[jwasbury]

I live in one of the most densely populated areas in the country, and traffic is part of daily life here. The thing is, the infrastructure is designed for volume, and the regulars like me know how to deal with heavy volume. Sure, accidents and other issues will create pockets of congestion and sometimes completely lock things up, but typically things keep moving...hell, we use the shoulders and the median strip if needed to keep the flow going.

I find that more recently developed areas have far worse and far more frustrating traffic issues than what we get around here. I think there are two reasons for this: 1) the suburban development ethos applied in the last few decades is zoned communities with commercial areas separated from dwelling areas, and limited entrances and exits to each zone, all fed by smaller rural two lane highways never designed for the capacities they now serve. 2) the people in these areas don't know how to drive in the congested conditions. Put these two factors together, and you've choked the flow = any person who considers themselves a "driver" is gonna be pissed/frazzled.