According to a study by Texas A&M six of the seven most congested roads in the US are in Los Angelos. I have spent a considerable amount of time on other listed stretches in the DC/Philly area. Including this past Saturday night when it took as long to get in and out of Fedex Field in metro DC as it did to play the football game I went to watch.

What's your nightmare stretch of road?

I used to commute 45 miles each way when I was living in NE Maryland and working in downtown Baltimore. The morning drive wasn't too bad (I left the house at 5AM), but in the evenings the slightest traffic hitch couple mean a couple hours to get home. The worst was a 3.5 hour slog when a major accident closed I-95 and I was 3.5 miles from an exit in either direction.

Thankfully I drive back roads to a much closer work location now, although recent changes in the local employment picture and a lack of road improvements to accommodate the changes could mean a longer travel time before too long.

The 405 in L.A. depresses me just thinking about it. I have turned down job offers in that area because of the 405 and adjacent roads. The 405 is ALWAYS clogged.

Regarding commutes, I "progressed" to a job that had a 3+ hour commute door-to-door. That's 3 hours there and 3 hours back. The commute included a train ride to the Silicon Valley. The worst part was that although I had the longest work day of anybody in the office, I was always the last to arrive and the first to leave. After about a year of that torture, I started my own home business with a 10 second commute to my home office.

I plan never to commute more than 15 minutes ever again. I will be happy living in a small studio apartment if I don't have to commute far. [/rant]

You are just wildly exaggerating. I have been on the 405 at 3AM and I was able to average 50 mph

Seriously, it is a real nightmare, especially if there is even the most insignificant fender bender.

LA traffic is why I always have a Garmin Nuvi with traffic (one of numerous "LMT" automobile GPS receivers). Mine has routed me around traffic snarls in LA numerous times and has paid for itself in the currency of frustration and blood pressure. I also use it for planning fuel and overnight stops on long trips. Good to have.

Unfortunately you have to plan your schedule around traffic, but most cities are like that. Smaller cities can actually be worse due to smaller roadways and poorly synchonized stoplights.

Thats why I have no plans for evacuating during an emergency. You'll likely run out of gas and wind up ditching the car on the freeway. Hurricane Rita anyone?

Ditto. The more I've considered the prospect of "bugging out" the more impossible it seems. I live smack in the middle of Washington, D.C. It's gridlock half the day on a normal weekday.

I keep my fuel tank topped off most of the time but that would not be enough to even get outside the Beltway if everyone decides to go at the same time -- let alone with the added chaos of doing so under the extreme duress of a crisis. Cars would be running out of gas. There'd be fender-benders.

What would be doable is putting my dog in her bike trailer and riding out the National Mall and the C&O Canal. Would be packing a lot less stuff!

Um ... duh? I went to UCLA, ie, heart of 405, Wilshire, Bev Hills Blvd, Santa Monica Blvd, and oh yeah, I-10 back home. Literally 3 hours to and from school if traffic was bad - for about 15 miles. And that didn't matter on route - freeway or streets. Wilshire, Olympic, S.M. Blvd, 405 to 91, 405 to 10 to 5, whatever. It just sucked.

Screw that. Then I moved to Philly. Yeah it gets crowded, but no biggie. Missouri was great. Detroit was surprisingly good considering the "motor city" had freeways the same size as LA. Now in VA, my 45-75 minute commute, traffic dependent, is a minor hassle.

After growing up in LA, NO ONE'S traffic is a problem.

I have a commute of maybe 15 minutes, 6 miles more or less. Traffic is slower most of the way, 35-45, and there are 6 lights and a traffic circle. Some days I get behind the street sweeper which is out and about when I go in. That can add 3 minutes if I am unlucky.

I did learn when I was on active duty to leave my house in a window of 5 minutes from 0545 to 0550. I could then do my 12 mile drive in about 20 minutes (pre 9/11, so no gate checks. The 12 miles was standard more or less, both Division and Corps seemed to be equidistant. Leaving earlier or later actually added 5-10 minutes.

3 hours? I'd find a new job or school. Or move. Or something. Probably learn Chinese and Spanish by tape, lol.

I haven't been there in 31 years, and it was bad then!

Sue