How do you do to keep your cool in a long traffic jam that slows to a halt?

Question

How do you do to keep your cool in a long traffic jam that slows to a halt?

Answer 1

as a lorry driver i get stuck in traffic a lot all i can say to is to chill put on some music and sit back or if you on the moterway and you stuck in a jam for a long time get out ya car and have a talk to other drivers around you as it will help the time to pass much quicker

Answer 2

Here in Southern California, bumper-to-bumper is a fact of life...We are so used to it that it doesn't even bother us unless we have a plane to catch or a court appearance...But it also points out how dumb we are when it comes to figuring out how to get from here to there.

It is vogue now to let a little electronic gizmo dictate what roads to travel - the GPS...All it is doing is our thinking for us...It knows better than we do how to get where we want to go...We are too lazy to consider taking a different route or going an hour earlier because it would upset our routine or schedule...We are creatures of habit so we tend to do the same things in the same manner at the same time...We have our comfort zones and that may include getting mad at situations (traffic) that we have no control over.

But I like to think that I'm smarter than an unfeeling device that only has a one track mind...For someplace I've never been to before, I try to give myself plenty of time - a couple of hours for almost anywhere outside the local area code; If I am not familiar with the neighborhood, I look at a map book or an online map that will show me how to get there and allow me to pick other ways if I get bogged down...Then I write down the details (streets, turns and reference points) of what I'm going to do...And I'll have my radio programmed for the stations I want to listen to, so all I have to do is touch a button without even looking at it...I make sure the cell phone is off and out of reach...Thus, I am focused, relaxed and prepared for driving in a very dangerous environment.

Yet in spite of all this, some fool will come along and scare me to death and show me how un-cool I can be...I know this will happen and I decide ahead of time to just let it go and concentrate on what I have to do...Sometimes hard to do --- breathe in, breathe out -- ommmmm.

Answer 3

Music, Texting, Magazines

Answer 4

I don't see much point in losing my cool over a traffic jam. I sigh, pick some music that I like out of the CD collection and either try to figure a way around the jam or wait it out.

In the case of I-35 between Dallas and Austin, which I regularly travel around Thanksgiving, which will often stop for no apparent reason, I carry a cooler of beer; when traffic comes to a halt, I make my way to the nearest exit, find a parking lot to pull into and have a beer while I walk the dog.

Usually, by the time dog's done with her business and I've finished the beer, used the baggie on the leash, and traffic is moving again. It isn't really PC, but it keeps my blood pressure from reaching quadruple digits.

In a couple of really entertaining spots where I pull over and wait for the traffic to clear out, I park where I can put the dog's leash on the winch cable, sit on the hood to drink the beer and count the number of people that get nailed by police or state troopers for cutting across the median or whizzing up the shoulder.

When I had to make the trip in my employer's H2, I watched wakeboarding videos as I waited out traffic from a parking lot. When you get a glimpse of an F250 towing a MasterCraft and a loon riding in the water of a bar ditch, you can't help but laugh.

Drive Friendly, Drive Right.

JT

Answer 5

Relax, accept the gift of some time to do what you want to do, then do it.

Don't get frustrated - you will be whittling your life away by precious seconds which will accumulate into minutes and hours. Is it worth it?

Answer 6

take the side streets

Answer 7

blast ur music

Answer 8

Consider the delay as a rest period and try to enjoy it !

Answer 9

Blow your horn, lean out the window and scream at the drivers ahead of you, give everyone the finger, drive on the shoulder.

You know, normal stuff.

Answer 10

just makes it a part of you'r life, like expecting it to happen

when u make it a part of you'r life it stops bothering u

also listen to something, and think of something else, for me thinking of something else *like finding solution for ur other problems* really does help.

Answer 11

bang my head on the steering wheel...turn my car off and save gas....DUH...lol...

Answer 12

I absolutely HATE when this happens! O.K. that said, generally I first turn up the music and pray for something really good to listen to, then as I crawl along toward the next exit I think of where I am, where I'm going and whether it's worth it to get off there. I often take the alternate route. With NO GPS, very rarely have I gotten lost as I have a good sense of direction.

My basic thought is "I'd like to DRIVE the car I own, not use it as a lounge"--lol.

Answer 13

Someone said take a side street.  That is not always an option. In the DC area, it's all traffic no matter which way you go.  Depending on where you are in a back up on I-95 there is no where to get off.  If you're Virginia, getting off the highway may take you further than you need to be.  So I learned to be patient by listening to the radio, or call someone on the cell phone.  Sometimes I don't turn on the radio at all and go deep in thoughts or pray.  Most of all, I hope the traffic isn't so slow that I have to pee really bad.

Answer 14

I just remember that, in the final analysis, there's nowhere I have to be that's all that urgent.

"That which cannot be changed must be endured"

Answer 15

i dont i get pissed off and start shaking the car and hit my steering wheel, even in small traffic jams i do that or even those idiots that dont move on the right on red areas (h**l near my school theres one of those and theres an extra lane to get in to so basically you can go even if traffics coming and everyone waits till its clear, sometimes the idiots dont go till the light changes to green.