Reduce Traffic Time

Traffic is one of the worst things that any commuter can encounter on the morning trip. To the seasoned driver, the appearance of a sequence of brake lights can often mean a missed train, appointment, or simply being late to work. After personally spending many hours in traffic, I have determined that I'm not a driver who will sit in one lane and just wait for the traffic to clear, but rather I will try to find a faster way to the traffic is switching lanes at the most effective time and possibly gaining 2-3 car links with each lane change. While difficult to quantify, there are often many theories behind what the most effective means of moving through traffic is. Some people, often older, more conservative drivers, believe that no one is faster than any other for the most part in the switching lanes you are doing nothing to speed up your commute through traffic. Other people, myself included, subscribe to the theory that the lane that is moving fastest or most often is the one which you should find yourself at. After spending an inordinate amount of time in traffic lately I've devised a relatively simple system to battle constant traffic.

When coming up on a traffic jam, there is really no way to determine what lane is the fastest immediately. What you should do when coming up to this type of situation is instead come to a stop in your lane and then from that point you need to began to observe the lanes around you. This is often very simple on a 3-4 lane highway, as if you are in one of the middle lanes you will be able to see all winds around you and position yourself for the most effective movement between lanes. Once you have gotten yourself into the traffic, instead of just looking for which lane seems to be moving the most unique and instead look ahead of you and determine which lane has the most space between cars. While this is best done in some type of SUV, it can also be done from a compact car or sedan as I have often had to do during my commute. The reason that you look for the lane with the most spacing between cars is that once the traffic stops again, which it always does, that when will compress and began to move even as all other lanes cut come to a complete stop. Once moving up in the lane, you will then we need to make a decision as to whether or not to stay in that lane or return to your original lane. The way I generally make that decision is by determining the number of trucks that are in my lane as well as the number of trucks that are in other lanes surrounding me and choosing the lane with the smallest number of trucks (or other large vehicles). The reason for this is that trucks often take much longer to start moving than cars and therefore are much less effective at moving through traffic. So to summarize:

1. Always look for the lane that has the most spacing between cars when traffic is moving because that will be a fast lane once all traffic has stopped moving again.
2. To determine the land that you will spend the majority of your time in, you generally want to take the lane that has the least amount of trucks in front of you, as that position will most likely be the fastest.

if you utilize these rules when stuck in traffic, I can guarantee that you will see an increase in your speed as well as a decrease in your overall travel time. While this is an effective means of travel through slow moving conditions, I always recommend that when doing so you use the utmost caution as weaving through traffic is extremely dangerous at times and requires a high level of driving skill. This should not be tempted by the new or unconfident driver but rather by someone who feels at home behind the wheel.