On The Roadz

     I can only barely stand heavy traffic. I have no patience for drivers in the left lane who are casually chatting with friends on their cell phones or applying makeup. "Move on!", I frequently shout, sometimes even using just those words.
     Part of that is from so many years of driving to work without having to get near an Interstate, and these days, even when I'm driving on those roads, everyone else is sleeping! In addition to all that, I grew up in the city, where traffic is always a hazzard. And when I moved to Birmingham, I spent many mornings and afternoons watching the traffic from the WERC helicopter.

     If you've ever lived in New York City, the city of my birth, you know what real traffic is like. Now officials in The big Apple have used taxi GPS informaition to calculate the best and worst time to drive in Manhattan. The story is in this morning's NY Times, and includes the top speed: 11.7 mph. The slowest average was 7.5 mph, though plowing through Midtown Manhattan it may feel like you are traveling much slower, say .5 mph. Or not at all. Drivers in Manhattan spend a lot of time just sitting there.
     In Alabama, Birmingham has about the worst traffic conditions...they're debating the relative merits and demerits of double decking Highway 280, which was named for the number of minutes out of every four hours that you will spend cursing other drivers if you are forced to drive on it.
     In Montgomery, I-65 along the city's Western edge is also to be avoided. My dear parents spent a lot of their working years commuting to and from Manhattan. 1:40 each way five days a week. Now that's learning about traffic.
    I've met people who work for the State Government, but live in Birmingham. They make that 88 mile journey twice a day. I am SO glad it was a requirement that I move here when I started working in Montgomery. I never would have lasted, driving 176 miles a day just getting to and from work!