# Always bad luck with traffic.



## knyfeknerd (Aug 14, 2015)

This spring break on our trip out to Cali a 5 hour drive from San Diego to the Sequioa Forest turned into almost 9 hours, thanks to nonsensical traffic.
Today what should have been a 7 hour drive to Baltimore took 11 hours.
Traffic sucks so bad, and it's such a waste of your life.
Aaarrggghhh! What's your worst traffic nightmare?
Is it LA or Honolulu? NYC?


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## Pensacola Tiger (Aug 14, 2015)

Here in LA (Lower Alabama), they love to build long causeways. An accident will back up traffic for hours. Today, an RV overturned blocking both eastbound lanes and it took almost three hours to clear. Traffic was backed up for miles and some lucky people were stuck in a the tunnel under Mobile Bay.


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## chinacats (Aug 14, 2015)

DC and Boston...oh yeah, your hometown is pretty bad.


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## aboynamedsuita (Aug 14, 2015)

I work in traffic / transportation engineering and the "problems" we have up here are nothing compared to things like this. Our city never really had the will years ago to get into the limited access freeways (not necessarily a bad thing) so we have mostly at-grade intersections, our Council finally approved funding for dynamic traffic monitoring and our Signals branch is actually allowed to hire more staff. I find it interesting hearing about some of the real traffic issues on the ITE forums.


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## pkjames (Aug 14, 2015)

I dare to say sydney is one of the worst among major cities. We have some prehistoric train system that I can't even call it subway and there are 5 million people!

This is one of the reasons I chose to work for myself, since spending 2 hours commuting each day is beyond me.


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## Castalia (Aug 14, 2015)

I got stuck with my family on our way home from a summer trip on the way to Newark airport on the 4th of August in the day of traffic from hell. What should have been a 30 minute ride to airport turned into 3 and half hours of inching along the turnpike. There was a crazy truck crash in the morning and all the major roads in the area were affected for the rest of the day. We missed our flight and had to buy last minute tickets on another airline. That traffic jam cost us four plane tickets. Ugh! Still trying to work that one out with the airlines. 

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2015/08/nj_turnpike_traffic_jam.html


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## Dardeau (Aug 14, 2015)

Pensacola Tiger said:


> Here in LA (Lower Alabama), they love to build long causeways. An accident will back up traffic for hours. Today, an RV overturned blocking both eastbound lanes and it took almost three hours to clear. Traffic was backed up for miles and some lucky people were stuck in a the tunnel under Mobile Bay.
> 
> View attachment 28666



I grew up in Mobile, I cannot imagine being trapped in the Wallace tunnel. The Bayway is notorious for crap like that. 

As the population rises again the traffic in New Orleans is getting unbearable, but Atlanta is hands down my least favorite.


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## WildBoar (Aug 14, 2015)

Dude, you are in Baltimore? No GTG at one of Marc or Kostantino's places? No stop in DC for Boundary Stone or Zaytinya???? Boy, first you punt the ECG...

:nunchucks:


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## knyfeknerd (Aug 14, 2015)

WildBoar said:


> Dude, you are in Baltimore? No GTG at one of Marc or Kostantino's places? No stop in DC for Boundary Stone or Zaytinya???? Boy, first you punt the ECG...
> 
> :nunchucks:


Headed to Connecticut for the week, just had to stop in B'More for an O's game. Wish we would've planned to see Marc, but the GD traffic woulda screwed us anyway!
Coming to DC for the day on the 22nd. Going to see Travis for dinner.......you & the missus meet us @ B-Stone?!?!?


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## daveb (Aug 14, 2015)

Pensacola Tiger said:


> View attachment 28666



Have not heard "LA" since my Panama City days. Redneck Riviera...

That wreck would have shut down Tampa for a day. a one lane shutdown is good for 3 hours.


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## knyfeknerd (Aug 14, 2015)

Pensacola Tiger said:


> and it took almost three hours to clear.
> 
> View attachment 28666



My experience thus far with the BMore and DC area, esp. on any of the "95's" is that 40 miles equals 3+ hours. Not looking forward to the drive home. 
Serenity now!


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## marc4pt0 (Aug 14, 2015)

Humph


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## ThEoRy (Aug 14, 2015)

New Jersey. 

I win.


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## WildBoar (Aug 15, 2015)

knyfeknerd said:


> Headed to Connecticut for the week, just had to stop in B'More for an O's game. Wish we would've planned to see Marc, but the GD traffic woulda screwed us anyway!
> Coming to DC for the day on the 22nd. Going to see Travis for dinner.......you & the missus meet us @ B-Stone?!?!?


Hmmm, last time I checked Oriole Park was just a stone's throw from Marc's places. You probably could have called and asked for delivery :hungry:

We should be around on the 22nd. The meet-up time will be the biggest factor, due to Luca. I know I can make it solo though; just may mean Leah stays home.


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## Von blewitt (Aug 15, 2015)

pkjames said:


> I dare to say sydney is one of the worst among major cities. We have some prehistoric train system that I can't even call it subway and there are 5 million people!
> 
> This is one of the reasons I chose to work for myself, since spending 2 hours commuting each day is beyond me.



I definately don't miss Sydney traffic! Nowadays my idea of traffic is if I have to wait for a passing car so I can pull out of my driveway.

Apart from a few weeks in January when our population goes from 4000 to 30,000, then I walk everywhere


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## panda (Aug 15, 2015)

worst was in chicago going to six flags from ohare, took 3hours what should have been 45min!!


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## knyfeknerd (Aug 16, 2015)

What I got to see of Baltimore(in the 12 hours I was there) was lovely. Going to an Orioles game has always been on my bucket list. I really want to spend a good week or so there. I'll come back to snuggle Marc!!!


So yesterday on the drive from BMore to Armpit by the sea,CT(near Mystic/Groton).........what should have been a 5 and a half hour turned into 8.5 hours. I95 SUCKS! Getting through the Bronx and Jersey was fine....it's Connecticut that sucks. 
We will be adjusting our travel plans on the pilgrimage home and may stay an extra day in DC. 
I can see the traffic going the other direction and it's always at a standstill. Sometimes it looks worse than what I'm sitting in.......
......Going to be doing ALL my driving at night from now on!


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## panda (Aug 16, 2015)

Yeah ct is awful, my first road trip to ny from me I pulled over in middle and made a buddy take over cause I was losing my sh!t due to 5 lane stop n go..


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## Bill13 (Aug 16, 2015)

A snow favorite is going from Denver to the Snowmass ski resort (where my sister lives). The pass thru the mountains is called Loveland Pass and if the chains required sign is lit you can bet it will be a mess. No snow 4 hrs; worst time for me was 14 hrs. Here is what Wiki says: It is located on the Continental Divide in the Front Range west of Denver on U.S. Highway 6. The twisty road is considered to be especially treacherous during the winter months. A steep, steady 6.7% grade, along with numerous hairpin turns on either side, make it difficult to snowplow the road regularly.

Loveland is the highest mountain pass in the world that regularly stays open during a snowy winter season.


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## Asteger (Aug 16, 2015)

You guys are all small time. Normal day, normal road: Jakarta.


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## Anton (Aug 16, 2015)

I got you all easily beat, Mexico City


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## Asteger (Aug 16, 2015)

No way. Biased! Jakarta again.


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## Anton (Aug 16, 2015)

I'll stick with my IBM results... 

Regardless, no matter how much US cities think they have the worst traffic, it's nothing


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## daveb (Aug 16, 2015)

Florida when it snows. Done.


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## ecchef (Aug 16, 2015)

And I thought Golden Week traffic in Tokyo was bad! Not by a longshot compared to this stuff.


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## knyfeknerd (Aug 16, 2015)

I'm totally going to try and meditate on some of the crazy traffic images from other countries while I'm at a standstill on 95 for 3 hours......
......those guys on motorbikes don't have any kids asking "are we there yet?" Or "how many more miles?" incessantly. Like 10 minutes after we leave the driveway! 
Serenity now!


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## daveb (Aug 16, 2015)

Ah, You're crying like a baby. :spankarse:

Get em started planning this years Halloween costumes. From what we've seen in the past this will keep em busy for hours. Ha!


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## Bill13 (Aug 16, 2015)

Well that just means I am never going to Mexico City OR Jakarta:biggrin:.


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## ChefJimbo (Aug 19, 2015)

ThEoRy said:


> New Jersey.
> 
> I win.



I must agree, truck fire on I-95 @ exit 13 the other day, basically shut down the whole Northern part of the state and parts of New York, you couldn't move!!!!


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## ChuckTheButcher (Aug 19, 2015)

I think for the U.S., the Washington, DC area has the worst. You never know if a trip is going to be 20 min or an hour and a half.


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## ChuckTheButcher (Aug 19, 2015)

I have heard Sao Palo, Rio and Mexico City don't even compare to anywhere in the US.


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## Bill13 (Aug 19, 2015)

ChuckTheButcher said:


> I think for the U.S., the Washington, DC area has the worst. You never know if a trip is going to be 20 min or an hour and a half.



For day to day US traffic DC is surely in the top 3. And when it snows here just stay at home.


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## stevenStefano (Aug 19, 2015)

Takes me 30 mins to drive 25 miles to work every morning. Worst it ever took was an hour and a half. Can't complain


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## Keith Sinclair (Aug 22, 2015)

With constant roadwork easy to get stuck in traffic on Oahu. There used to be a railroad around the Island. Been a car society since. First elevated Rail is being built now at the cost of billions of dollars. Still don't see too many electric or hybrid cars people still like internal combustion engines. 

Little off topic, but with tax incentives rooftop solar panels boomed here. So much so caught business & profits as usual electric company with it's pants down. It started delaying permits for home solar because they were losing revenue. Everything is still on the grid extra kilowatts that come from solar they get for nothing because no payment for power going to grid from home panels. They will credit you if your panels don't keep up with your use, but that is rare.

Panel owners still pay 18.00 a month to be on the grid Electric Co. is trying to raise that to 40.00 a mo. Not only that a business has started that puts panels on your house at their expense & they maintain them too. You pay them for power right off at almost half the cost of your Hawaiian Electric bill. Having panels on your home does not decrease it's value either. 

Even though Hawaii is perfect for wind and solar it has been mostly lip service over the years as they continued to just pump in the oil from off shore Tankers. It took the private sector business to turn Hawaii into a solar state.


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