The Best Ways to Handle a Traffic Jam

It’s a classic, inevitable problem with road trips or regular driving: the traffic suddenly clogs up and you see nothing but red lights and packed lanes. Though these jams can seem like they’ll never end, there are several ways to handle traffic jams, even if they take you by surprise. Follow these tips and you’ll be cooler on the road when an unexpected crash or road work threatens to ruin your drive.

Inform Other People

A traffic jam is a widely understood reason for being late to a gathering or event. If you definitely won’t be making it somewhere on time, call up your boss, friends, or anyone else who would be waiting for you at the moment. Wait until you’re at a complete stop and explain the situation with a brief call. It’ll show that you’re not at fault for being late, and take a lot of the pressure out of the traffic jam and what it means for the rest of your day.

Turn It Off

If you find yourself holding the brakes for minutes on end, turn your car off instead to save on gas and reduce emissions. Well developed metropolitan areas are the most likely to have traffic jams, and these areas have enough challenges with air quality as it is. Unless you’re in high heat or cold and need the AC/heater system to run, the time spent idling on the highway is a complete waste of money, and it saves both yourself and the city to shut the engine off.

Don’t Honk the Horn

Though there are likely multiple reasons to get frustrated or angry, there is no benefit to honking the horn at anyone unless they are clearly obstructing traffic. Often, after a long time spent idling, drivers wait for the traffic to get slightly ahead of them and at a decent speed, to be sure that accelerating again is worthwhile. This style of driving actually relieves some of the constant congestion and the stop-and-go feel of a traffic jam, so don’t worry when other drivers are doing it. It may feel like they’re reacting slowly, but their driving pattern is only helping things.

Use the Radio

Tune your radio to a local station with traffic updates, like the Department of Transportation’s station. Not only can these updates give an estimate of when the jam will clear out, but you can hear about alternate routes and know about the specific nature of the jam, such as whether it came from a crash, accident, police situation, etc.

Have a Snack

If you have a spare snack, coffee, or other refreshment you were saving for later in the drive, you can relieve some of the tension by taking it easy and enjoying it now. Since you won’t be driving as actively anyway, it’s the best time to eat or drink without putting yourself at risk.

More than anything, we recommend keeping relaxed and not allowing a random or common event like a traffic jam sour your drive. Though it slows things down, you can easily get through it with a solid attitude and the right preparation.