[spazzyfry123]

Buddy picked me up out in BFE, Alabama to head back to Atlanta from a family gig. About an hour into the ride we hit a wall of parked cars - probably took us about 4 hours to get two miles. We finally said screw it and got off at the next exit seeing a Cracker Barrel to pass the time. Right as we got off the exit, we then realized that just on the other side of the overpass had we stayed in traffic was the accident they were clearing. However, they blocked the on-ramp and we had no way to get back onto the interstate.

Seeing that this was pre Google Maps and we had no map of our own, we had to ask a trooper how to get back to the interstate. Long story short, had we just stayed on our original path we would have been clear for take off in about thirty minutes. Since we decided to hop off, our new detour took us an additional three hours to get back to the interstate since we had no clue where we were. A trip that normally would have been about five hours took us about twelve or so.

Bonus points: When we made it to Atlanta, a tornado hit and we got pelted with hail stuck in a classic Atlanta "oh it's raining, I'll stop here" traffic jams.

[wknd_M]

I can’t think of a particular time but I also live in LA so everyday gets worse and worse

[Noneya]

Originally Posted by MBM340

I have a 22 mile commute to get to work every day (in DC) that if no one crashes takes me 90 minutes. Every day is my worst traffic day.

I'm always curious why people do this to themselves?

[jmg]

My worst was a snow storm last thanksgiving actually! We were on our way up the mountain to spend thanksgiving in the snow and a big storm blew. Had we started our climb 20 minutes earlier we would have made it, but they closed the road in front of us and ended up stuck for probably 3 hours before we turned back. We had come prepared with chains and we were hoping they would let AWD/4WD vehicles up with chains like normal but it was an especially bad storm and they closed it altogether. We had a full tank so we let the car run for heat and watched movies on our iPad. It wasn't so bad, we were together as a family which is what we wanted anyway.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Noneya

I'm always curious why people do this to themselves?

I had a 40 mile hour fifteen commute for years. 80 mile round trip 2 hours total commuting a day (going back home was only 45 min). I did it for several reasons:

1) I don't want to live in Los Angeles because it's too expensive for the crime rate.

2) schools suck in LA.

3) family from both my side and my wife's live near us.

4) I prefer the suburbs for everyday living: more parking, less traffic, less homeless, less crime.

5) now that I work from home, I'm glad I didn't choose where I want to live based on where I work.

[Noneya]

Originally Posted by jmg

I had a 40 mile hour fifteen commute for years. 80 mile round trip 2 hours total commuting a day (going back home was only 45 min). I did it for several reasons:

1) I don't want to live in Los Angeles because it's too expensive for the crime rate.

2) schools suck in LA.

3) family from both my side and my wife's live near us.

4) I prefer the suburbs for everyday living: more parking, less traffic, less homeless, less crime.

5) now that I work from home, I'm glad I didn't choose where I want to live based on where I work.

Even when I was younger I can't imagine spending a full month of my awake time per year in traffic. I hope you got paid enough for that time.

[MBM340]

Originally Posted by Noneya

I'm always curious why people do this to themselves?

That is a valid question that I have asked myself. There are many factors, not the least of which is my wife is happy in her job here. The second is we moved to this particular county for the schools for the kid, and finally I make a pretty decent salary and will have multiple retirement plans if I stay.

All of those don't overcome the hell that is the commute on most days, but I have 8 years until it is all over and I retire, well actually 7 years and 361 days, but who's counting? LMAO.

In the meantime I will now be commuting in an M340 once we return to working in the office so that makes it better for sure.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Noneya

Even when I was younger I can't imagine spending a full month of my awake time per year in traffic. I hope you got paid enough for that time.

I listened to a lot of music, radio, podcasts etc. I came to accept my time on the road as a way to unwind, reflect, etc.

The last few years I shifted my hours to start at 11am instead of 9am to not only reduce traffic–I saved about 25 minutes coming in, and 15 minutes going home–but to get some of my work done during commute. That way, I can make work related calls on the way in, and people were already at their desks. My job involves a lot of creative, so I would use the time to brainstorm. In fact, some of my best ideas came to me during my commute.

I also break the monotony. I don't always take my commuter car, my i3. I sometimes take my "fun" M3 CS and detour down Mulholland Dr once and awhile.

I loved it and hated bing in the car at the same time. In fact, when I started to work from home part of me missed being in the car so much that my first vacation was a week long drive up the coast. Drive all day, see the sights, stay at a hotel at night, drive again the next day.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by MBM340

In the meantime I will now be commuting in an M340 once we return to working in the office so that makes it better for sure.

A well equipped car certainly helps! For me, Adaptive Cruise Control is a GAME CHANGER and made my commute 98% more bearable. I will never have another commuter car that doesn't have some kind of autonomous driving.

[Hit_Apex]

Early 90's headed back towards L.A. after a Dead concert in Vegas. Spent the night on the freeway with hundreds of other cars - two couples in my small VW GTI. We unbolted the front seats and set them in the lane to give us a more liveable situation. For food and restroom, we had to walk over a mile back to a rural gas station / truck stop. Apparently it was a multi-car and semi tanker accident a couple miles ahead of us. Required haz-mat clean up and there was no way for CHP to route us through back roads. It sucked. Several truckers around us monitored radio communication and gave us a heads up when it started to clear about 7 hours later so we had time to break down our in-lane campsite, lol.

[NickyC]

Anything in Miami. When I had first moved there, talk about a culture shock. My main home is way out in the burbs of St. Louis, boy is my time spent in Doral the polar opposite concerning traffic! I hear people complain here in STL about traffic and I just smile, they have no idea how good they really have it.

The below is one of many pics I’ve taken. Get the time wrong, and it’s common to spend 90 minutes in your car to go a few miles. You will sit at lights and watch them cycle a few times before anyone even moves. Forever summer comes at a price!!

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by NickyC

Anything in Miami. When I had first moved there, talk about a culture shock. My main home is way out in the burbs of St. Louis, boy is my time spent in Doral the polar opposite concerning traffic! I hear people complain here in STL about traffic and I just smile, they have no idea how good they really have it.

The below is one of many pics I’ve taken. Get the time wrong, and it’s common to spend 90 minutes in your car to go a few miles. You will sit at lights and watch them cycle a few times before anyone even moves. Forever summer comes at a price!!

Wifey and I flew into Tampa one year to visit family for Xmas. Family lived in Orlando, but Wifey and I wanted to spend some time in Tampa/St. Pete, so we flew in there and figured we'd just drive over to Orlando to visit. My sister said that was not a good idea, but by then we already had our flights, so too late to change. Sister was right. The highway from Tampa to Orlando was a long parking lot. Every now and then it would break free for a bit, but then the some idiot driver (and there are a lot of them in FL) would come barrelling up the left breakdown lane at 80MPH when everyone else was moving at 45 or 50. In no time we'd be back to a standstill. Took us just under 6 hours to get from Tampa to Orlando.

[ASAP]

has anyone here been to mexico city lol? you haven't seen a traffic jam until then

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by NickyC

Anything in Miami. When I had first moved there, talk about a culture shock. My main home is way out in the burbs of St. Louis, boy is my time spent in Doral the polar opposite concerning traffic! I hear people complain here in STL about traffic and I just smile, they have no idea how good they really have it.

The below is one of many pics I’ve taken. Get the time wrong, and it’s common to spend 90 minutes in your car to go a few miles. You will sit at lights and watch them cycle a few times before anyone even moves. Forever summer comes at a price!!

driving in miami has little to do w traffic and far more to do w the idiots that are one the roads... i've always said that if miami had the traffic police enforcement of Europe, there would be 0 traffic because no one would have a drivers license any longer

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by ASAP

driving in miami has little to do w traffic and far more to do w the idiots that are one the roads... i've always said that if miami had the traffic police enforcement of Europe, there would be 0 traffic because no one would have a drivers license any longer

LoL, right! If strict enforcement nobody would have a license, it's like the wild west down there. I've seen people flat out run red lights with Dade's finest sitting nearby and nothing happens.

There's a reason my car insurance nearly triples when I'm down there.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by ASAP

driving in miami has little to do w traffic and far more to do w the idiots that are one the roads...

It's not called the Capital of South America for nothing.

[OtoPA]

Worst..well, driving down from Flagstaff to Phoenix on I-17 in 100+degree weather on a Sunday. Highway at a total stop for miles, while we watch the air tankers spraying reddish fire retardant as the hills next to the highway burn and smoke and ash smothers the cars.

[Llarry]

A long time ago, but Clark Air Base in the Philippines to Manila. Philippine traffic was really not that heavy but a three-lane road would become a five-lane road as all rules seemed to go out of the window.

Taipei, Taiwan, was somewhat similar except that there were not that many automobiles; there were innumerable motorbikes that would seemingly fill any vacant roadway with little regard for their own safety. Fortunately, I did not kill anyone there in an accident.

Seoul, Korea was crazy, too. I live well south of there and so did not drive in Seoul often but it was nerve-wracking.

[M2siast]

14 hours. Actual traffic, just too many cars crossing an international border and being processed (the border closed the day before and it was the end of a long weekend, so it was 2 days in one of traffic).