# A review of today's drive



## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

I need to get this off my mind - if you read it and don't reply, no problems, just think about what I write here.

:bullit: :bullit: :bullit: :bullit:

It is Friday afternoon, work is winding down so I start to pack-up my stuff, shut down my computers, put my back-up systems into my GHB, check my water-bottle to make sure that it is full of fresh water, check my drive-home-snack level, shut the lights off and head out the door to my Jeep.

The road in front of my work is insanely busy! Normally, I can pull out of the parking lot straight onto the road. Today, there was at least 50 vehicles that passed by my work's entrance before I could squeeze in.

I take my normal road around the bend and up the hill and ... stop. Dead-stop. Nothin' was moving! Alright, wait. Left leg starts getting the shakes from holding the clutch in - pop into neutral and let my left leg rest. Wiggle forward 2". Stop. Wiggle forward 2". Stop. Repeat and finally get through the intersection.

Listen to the all-news-radio station that has traffic reports every 10-minutes. Accident on the road to the east. Accident on the road to the north. Accident on the road to the south and ... the list continues on and on and on! I am completely surrounded by accidents. 2-car crash. 18-wheeler rolled over. Car vs. motorbike crash. Emergency personel going everywhere to take care of the problems.

It took me 75 minutes to travel the distance that on a normal day takes me between 8 to 10 minutes! Grandma pushin' a shopping cart on the sidewalk was moving faster that I was!

I figure that I will have to start riding my dual-sport motorbike instead of driving my Jeep - I will have better ability to get around the traffic snarls, but, first I need to be able to know where the snarls are. Here comes the radio-station, but, it is on the AM-band and I have only an FM receiver that I can plug into my helmet headset.

Looks like I will go shopping and see if I can get an inexpensive AM-radio that I can plug into my headset so that I can hear where the troubles are.


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## pixieduster (Mar 28, 2012)

If everybody bugs out at the same time, I'm guessing that's what it would be like. I left for an incoming hurricane and it took me 16 hours to get to my normally 3 hour away bug out location. It sucked.....plans have changes since then.


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## Axelight (Apr 21, 2012)

Sounds terrible. I've been in those types of traffic situations before, and it's definitely not fun. Image the traffic that comes about as a result of a disaster or incoming disaster. I remember leaving work early here in Trinidad a few years back when hurricane Ivan was bearing down on us...basically a two hour inch by inch crawl to get home, which would normally take 20 minutes, and everyone on the road freaking out, and driving like crazy people (luckily the hurricane turned at the last minute, so we only got some high winds).


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## Von Helman (Oct 31, 2009)

I feel for you, 

Thank God I work and live out of the same location so I have no commute. I don't know if I could handle such a lifestyle of heavy traffic or crowds of people.


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## partdeux (Aug 3, 2011)

Inrix or Waze traffic app on your smart phone.

That's why I think the bugout plans won't work. If get out of dodge is the only answer, everybody will be simultaneously attempting to get out of dodge.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

I have no smart phone, no apps. I don't even have my cellphone turned on in a vehicle when I am driving. I don't turn on my cellphone when I am at work and when I am at home, my cellphone is turned off so that it can ring to my house-line (automatic forwarding when off).

In fact, the battery on my cellphone lasts about 2 months for the amount of time that I leave it on ...


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## Von Helman (Oct 31, 2009)

^^^^^ Heck I don't even use a cell phone. My wife has a cell phone she uses for texting relatives on certain occasions and for emergencies when we are on the road but I don't know how to use the dang thing. Its a simple cheap cell phone simply because we never use it. 

I don't even wear a watch. apart from my laptop and my digital camera I am really very simple.


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## stayingthegame (Mar 22, 2011)

people on the road today are driving like they have no mind. if I bug out it will either be at the VERY beginning or several days/weeks later. getting stuck on a road with a group of strangers is not my idea of a safe place to be. if i am away from home when things happen I will have to look at all my options and then decide. it would probably a be almost a minute to minute thing. I fell that any plan written in stone are easily broken.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

I doubt if the traffic apps would be applicable in Calgary anyway,maybe, Is your Shop in the deep south east (south of the irrigation canal)? I was down there getting engine parts and if something happens to close or really slow 114 AVE that place would be a nightmare, no other road out for 40 plus blocks, and you can't just drive beside the road in that swamp.


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## Turtle (Dec 10, 2009)

Regarding the travel app, my girlfriend has Waze on her iPhone, and it works by users updating it as they use it. So, if they are on the highway and notice an accident, they can update the app in "real time" to let everyone else know. 

It is useful, but there are several downsides to this: 
- Not really safe for people to be updating it while driving
- It only gets updated when someone else comes on and tells it that the accident (or whatever) has been cleared.
- It depends upon other drivers to relay your intel. This is the biggest issue in my eyes.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

Tirediron said:


> I doubt if the traffic apps would be applicable in Calgary anyway,maybe, Is your Shop in the deep south east (south of the irrigation canal)? I was down there getting engine parts and if something happens to close or really slow 114 AVE that place would be a nightmare, no other road out for 40 plus blocks, and you can't just drive beside the road in that swamp.


My shop is just a couple blocks east of Shaw GMC. My route took me through Ogden and onto the Deerfoot at Peigan.

The problems were that there was an accident on Deerfoot-n-Glenmore, Deerfoot-n-8th-Ave, roll-over on 17th-Ave at 84Street, motorcycle accident at Glenmore at 14 street, accident on MacLeod trail-south near the Arby's plus other stalls and accidents that I lost track of when the radio was listing them all off. On top of all that, part of OgdenRoad is closed due to CalgaryMetal burning under the metal-piles for over a week.

It is a full-moon tonight, I am wondering if the moon really has such an impact on the minds of Calgary residents. I haven't done a true historical count, but if I think about it, most of the horrible drives through the city are right around full-moon.

I might just call CPS and ask them about statistics on accidents and correlate that with the full-moon and weather-annomolies to see if I can extrapolate a pattern. (That is the geek in me speaking).


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## Turtle (Dec 10, 2009)

NaeKid said:


> My shop is just a couple blocks east of Shaw GMC. My route took me through Ogden and onto the Deerfoot at Peigan.
> 
> The problems were that there was an accident on Deerfoot-n-Glenmore, Deerfoot-n-8th-Ave, roll-over on 17th-Ave at 84Street, motorcycle accident at Glenmore at 14 street, accident on MacLeod trail-south near the Arby's plus other stalls and accidents that I lost track of when the radio was listing them all off. On top of all that, part of OgdenRoad is closed due to CalgaryMetal burning under the metal-piles for over a week.
> 
> ...


It's pretty well proven (both in modern times by hospitals and police departments and historically by observation) that there is a slight spike in odd behaviour during a full moon. Hence the term, "lunatic".


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

Turtle said:


> Regarding the travel app, my girlfriend has Waze on her iPhone, and it works by users updating it as they use it. So, if they are on the highway and notice an accident, they can update the app in "real time" to let everyone else know.
> 
> It is useful, but there are several downsides to this:
> - Not really safe for people to be updating it while driving
> ...


We ,Alberta, have a distracted driving law, which prohibits texting while in traffic, even stoped at a red light. As far as I know most of the radio station traffic warnings come from phone ins.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

NaeKid said:


> My shop is just a couple blocks east of Shaw GMC. My route took me through Ogden and onto the Deerfoot at Peigan.
> 
> The problems were that there was an accident on Deerfoot-n-Glenmore, Deerfoot-n-8th-Ave, roll-over on 17th-Ave at 84Street, motorcycle accident at Glenmore at 14 street, accident on MacLeod trail-south near the Arby's plus other stalls and accidents that I lost track of when the radio was listing them all off. On top of all that, part of OgdenRoad is closed due to CalgaryMetal burning under the metal-piles for over a week.
> 
> ...


The city really dropped the ball on keeping traffic moving at commuter time. and the fully investigate the accident policy on sight doesn't help the flow.


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## partdeux (Aug 3, 2011)

I use both inrix and waze. As I'm getting dressed in the morning, I start inrix app, and then as I'm walking out the door at work, same thing. Both apps depend on active and passive feedback. If someone reports a problem, the program begins silently polling other users in the area. WRT driving and playing, both make it really easy to quickly report, literally just a couple of buttons and it's reported.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

*Finding alternative routes as a form of prepping*

I live in a very large metropolitan area, in the very center, and have often considered the possibilities of everyone trying to get out at the same time. On the day to day drive to work, I have always tried to figure out the most efficient route and to use it as my primary path. I have had to find much longer alternative routes when rolled semi-trucks changed traffic flow.

But, if everyone was trying to get out, I have often thought that it would be wise to know back roads and less traveled paths to get at least out of the area. On weekends and when going places that are in that direction, I deliberately drive other ways, not the most likely of the masses, and not the second choice. I want to find ways that will get me where I am going, but that won't be the most used. I have really considered doing a mapquest to help me find directions, and your post has prompted me to get some plans together.


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## d_saum (Jan 17, 2012)

I have often thought about the gridlock that can (and does) occur, even when there is NOT a SHTF scenario.. Like others have said, I'd either a) get out way early, b) wait until everyone else is gone, or c) have an alternate route.. VERY alternate. If it really came down to it.. I'd just aggravate a LOT of people by utilizing my 4 wheel drive and drive on the shoulder, over curbs, through bushes... etc... but, I'd avoid major highways and interstates at all costs unless I absolutely HAD to take them. Traffic aside... just for my own personal safety, I'd want to avoid "checkpoints" along with Zombies/punks/thieves/etc... I guess that's one of the good things about my location(s).. Somewhat rural.. and plenty of side roads. :2thumb:


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## tac803 (Nov 21, 2010)

One word for ya... Sidewalks! The Jeep *loves* sidewalks  ! All kidding aside, it does make one pause and think. A couple of years ago, we had hundreds of vehicles stuck on the Thruway for almost a day in a snowstorm because of accidents in place and nowhere to get the vehicles off the road. There were a couple of near tragic indcidents with that one. Even though it's just the ride home, it makes sense to do some preparations prior to setting out.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

In the case of Naekids trip, the Alternate routes were either under construction or in one case partially closed dure to a big smouldering fire. If someone as aware of his suroundings and alternate routes gets that frustrated things are bad, the industrial areas where he works don't have great access on a good day, rail crossings and a lack of sidewalks to sneak by on (which would get blocked in a real emergency) Cities scare the crap out of me on a good day.:gaah:


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

TI - so true.

I used to have a couple of great AltRoutes that I used (gravel farm roads that no-one in the city knew about), but, since the construction of the RingRoad, those roads are blocked-off while heavy equipment is making the new route. I was able to sneak through once during that construction, but, they have been blocked-off so completely that I would have trouble getting through on foot - no chance of working through with my Jeep or KLR650 ... :gaah:


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## Fn/Form (Nov 6, 2008)

We're fortunate to have some AM/FM simulcast stations that carry traffic. Also web-based highway camera and highway speed sensors available for public display.

When I was looking for a footmobile device I found the Degen radios to be of better construction and features... at a price. Some are even mp3 recorders and players along with AM/FM. 

And of course you'll see them re-branded with other names... but there are still a few cheap options out there, too.


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## chick (Mar 25, 2012)

Well you do know that warm weather in Alberta means fixing pot holes and road construction on top of all the accidents. 
So you need to think outside the box and get the H out of the tieups. Taking back roads can save time. 
Just today I was going on a 2 hr road trip and trying to get there on time when I came upon "Men working" signs with highway construction for the next 12 K. I was about a city block from the front and after sitting for about 5 minutes with no one moving (even no traffic coming) I decided to take a detour down the closest side road up ahead. To me it made no difference whether I was going 80 k on a highway or a gravel road, but at least I didn't waste time and gas sitting in a lineup.


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