Top Secret Traffic Tip

I'm going to share something with you that I'm hesitant to share. That's because if too many people know, it won't be effective any more. But this is my most top secret traffic tip ever:

Always take the same route you take every day

unless the road is completely shut down.

I promise this works. Trust me. I have not been driving in traffic as long as some people have (thank goodness) but I do have about 5 years and at least 2340 (that's a real estimate) hours of sitting in traffic under my belt. Also, I've tried the alternative.

You can probably figure out the reason this works out, but let me explain anyway...when the news and radio stations report a major accident (especially a really bad one), people avoid that road like the plague just as the reporters tell them. Then, the alternate routes (often with many stop lights) get overloaded. I've tried many times to take an alternate route only to end up just as late (or even more late) as I would have been if I'd stayed on my normal route.

In the instance of this morning when an 18-wheeler was jacknifed (why are they allowed to drive on the Tollway anyway?) over the middle barrier of the Tollway, shutting down all the north-bound lanes and reducing the south-bound lanes (my route) to only one lane, I took the Tollway anyway because I followed my rule. Guess what happened? I got to work early. No kidding. Ten whole minutes early. And I had left my house late on top of that.

So, if you drive in traffic regularly and this is not your practice, I've just shared the holy grail with you. But don't tell too many people, please!