claire_gibson•19d agoProlific Poster

Got called out for taking the interstate instead of backroads... now I'm split on which is actually faster

A random guy at a gas station told me I was wasting 10 minutes every day sitting in I-495 traffic when the old Route 1 cuts right through town. I tried his way for a week and saved maybe 3 bucks in gas but lost my mind at all the stoplights. Which side are you on for a 20 mile commute?

4 comments

4 Comments

thompson.reese19d ago

The 10 stoplights on Route 1 would DESTROY my patience every single morning. I did the math on my own 18 mile commute and the interstate saves me 7 minutes even with the worst traffic. You are not crazy for picking the highway, some of us just hate stopping.

the_lee19d ago

...and my buddy Mark actually timed it one morning because he didn't believe me. He's one of those guys who thinks he can beat the system, you know? So he took Route 1 every day for a week, stoplights and all, thinking the interstate was a trap. Turned out his average was 23 minutes with the stops, but on the interstate (even in traffic) he was doing it in 16. He said the worst part wasn't even the time, it was getting to work already mad from all the stopping and starting. So yeah, you're definitely not crazy for picking the highway. Some of us just value our sanity more than saving a mile or two.

theagibson19d ago

Doesn't that feeling of being stuck at a red light just get under your skin? I get it completely, sometimes the mental cost of all those stops is worse than the extra time on the highway. You made the right call for your own sanity, plain and simple.

the_kim19d ago

Switched my route a couple years ago for the same reason. The back way had six lights in a three mile stretch. I timed it and the highway added maybe two minutes total but I wasn't sitting there fuming every morning. Some days I'd hit all six red and just sit there watching the minutes tick by. Called it quits after I counted myself cussing at a light on a Tuesday morning. Getting to work calm is worth way more than saving a few minutes on paper.