Commuting is one of my most hated pet peeves. And I don't even live in an area that's particularly trafficky. My typical morning commute is 30-35 minutes, and until this morning, I hadn't gotten to work in less than 65 for all of 2007. It's like everyone put on their Stupid Driver hats for the new year; there was at least one accident every single day this year. This morning as I was just getting in the car, I heard on the radio that there was another accident on my route and I screamed "FUCK!!!!!!!" at the top of my lungs. I was a bit surprised at my reaction, but come the fuck on, people. This morning they managed to clear the accident before I got to it so I managed to get here quickly.

I guess I just don't understand why people can't grasp the concept of NOT RUNNING THEIR CARS INTO OTHER CARS. It is especially applicable to me now since I was run into on the 3rd. Ugh. Morons.

How long is your commute normally? Drive times here in north Texas are about 1.5 to 2 times longer than normal.

This morning as I was just getting in the car, I heard on the radio that there was another accident on my route... This morning they managed to clear the accident before I got to it so I managed to get here quickly.

My experience with traffic reports is that they are utterly useless for exactly that reason: they never air them in time for me to make an adjustment to my route, and by the time they make the report, the problem is usually cleared up.

Without traffic: 20-30 minutes
With normal traffic: 45-60 minutes
With rain/snow/one accident: 60 minutes to an hour and a half
With three accidents, one fatal: two hours and 45 minutes

Usually, doohickie, the accident is gone by the time I get to it, but the backup is not. I remember an article linked from mefi or mofi a while back about a study a guy had done on traffic patterns and backups that exist for no apparent reason once you reach the end of the backup. Turns out all it takes is one car to slam on its brakes to cause a wave and ripple effect that lasts for hours.

All that said, there is absolutely no other way for me to get to work. I work at what is essentially the end of a peninsula. There's one road in. So listening to the traffic report does me no good and only serves to piss me off before I actually get to the backup itself.

My drive to work is usually less than 20 minutes - not a lot of traffic or anything. My drive home, though, can be absolute hell. It's taken me 50-60 minutes before, mostly due to construction and construction-related accidents. If I try to avoid the major freeway under construction, it only lengthens my homeward commute by another half-hour.

Having had the commute from hell (50 minutes to 2 hours depending) I decided to move closer to work. Now I can walk to work in 30 minutes or drive it in 5.

My wife and I bought a tiny, insanely expensive house so that I could walk to work. Best thing I've ever done for myself.

Yes, work closer to home is currently on my 'to do' list. That's not going very well either...

For us, it was a matter of priorities. We could have a much, much nicer place in the suburbs, better yard, better neighbors, for sure. If my daughter lived with us, better schools would definitely be a priority. Can you give yourself some consolation on that front? You know, "I have a crappy commute, but at least I like where I live" sort of thing?

Last year, I quit a job and took a pay cut to cut my commute from 12 miles/30 minutes to 1 mile/5 minutes. Now, still with the same company it's up to 3 miles/10 minutes, but it's worth it. If there's a snow storm, I can easily take the bus or even walk if I really had to.