Traffic Congestion Study

[rbryan4]

INRIX came out recently with the 2016 Scorecard for worst traffic congestion worldwide. No surprise, 5 of the top 10 worst traffic cities in the world are in the US, with LA at the top.

INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard

[Donna D.]

Yeah, I heard Portland, OR is number 12 in the USA. I could have told them that without a study! Although there are times, I think we zoom to number one.

[steve dunham]

Of all the metro area we have encountered while towing
( Chicago , Milwaukee , Kansas City , Toronto , Montreal , San Francisco , Portland , Atlanta, , Edmonton , Nashville , Detroit , Las Vegas , Denver , Omaha etc)
Dallas TX was by far the worst . We drove it once while going to Rice Texas and we will never drive it again if we can avoid it.
There has to be a better way to spend your time without risking your life.

[emers382]

Steve, I agree with you, despite not having traveled through most of those places. Our trip through Dallas on a Sat. afternoon was awful, got stuck in an HOV lane thinking I was OK there till read the sign "no trailers" then an accident in the adjacent lane with truck pushed into the HOV, don't think I could have squeezed by had we a 5.0TA.

Adrian

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

INRIX came out recently with the 2016 Scorecard for worst traffic congestion worldwide. No surprise, 5 of the top 10 worst traffic cities in the world are in the US, with LA at the top.

INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard

This is funny timing. I was just near NYC last Wednesday and sitting in traffic on my way to VT for some skiing. I commented to my father how the traffic in this area is so horrific and it could only be second to LA. Now it's official...

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by emers382

Steve, I agree with you, despite not having traveled through most of those places. Our trip through Dallas on a Sat. afternoon was awful, got stuck in an HOV lane thinking I was OK there till read the sign "no trailers" then an accident in the adjacent lane with truck pushed into the HOV, don't think I could have squeezed by had we a 5.0TA.

Adrian

The thing that I found strange was the left lane , right lane entrances and exits. You enter the freeway in the right lane and then immediately have to move over 4 lanes to exit on the left , to drive 3 blocks and again have to move over 3 or 4 lanes to make an exit in the right lane. This game of demolition derby goes on for what seems like 100 miles.
The other problem is lack of signage . If you drove it every day it may help but if you are from out of town your screwed . Placing sign one or two car length before an exit makes absolutely no logical sense.
I believe they designed this freeway so people could stand on the overpass bridges and film accidents and footage for crash scenes in movies
.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by emers382

Our trip through Dallas on a Sat. afternoon was awful, got stuck in an HOV lane thinking I was OK there till read the sign "no trailers" then an accident in the adjacent lane with truck pushed into the HOV, don't think I could have squeezed by had we a 5.0TA.

Adrian

Dallas is bad, at 28th worst traffic In the world and 10th worst in the US, but it has nothing on LA. If you ever happen to be in San Bernardino or Riverside and have to get to Santa Monica, better pack a lunch - and dinner too.

For those who are contemplating picking up their trailer in Chilliwack and proceeding south through Seattle, a look at these stats will tell you why it can be a pain. 9th worst congestion in the US.

[Oldtimer]

I only travel to Dallas around mid morning or early Saturday or Sunday mornings never never on a Friday

[Mike Lewis]

A book I read about traffic said that the Academy Awards ceremony is a major undertaking for the Los Angeles traffic police. They have a city-wide effort that involves hundreds of people to ensure that movie stars can get across town and arrive at the venue in time, so that it appears that they are casually pulling up in limos to get out and walk the red carpet.

When I lived in the D.C. area I would sometimes get on the Washington Beltway and have it come to a complete stop at midnight for no apparent reason, then traffic would proceed and I'd never know why it stopped, the accident having been cleared up by the time I got to the scene. Then there were the times the radio announced that the Beltway was closed at a certain location for "police activity". Hmm.

[h2owmn]

The terrain and small footprint of San Francisco make it a towing hell. I have been routed by accident through there with my Aframe and it is NOT fun.

I wish WAZE had a way you could notify "her" that you're towing.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by h2owmn

The terrain and small footprint of San Francisco make it a towing hell. I have been routed by accident through there with my Aframe and it is NOT fun.

I wish WAZE had a way you could notify "her" that you're towing.

Don't need WAZE to know to avoid driving in SF, towing or not. I travel there frequently on business and have never once thought about driving there. Uber, Lyft, etc make getting around in SF a snap. I just sit in the back, peruse some email and maybe even post on the forum.

[Iowa Dave]

I go through Chicago often and usually don’t have much trouble. I’ve driven a lot of the cities listed including the Seattle area with the trailer and unless there’s not an option to go around even if it’s an extra 50 or 75 miles, I will drive them but don’t enjoy it. It seems to be a character defect with me, live in the country on a dead end road and voluntarily leave to drive through crazy traffic. 70 car pileup near Ames Iowa this week. Killed 1 and put the Dancing with the Stars tour bus in the ditch. 7 killed in Iowa that day, a sneaky snow storm that wheel packed into a glaze before the sand got down. It was too cold for brine to work well. Easy does it.
Iowa “black ice” Dave

[Mike Lewis]

I think Iowa Dave is onto something. I am also from a rural area and I also don't mind heavy urban traffic; it just doesn't get to me. Besides dealing with D.C. / Maryland traffic, when I was working I would take business trips to Silicon Valley and drive busy US 101, then visit friends in San Francisco. Driving there didn't bother me.

Of course I wasn't pulling a trailer then, but I have pulled the Escape through Seattle and Portland with no problems. One reason pulling the trailer through heavy traffic doesn't stress me out is because the trailer tows so well, its best feature imho.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

I am also from a rural area and I also don't mind heavy urban traffic; it just doesn't get to me.

Boy, not me. It takes a concerted effort for me to stay relaxed and not stressed out when the traffic gets really bad. I hate it more than most things I can think of. Much depends on my attitude before I get in the car. If I force myself to remember that it's going to be bad and just to relax no matter how much time it takes, I do better. Otherwise, grrrrr. I've actually caught myself getting too frustrated and decided to take a pit stop by exiting and finding a place to sit down, have an iced tea, and unwind for a few before getting back into the mess.

Funny thing is, when I'm towing the trailer, it's completely the opposite. Nothing seems to faze me. If it takes hours, it takes hours. Perhaps it's because I know there's no way I'm getting around it with a trailer anyway, or perhaps it's because I'm mentally in 'vacation mode'.

[Ruthe]

Rural driving has its own hazards. The main road in our area in the Finger Lakes has a 55 mph speed limit, but it is lightly traveled and people go faster. The thing is that at any moment in our rural area, a deer can appear out of nowhere and going that fast is really dangerous, but everyone does it and every winter someone has a collision with a deer. Besides that, we are fairly high up so there are times when the fog is so thick you can barely see. If we stayed home because of that we'd rarely leave in the winter.

Nevertheless, I prefer that to driving from New Jersey to Long Island through Staten Island and the Belt Parkway even in the best weather.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

Funny thing is, when I'm towing the trailer, it's completely the opposite. Nothing seems to faze me. If it takes hours, it takes hours. Perhaps it's because I know there's no way I'm getting around it with a trailer anyway, or perhaps it's because I'm mentally in 'vacation mode'.

There is definitely something to say about "vacation mode". On my last trip some circumstances with our friends who were supposed to meet us lead me to turn around and an hour later I was back home. I was incredibly calm, but the kids didn't quite understand. I told them we we're still going, but the trip wasn't about camping anymore...it was about saving a marriage. Everything worked out in the end.

[dfandrews]

We have learned to drive Around San Francisco bay, Around Seattle to Tacoma (read: take ferry to the Olympic peninsula), and then there's Los Angeles. Having driven LA traffic for 50 years, here's a tip for driving Around LA:
-just passing through: use I-210 to stay on the perimeter of the LA basin. The east end crosses I-15 west of San Bernardino, or you connect w/I-10 East at the end of I-210. Westbound(northbound) connects with I-5, or you can get on CA-118 and connect w/US-101 in Ventura County.
-Robert: San Berdu or Riverside to Santa Monica--"you can't get there from here!". I'd do it at 0300 to 0500 hours, or I-210/CA-118 to Ventura County, then connect to Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and have a nice drive back down the coast to Santa Monica. It takes as long, but the drive is nice, and you can stop at Neptune's Net at County Line for lunch.

[craiginpetaluma]

Traffic doom and gloom is bad, but there is hope. Don't think US 5 through California is always the best option. The scenic beauty between 5 and 101 is significant and crossing The golden Gate Bridge on 101 is always spectacular, well sometimes the fog doesn't cooperate.

Between a daughter schooling in Santa Barbara, sister living in LA, Stanford football season tickets ( 55 years ) Driving Me and the wife, friends and Family to and From SFO I drive US 101 To and from the North bay lots and have for many ,many years.

The bad; south heading into San Francisco 101 weekday mornings 6-9 heavy traffic starting 30 mile above SF avoid this time, after 10am good. The reverse is in the afternoon starting 3 pm.
As you cross the GGB, sorry driver the scenery is fantastic but pay attention the lanes Narrow and stay that way all through San Francisco. I've pulled 8'-6" wide trailers, they fit . Don't stop nowhere in San Francisco is your travel trailer welcome.

The good; Week-ends are good anytime.
Once off the GG Bridge you merge right onto 19th ave/park presidio avoiding downtown SF. The traffic for the next 4-5 miles through the avenues until you run into US 280 is typical city ( stoplight every intersection) but never terrible, and yes the lanes are narrow.
Now your on 280 and in a few miles you cannot believe how scenic this becomes and that just over the hill running parallel is the nightmare of the 101 corridor. If the big lake to your right seems beautiful with blue/green water and " out of place" that's because it is. That is San Francisco water supply piped from ( long ways ) Hetch Hetchy in The Sierra. This 280 route bypasses the entire bay area and connects to 101 south of San Jose.


My opinion is the less stressful, scenic beauty of 101 is the preferred route through California.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by craiginpetaluma

My opinion is the less stressful, scenic beauty of 101 is the preferred route through California.

Completely agree. The 101 is the way to go. And you're right about towing anywhere near SF. Don't stop.

[Steve Clark]

Good descriptions, Craig! Completely agree too!