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JPWRana · 10-13-04, 10:37 PM

My whole life I never faced traffic. Ever since summer that I started to work in South Gate from Baldwin Park... i discovered the wonderful world of TRAFFIC!!!!

Anyways... I HAVE found ways to reduce my commuting time during traffic peaks by as much as 30%.

I have mastered the 10 fwy (from the 710 to the 57), and the 60 fwy (from the 710 to the 605), the 710 (from the 91 until it ends), and HECK even touched the 105, but not too much because that's where I get out of the way.

Now... to save time here are a few USEFUL tips in case traffic gets WORSE than regular.

1) listen to 980 AM... they have the traffic report every 10 or 11 minutes I think. I listen to that as soon as I leave work and as soon as I go to work, so that I'll know to take either the 10 or the 60.

2) KNOW THE STREETS. Because I've mastered the streets of Alhambra, Rosemead, Arcadia, El Monte, Monterey Park, Pico Rivera, and Downey (which are the relevant ones btw), I'm able to determine where to get off incase i'm nearing a roadblock.

3) BEFORE you get on the freeway, quickly glance to see how fast traffic is moving. I have in the near past made quick last minute decisions NOT to take a freeway and rather take the streets (the fast one's obviously which I've already tested multiple times by trial and error

) and it has saved me a good 30 minutes (for the very least).

4) If you know how long your trip is, it may determine where you stop for gas. Sometimes taking the freeway at 2:45pm is better than taking it at 3:00pm because that difference CAN MEAN an additional 30 minutes of bumper to bumper or not. IF you KNOW you can make it to your destination before the gas fill up... do it!!! If you see traffic slowing down, you know you can simply exit to a gas store because you know traffic aint gonna get better by the time you fill up.

5) IF YOU DONT know the way around the streets in case you dont want to take the freeway because a turtle can go faster there, take the streets parallel to it WHERE YOU CAN SAFELY see the freeway. That's what I did my first time experimenting taking the streets home from the 10 fwy from the 710 to the 605. I've taken Valley Blvd (which is parallel to the 10 and above the 10 fwy), and Hellman, which is RIGHT BELOW the 10 fwy and lies much closer in a parallel fashion to the 10 fwy. Since I've taken both, I recommend Hellman because there's less lights, and in case you see a quick sudden increase in speed in the 10 fwy and it's staying that way, you can quickly take it. On Valley there's WAY to many camera's on the stop lights, AND I HATE THEM WITH A PASSION!!!

If anyone has any tips or ideas or suggestions... please feel free to send them in. I have other useful one's, but won't post them yet until I see if my tips are appreciated.

I also have some speed driving tips and gas tips... but that's for another thread.

btw... I always carry a Thomas Guide with me... even though I know my orientation and you can throw me anywhere in LA county and i'll still find my way home w/o a map.

10-13-04, 10:37 PM	#1 (permalink)
JPWRana Guru Joined: Oct 2003 Location: where the 605 and 10 fwy's cross Posts: 884	Commuting Tips My whole life I never faced traffic. Ever since summer that I started to work in South Gate from Baldwin Park... i discovered the wonderful world of TRAFFIC!!!! Anyways... I HAVE found ways to reduce my commuting time during traffic peaks by as much as 30%. I have mastered the 10 fwy (from the 710 to the 57), and the 60 fwy (from the 710 to the 605), the 710 (from the 91 until it ends), and HECK even touched the 105, but not too much because that's where I get out of the way. Now... to save time here are a few USEFUL tips in case traffic gets WORSE than regular. 1) listen to 980 AM... they have the traffic report every 10 or 11 minutes I think. I listen to that as soon as I leave work and as soon as I go to work, so that I'll know to take either the 10 or the 60. 2) KNOW THE STREETS. Because I've mastered the streets of Alhambra, Rosemead, Arcadia, El Monte, Monterey Park, Pico Rivera, and Downey (which are the relevant ones btw), I'm able to determine where to get off incase i'm nearing a roadblock. 3) BEFORE you get on the freeway, quickly glance to see how fast traffic is moving. I have in the near past made quick last minute decisions NOT to take a freeway and rather take the streets (the fast one's obviously which I've already tested multiple times by trial and error ) and it has saved me a good 30 minutes (for the very least). 4) If you know how long your trip is, it may determine where you stop for gas. Sometimes taking the freeway at 2:45pm is better than taking it at 3:00pm because that difference CAN MEAN an additional 30 minutes of bumper to bumper or not. IF you KNOW you can make it to your destination before the gas fill up... do it!!! If you see traffic slowing down, you know you can simply exit to a gas store because you know traffic aint gonna get better by the time you fill up. 5) IF YOU DONT know the way around the streets in case you dont want to take the freeway because a turtle can go faster there, take the streets parallel to it WHERE YOU CAN SAFELY see the freeway. That's what I did my first time experimenting taking the streets home from the 10 fwy from the 710 to the 605. I've taken Valley Blvd (which is parallel to the 10 and above the 10 fwy), and Hellman, which is RIGHT BELOW the 10 fwy and lies much closer in a parallel fashion to the 10 fwy. Since I've taken both, I recommend Hellman because there's less lights, and in case you see a quick sudden increase in speed in the 10 fwy and it's staying that way, you can quickly take it. On Valley there's WAY to many camera's on the stop lights, AND I HATE THEM WITH A PASSION!!! If anyone has any tips or ideas or suggestions... please feel free to send them in. I have other useful one's, but won't post them yet until I see if my tips are appreciated. I also have some speed driving tips and gas tips... but that's for another thread. btw... I always carry a Thomas Guide with me... even though I know my orientation and you can throw me anywhere in LA county and i'll still find my way home w/o a map.