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Whether you are expecting a traffic jam, or one spontaneously happens following an accident, they are infuriating, annoying, and a waste of your time. While there are many ways to make a traffic jam more bearable – such as listening to a podcast or audiobook, or calling a friend – nothing beats avoiding a traffic jam altogether!
Sometimes it’s impossible to avoid traffic jams, but usually there’s a thing or two that you can do to keep from getting stuck in bumper to bumper madness on your way to and from work every day.
Method 1 of 3: Avoid high-traffic areas
Step 1: Use phone apps. Use phone apps to help find better routes and traffic hold ups. Download a GPS or maps app for your smart phone, such as Google Maps or Waze.
These apps will help you find alternate routes, and can also alert you when traffic is especially bad. By keeping an eye on the app, you can see the locations on your commute traffic that are clogged badly, and thus take alternate routes to avoid it.
Tip: These apps get updated in real time to show new traffic jams caused by accidents or road work, so that you can get the latest and most accurate reports.
Warning: Never use your phone while you are driving. Open the app before you get in the car, and place it on a dash-mounted phone holder. Using your phone while driving puts you and others around you at risk. It is also illegal, and can result in a hefty ticket.
Step 2: Pay attention to traffic reports. Take a minute to look at traffic reports before you drive.
Use one of your phone apps, the internet, or the radio to find out the current traffic conditions. Plan your alternate route based on the information you receive.
Step 3: Find out different ways to get there. If you keep getting stuck in office traffic on a commute, make a list of other routes, and keep it in your car at all times.
Use an online search to find other routes that are similar in driving time or distance, but less likely to have severe traffic jams. Ask your coworkers, or other people who have similar commutes, for other routes that they take when driving to work.
After you’ve compiled a list of available routes, start trying them. You’ll quickly learn which ones are faster than the traffic clogged route and find out if certain routes work better on certain days or at specific times.
