Traffic and Travel: Lessons Virginia Taught Me

So it's my first week in Virginia, and something that has stuck out to me is the Traffic.  Yes, Traffic with a capital "T".  Everyone blames New Jersey for having bad drivers, but in my experience I've found both Boston and DC to be much worse.

The traffic rules in DC don't help. There is a road in DC that has six lanes.  The two center lanes can change direction, depending on the hour (it's based on rush hour).  The outside two lanes can turn into parking.  It's very strange and confusing (no wonder the drivers aren't good).

My friends in Boston told stories about how people would run red lights, but the funny thing about it was that they would run them just before they turned green, rather than running a yellow/red light.  Very odd.

So what's the big deal in Virginia?  It's hard to pinpoint exactly what the difference is between Jersey roads and Virginia roads that make the traffic so much worse.  But here's what was running through my head on my way back from work:

Jersey's Jug Handles

In Jersey, these are all over the place. My boyfriend, who is from Ohio, has said you won't find them anywhere else and he considers them rather odd.  I was trying to decide what was better: Jug handles or left turn lanes.  Obviously on a busy road, you need some special way to help those people trying to cross traffic.  I still want to put some thought into this, but for some reason I am actually preferring jug handles.  It seemed to help with the flow of traffic.  Maybe I'll try to find a civil engineer to discuss this with (my cousin got his MA in Civil and Architectural Engineering so I'll see what his thoughts are).

Finding Flow

Maybe it's just my particular route to work, but there seems to be much more stop and go rather than smooth flow.  Granted there is a toll road that I could take that does not have traffic lights, but, well, it is a toll road, and I wouldn't be on it long enough, and I'm afraid that traffic will still be bad.

What's up with the Weather?

It's been rather rainy here so maybe that has something to do with it.  People keep saying "Virginians don't know how to drive in the rain", but I hear people from all over the country say things like that.  What I think it ultimately comes down to is that different regions just drive differently.  I have no statistical data to prove this, just experience.  With different road designs you have different traffic patterns, which I can imagine would create a different "driving mindset".

Putting it All Together: How Traffic Analysis Helps Your Travel Plans

What does any of this have to do with travel?  Well, if you're driving or planning on renting a car, it probably isn't a bad idea to do some research on the traffic rules in that area and try to get a feel for what traffic will be like.  Sites like Google Maps and Traffic.com can show you what the general flow of traffic might look like (green is for fast, yellow for medium, red for very slow). Don't stress too much, but do a Google search and see if anything comes up.  I just did a Google search for "What is traffic like in Washington DC" and the first result (click the previous link) says "in a word, terrible".  Also try "worst drivers" and see if your destination city is on the list. (Apparently Washington, DC tops the list of worst drivers)

Also think about: what time of the year is it?  If you are visiting a place in September, keep in mind that the new school year could cause some back ups as people adjust to the additional cars on the road.  If you are vacationing in the winter, be aware of any weather conditions, like snow or ice on the road.

It never hurts to be prepared and understand what you're getting into.  Stay safe!