also made mistakes - you've overshot where you wanted to be and pulled a crazy U-ie where you shouldn't have. You've pulled out into traffic causing someone to lay on their horn as they nearly ploughed into you. Others have had to step on their brakes hard to avoid hitting you - or they probably will at some point if they haven't yet. When someone else pulls a bonehead maneuver in front of you, let them go without retaliation. Don't rub it in. Smile and wave, or if you must, make a silent "tsk tsk" gesture as you wag a warning finger at them to let them know they've just narrowly escaped a real problem. But let it go at that and settle back into your ride.
Tips
- If you find yourself rushing through traffic day after day to get to your destination on time, consider leaving 15 minutes earlier - you might hit the same amount of traffic, but it won't be such a big deal anymore. If you hate sitting in the rush hour traffic on your way home, consider leaving later - see if there is anything you do from home that can be done from the place of your departure to avoid wasting time while others suffer in traffic.
- Use cruise control. Traffic will flow more smoothly if drivers are not slowing down and speeding up because they become distracted. It will also prevent speeding tickets.
- A couple of bottles of water in the pouch behind the driver and passenger seats are easily reached from the driver's seat, and can really help you stay calm and collected - pretty hard to do if you're parched. Some trail mix or granola bars kept in your console or glove box can also help tide you over and prevent a headache or blood sugar drop that can make you irrational and inattentive. Other good supplies to have on hand: a clearly marked bottle filled with a 50/50 mix of radiator coolant and water, brake fluid, quart of oil, flares or reflective markers or flags, some first-aid supplies such as Band-Aids, aspirin, and one or two doses of any medicines you take. These little precautions can really help you in case of a difficult situation such as a train car stuck on the tracks in front of you (and you're boxed in), a terrible accident ahead of you in which all lanes are shut down for an hour or more, or other traffic delay of more than half an hour.
- Remember that you are traffic, too. It's not too hard to know which directions and which roads are congested when. If you have the choice, avoid busy roads and busy times.
- Don't race or weave in and out of traffic in an attempt to shave seconds off your drive. Your erratic driving will cause defensive reactions in others which will make traffic congestion worse.
- Look for alternate routes off the freeway that are on main boulevards or even streets that run in the same direction. Allow extra time by leaving earlier for work when using an alternate route to work or school.
- When you have a cell phone, it's a very small matter to phone whomever you are meeting and let them know you are caught in traffic and will get there as soon as possible. It's not like it was in the past when nobody knew where you were, and were worrying frantically. Just make a quick call, then relax and drive safely - you won't endanger anyone else, or yourself, any more than necessary.
- Another approach is to move to live closer to work. If you choose to live {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} from work, in a suburb, then you are choosing to deal with the traffic. If you live closer to the center of a city, you'll have more mass transit available, and "active transportation" will be much easier, quicker, and cheaper.
- Ride a bicycle. You'd be surprised how refreshed you feel after a bicycle ride to work. Of course distance is an issue, although {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} is an easy ride for a healthy person to work up to. (Follow the rules of the road and traffic signs).
Warnings
- Don't retaliate if other drivers don't share your laid back attitude. If others cut you off, speed up as soon as you signal for a lane change, or otherwise rudely attempt to "get over on you," let them. It's their blood pressure that will be out of control. Don't hurt yourself over somebody else's attitude issues.
Things You'll Need
- Music player or CDs/Audiobooks
- Emergency supplies
