Idiots Guide to Beating the traffic

Today was a day that remined me of most other days. Your going to work and your stuck in seemingly endless commuter traffic. But today only exacerbated my feelings of how horrible being stuck in commuter traffic is really like. However Im willing to excuse these car flooded roads just for today becaue of the horrible storms weve had but the traffic was everywhere, even places where you would least expect, at least in my experience of those roads. Every detour i took there would be traffic. Having left work at 3.45pm I got home at 6.30pm and was too late to make it to my arabic class and was quite understandably totally cheesed off.

Now im someone who used to spend on average 2hrs30mins commuting to work and back. Ive been doing that for nearly a year and have invented small tricks to minimise my commuting time. Despite exceptional days such as today I have found these to be quite effective.

The slow lane is the fast lane

This has proven most successful on motorways where the junctions are relatively close to one another. In my journey its the M25. On any sign of congestion or 'lower speed restrictions showing' you drive in the left hand (slow) lane. You will whiz past the traffic and you come off at the next juntion taking the slip road only to get back on the motorway after having come off. Doing this for the 4 junctions of the M25 i use easily saves me 10-15 minutes. It feels great whizzing past poor souls stuck in traffic. The twisted logic assumed by the majority here i assume is that when road conditions force you to drive slowly you want to get into the fast lane. But if everybody does that then thats where the traffic is most likely to build up and when they realise theyre stuck even more they cut back into other lanes only to hold the traffic further.

The cops are the robbers

This one works wonders on congested A-roads and motorway traffic mainly and is not for the faint hearted but if the thought of chasing a police car tickles your pickle then sure give this one a go. The situation would normally arise in one when an accident has happened and the police/ambulance services are rushing to the scene. As the cars make room for the police to pass through you follow the police car closely as if your chasing them until they get to the scene of the accident. I dont think doing this is illegal but the majority of people still wouldnt try it even if they knew what to do.

Thou shal use the bus lane

It amazes me how many people actually dont understand the true meaning of bus lane restrictions or if they do then they must adore driving in traffic! Restrictions dont normally apply all day and in most areas you find that the restriction apply after 7 or 8am in the morning and before 6 or 7pm in the evening. So if you are ever driving on a road with a bus lane on it and find traffic then do read the restrictions and dont be afraid to use it then if you are allowed to do so.