Lose 67 Hours a year

[nissangirl74]

...while sitting in traffic during a commute in Washington DC. How about F that noise?? I'm a car person but that doesn't mean I like to sit in my car for hours on end going 1 mph.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/10 ... congestion

I'm curious. If your company offered the option of telecommuting, would you take it in order to avoid the commute? Or do you need to get out of the house to be productive?

[audtatious]

traffic sux, period

[NolimitZ32]

Depends on the surroundings, whether I have a designated office at home and who is home during the day. I could be productive at home but the conditions have to be right.

[krash]

Traffic in DC SUCKS. Traffic in VA also SUCKS. I drove my sister to her work in Tysons Corner everyday over the winter break. I damn near wanted to kill someone at the end of the day.

[nissangirl74]

My commute is not horrible, about 35-45 minutes per day but there are a lot of stupid people between here and there. I listen to the local news on the drive in and I am amazed about all the wrecks I have heard about and have, as of yet, avoided.

[DJ_B_Easy]

My commute SHOULD be about 25 minutes each way. Normally that turns into 45 minutes to an hour based on day of the week and time of year. That said...

I have the option to telecommute. I dont take it, I like to be in my office, in my desk built for the task at hand, with the CEO around the corner. When I work from home I end up getting nothing done but LOLcats and smoking cigarettes. Though Im not in it now, I was in a "punch the clock" situation for a big part of my life and I think it stuck with me.

[Dattebayo]

Most people everywhere who work have about a 30-45 minute commute. So whats the big deal?

Also, telecommuting makes you fat and lazy.

[krash]

The drive from Tysons corner back to silver spring takes like 20 mins. Coming through traffic it takes about 2 hours. Not exaggerating.

[Dattebayo]

Not exactly. Only when an accident occurs that happens, it's not like every day is like that. I work every day out there and have to come back.

I've always said the problem with the DC area is all the people from everywhere else. Sure, they have local licences, but all the foreigners and DC natives would drive on the sidewalks still if they could...

[Jmoore124]

Commuting up here does suck. However there are certain privileges you get from living in an area like this. Even in the worst of times we had some of the highest percentages of available jobs in the country. I hate the traffic, but because my job requires minimal travelling I stay out of most of it.

[LongBeachCoupe]

Longest trip I had to make was 1hr to work, 1:15-1:30 to get home...
I enjoy spending time alone in the car... Its not so much traffic as it is traveling a long distance...

Traffic as a whole changes the way you feel, if you are moving along and have a long distance to cover its different, sitting in the car and hoping that people will move wears on nerves.

[krash]

Not exactly. Only when an accident occurs that happens, it's not like every day is like that. I work every day out there and have to come back.

I've always said the problem with the DC area is all the people from everywhere else. Sure, they have local licences, but all the foreigners and DC natives would drive on the sidewalks still if they could...

Dude, from tysons to silver spring at 5:00pm its like that. M-F.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Telecommuting might work for some jobs, but it definitely isn't an option for a huge number of jobs. For isolated desk-jockey jobs it might be great. Any job that requires working together with other people throws it out the window as an option. Doing my job from anywhere off-site would be impossible.

My commute is 2.4 miles. It takes 10 minutes on a "congested" day in bad weather. Once it took me 12 minutes because I got stuck behind two schoolbusses at bus stops. Of course, my average moving speed is probably somewhere around 25mph on a good day. When summer rolls around I'm going to see if I can register my XR500 for the street (still getting caught up on OHV laws around here...but it's a farm town and it's not uncommon to see 4-wheelers on the road in town). I'm sure I'll also make good use of my mountainbike.

Years back (when I was driving the Q) I was communting 35 miles each way, on the highway. The real problem was not congestion--I was working a grave shift and there was no traffic except sometimes in the morning (and even then I was headed OUT of the city, so I was still against the main flow of traffic). The problem was that Utah is the Land of Eternal Road Construction. There was a point for about two years (two years!!!!) where EVERY freeway that led where I needed to go was under heavy construction.
UDOT are morons and don't coordinate projects intelligently...they just dive in and start working with quick completion dates in mind. The problem is that you often end up with 2 or 3 or even 4 alternative routes ALL under simultaneous heavy construction with lane restrictions, speed limit reductions, and on/offramp closures at the same time. Stupid. Makes getting to work a nightmare even if you're the ONLY car on the road.

[Jesda]

[Dattebayo]

Dude, from tysons to silver spring at 5:00pm its like that. M-F.

Alright, well, I'm not trying to argue with you, and I even used to think it was that way just like you do now. But, I leave most every day at around 5:15, I get home at 6, sometimes 15 minutes earlier. Every day for the last two years, almost. Even with different jobs all in or right near Tysons/McLean VA! An accident will make it an hour or more sometimes, but most definitely not every day.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Yeah, and end up with evil doppelgangers or combined with another person? No thanks.

EDIT:
Good doppelgangers, in some cases.

[alms24sebring]

DC is pretty f***ed up to drive in. Ive always known traffic on 95/395/495, most parts of parkways, and Route 1, are and have always been a biznitch. Fridays are always the worst. Luckily, I can take a back road home. I like to listen to traffic on the way home just to see how gross it is, then laugh hysterically to myself as a I enjoy my breezy 50mph all the way home. Imbiciles.

[krash]

Alright, well, I'm not trying to argue with you, and I even used to think it was that way just like you do now. But, I leave most every day at around 5:15, I get home at 6, sometimes 15 minutes earlier. Every day for the last two years, almost. Even with different jobs all in or right near Tysons/McLean VA! An accident will make it an hour or more sometimes, but most definitely not every day.

OK Dave

Jesda you will end up with someone else's butt.

[Ace2cool]

That would be terrible! What if the pants didn't fit anymore??

[RCA]

Instant teleport would be boss but I'm excited for automated driving. Traffic wouldn't exist (once a majority of people have automated cars) and you would gain a ton of productivity because you can do stuff during your commute.

[alms24sebring]

like play cell phone games or send tweets... or drink?? After all you're not technically driving.

[Dattebayo]

The cab industry would be destroyed as we know it by auto drive.