Is anyone else scared to drive in Denver traffic? (Colorado Springs: job, transfer)

[wxjay]

Driving in Denver is a walk in the park compared to Atlanta or Boston or even Providence. I drove on I-25/I-70 many times on and off peak hours, and I was absolutely fine. People in Colorado are far more courteous than they are in the east.

[Katiana]

Practice getting on and off the freeways. You will have to do it often. Go in off-peak times. I would actually recommend later in the evening to practice. There is a good bit of traffic on I-25 and I-70 all day long. When you get your confidence up, try merging onto I-25 southbound from US 36 eastbound. Once you feel comfortable with that, you can do just about anything. Also agree with the above suggestions such as knowing your route, etc. Tell yourself you can do it. We all had to learn! We came here from Champaign, IL, so I know whereof I speak.

[chilaili]

After 10 years driving in Minnesota, no way! Coloradoans are princes of the road in comparison. Although they are very bad at letting people change lanes in front of them, especially when someone has accidentally got into a right-turn-only lane because they didn't know the area. You know who you are!

[justsomeguy]

Driving in San Diego (that SoCal?) is nothing compared to driving in Dallas. Drivers there are out of control! You'll have some people flying by you 100mph in every which lane of the 5-6 lane highway, than other people crawling along at 55mph using every lane, and this going on at all hours of the day and night, even on a late Sunday night, it's just crazy. Don't move to Dallas. The traffic in San Diego (the freeway routes I drive anyway) haven't seem too bad to me really. Wonder if Denver is worse or better? I notice though, most of the heavy traffic I see is always coming the opposite direction than I am going.

[livecontent]

Many people have anxiety and phobias about driving in traffic; that is a normal reaction to an abnormal situation. The trouble we have taken the abnormal situation of auto driving and turned it in as a normal activity for a person. It is not. It is forced upon us because of the nature of the auto society. However, the suggestions from the other posts are a help but it still does not change the nature of the beast.

So maybe we can change it by not allowing the automobile to be the center of our activities and starting changing the environment to become more walkable. We can do this through new urban design of denser housing, better application of public transportation and more pedestrian orientated developments.

[Sally123]

Thank you to everyone who responded. And thanks for not making fun of me for asking

I guess the plan is going to be to avoid rush hour and to get out there and practice a bit. I was encouraged to hear others experienced this and overcame the fear...

[Katiana]

You're welcome! It worked for me. Good luck!

[ColoWeb]

For me it is not as bad as LA or I-5 in the Seattle Area. At times, during rush hour, it can be ugly sometimes. Just be careful and watch out for others.

[hsbelovedhandmdn]

I thought the traffic in Denver was nerve wrecking. I have talked to other people who felt the same. It's not as bad as LA but OMG. For me going to work and coming home on the interstates was the most stressful part of my day. We are semi retired and work out of our home and luckily were able to move to the mountains in SW Co. I have never been so relaxed in my life.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by ColoWeb

For me it is not as bad as LA or I-5 in the Seattle Area. At times, during rush hour, it can be ugly sometimes. Just be careful and watch out for others.

Almost deserves a "worst transition" thread. Here's mine:

405 N to the 101 N (west) at the northern bottom of the Sepulveda Pass.

Another one that is bad:

5 South to 10 east near Soto street.