Skip to main content

Traffic Everywhere

In this episode – Traffic Everywhere . . .

Our commute in California has recently increased from a local 5-minute drive to an hour-long trip on the California freeways. This made me wonder about the extent of traffic congestion on today's roads. With more cars on the road than ever, it's no wonder many end up stuck in traffic.

Over 90% of American households own at least one car, so chances are you have been in a gridlock a few times. What causes traffic congestion, especially those sudden jams? Is traffic getting worse, and how much time do we spend in traffic? Here are a few facts about traffic that can help answer some of these questions.

According to INRIX, a traffic analytics firm, in 2022, the average time Americans spent in traffic was 51 hours. While this may seem like a lot, the United Kingdom had it worse, with an average of 80 hours of traffic delays. In addition to the time lost, Americans also had to bear an average of $546 in fuel costs due to traffic delays. These figures represent a significant increase from the previous year. However, it’s important to note that the year-on-year increase may not be particularly meaningful without additional context.

First, If you drive, you may have experienced “phantom traffic jams,” where there seem to be no accidents or construction, but you still come to a stop. Experts call these jams "jamitons." You can help prevent them by avoiding tailgating. When one driver suddenly slows down or brakes, the next driver does the same to avoid a collision, creating a wave lasting up to 1000 yards. To avoid phantom traffic jams, studies suggest that you should keep an even distance between the car in front of you and the one behind you, without tailgating, but while keeping an eye on the rearview mirror. This way, drivers have more space to adjust their speed gradually, reducing the likelihood of creating a jamiton.

If you have ever driven in Los Angeles or its surrounding freeways, it's obvious how bad traffic congestion can get. However, unlike other cities, Chicago's traffic has worsened since 2020. According to INRIX's annual global rankings, it is now the most congested city in the United States by a significant margin. The average commuter in Chicago spent 155 hours in traffic delays in 2022. On a global scale, Chicago is almost tied with London, which INRIX identified as the highest-traffic city in the world.

It gets worse – in August 2010, a terrible traffic jam outside Beijing (China) lasted for 11 days. The jam was caused by a construction project and too many cars on an already overcrowded freeway. The stretch of the jam was around 60 miles long, and some individual cars were stuck on the road for more than five days. Local villagers used the situation by selling food and water to drivers at a much higher price, including water bottles marked up to around ten times their original price. Although officials estimated that the jam could have lasted a couple of weeks longer, thankfully, that did not happen. However, major traffic jams continued to be a problem in the area.

My solution is to leave early to avoid the frustration of traffic jams. It's important to stay calm and enjoy the drive, knowing you will get there when you arrive. You can also make the most of your time in the car by using your car as your personal university on wheels. Listen to podcasts or audiobooks, learn a new language, or enjoy your favorite music.

There’s traffic everywhere–and yes, we must learn how to deal with it.

I’m Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.

Comments

Most Popular of All Time

Mom Was Right

In this episode: Mom Was Right (Again!) . . . Remember that old saying, "Mom knows best?" Well, this week, it resonated profoundly. I vividly recall my mother's steadfast remedy for the common cold, which was ingrained in my 1960s childhood: "Rest in bed, drink plenty of fluids, and take aspirin to reduce pain and fever." . . . Or now that I think about it, this may have been a Bayer aspirin commercial–Simple . . . Fast-forward to the age of AI and endless medical information at our fingertips, and guess what? Not much has changed. Yet, somehow, this week, Lori and I were blindsided by a cold—the first in over five years. My incredulous "How could this be?" quickly morphed into a dawning realization. Our company's annual meeting, a melting pot of colleagues from Illinois, Texas, Vietnam, Colorado, Northern California, and the Central Valley, was a veritable petri dish of germs. And, oh, the germs found me! Getting sick, especially after a long str...

Whispers of Spring

In this episode, Whispers of Spring . . . Spring has a way of sneaking in when you’re not looking. One day, you’re shaking off the last chill of winter, and the next, you realize the light has shifted, stretching shadows just a little longer. It didn’t make a big fuss about it—no dramatic entrance, no trumpets—just a quiet unfolding, like an old dog settling into a sunny spot on the porch. Last week, Daylight Saving Time kicked in, which meant we all fumbled with our clocks, grumbled a bit, and then, like frogs taken aback by a warm rain, leapt forward into longer evenings. The sun now lingers, in no rush to set, hanging in the sky like a tossed coin that refuses to fall. With the extra daylight, we find ourselves drawn outside once again, migrating to the back patio like folks are drawn to a warm campfire. The lawn chairs are right where we left them, waiting like old friends. The air hums with wind chimes, their tuned cylinders catching the breeze and weaving together something that...

Special April Fools' Edition: Did You Fall For It?

In this episode: Special April Fools' Edition: Did You Fall For It? (And a Little Baseball Nonsense) Welcome, fellow baseball aficionados and purveyors of the peculiar, to a very special, dare we say unpredictable, issue of On the Fly! Today, the air is thick with . . . well, probably just regular air, but a specific mischievous something is buzzing around. Can you feel it? Does that tingling sensation make you double-check your shoelaces and suspiciously eye any unusual packages? Yes, dear readers, it’s April 1st! A day steeped in mystery, shrouded in playful deception, and frankly, a day where you shouldn't believe anything you read (except maybe this . . .maybe). But before we descend into a whirlwind of whimsical falsehoods (don’t worry, we’ll mostly keep it light!), let’s take a quick, slightly wobbly, historical flight through the origins of this most unreliable of holidays. Whispers from the annals suggest a few intriguing possibilities for why we dedicate this particula...

At 92–Don's Digital Daydream

Listen to the audio here. In a world of his own–lives, ole' Doctor Don, Not one world, but three, 'til the setting of the sun! There’s his Blog-World , so bright, with words all a-whirl, And Book-World , with stories of boy and girl! Then, Day-World , where legs didn't leap, didn't run, Just shuffled and creaked 'til each day is done. But his brain, oh, his mind, it’s zippy and keen, A most curious fellow that ever was seen! At ninety and two, with a twinkle so bright, He met Chatty and said, "What a strange delight!" This box with the answers, so quick and so bold, Of theology and stories, new truths to unfold!" "Integrity, relationships, where do they fit? This thing makes me wonder, bit by bit!" He ponders and pokes with laughter and a grin, "Til POOF! he has gone to a world from within! A world made of words, a fantastical place, Where limits of the body, left not a trace! He Soares, and he zooms, with a thought and a rhyme, Trans...