If you travel through urban areas, traffic jams are likely to be part of your journey, but they don’t have to make you miserable!
1. Plan your route
With a little bit of research, you can find areas that are likely to be “trouble spots”…downtown metro areas, high mountain passes, or areas where accident rates are high. Armed with this information, you can find identify alternate routes and potential “pause” points along your route. Having a plan for what to do if your trip is delayed by a traffic jam will allow you to smoothly shift gears as needed.
Of course, as you plan your departure time, keep normal traffic patterns in mind, and always allow extra time for unexpected delays!
2. Stay calm
While it’s easy to get distracted in stop and go traffic, a 2014 study found that one in four traffic fatalities occurred during rush hour traffic, so whatever technique you use to survive a traffic jam, stay alert and stay patient! Your defensive driving skills are a critical part of navigating traffic jams.
3. Take the next exit
Eventually, it will happen. It might be road construction. It might be a sports event or a concert. In spite of all of your attempts to avoid traffic jams, you will find yourself in one.
So, get out, right? Just take the next exit. It sounds easy, but, sometimes the next exit will be 5 miles away in traffic moving 5 miles an hour. I find that stand up comedy is a good soundtrack for this situation as it helps keeps the mood light!
4. Get Out of the Car
Once you get off the freeway, get out of the car, stretch, and take some deep breaths. Shake off the frustration of your unexpectedly slow journey before you decide what you want to do next.
Sometimes the best way to survive a traffic jam is to wait it out. Use the traffic jam as an excuse to stop for dinner, or even as a reason to stop for the night. A walk in a park, window shopping, and treasure hunting in second-hand stores are also nice ways to wait out a traffic jam.
When you’re ready to get back on the road, consider getting onto a blue highway instead!
5. Take a Blue Highway
Sometimes, waiting it out just isn’t an option, but don’t worry, there’s always an alternate route! We often choose the redline over the blue highway to save time, but, when there’s a traffic jam, the blue highways often satisfy our desire to keep moving. Sometimes, the blue highways even become the fastest routes!
Be aware that blue highways sometimes experience traffic jams too, and it’s often farther between exits…but the scenery is usually better!