Top 10 reasons for freeway traffic jams in LA (landscaping, construction)

[Mr_Geek]

This could probably be said for most cities in the country but after commuting in and around LA for many years I thought it would be fun to come up with my top 10 list of what I feel causes freeway jams here in LA. Feel free to add!

These things will cause traffic jams on the freeways as long as there are more than a few cars on the road:

1. Curve in the freeway - this one never seems to fail. Traffic is flowing and UH OH a curve in the road! Slam on the breaks everyone. This one is evident by looking at traffic maps such as SigAlert and always seeing red where the freeway curves.

2. Car on the shoulder - it doesn't matter if the car was in a wreck, ran out of gas or just plain pulled over. People slam on their breaks when they see a car on the side of the road. Yes I know it's safe to slow down passing a car but it causes huge back ups.

3. Cop car - whether the cop is on the shoulder looking for speeders or going with traffic people SLAM on their breaks. Going 100mph as you approach a cop? Slam on those breaks as soon as you see him even though he already has your speed recorded at this point.

4. Single slow moving vehicle - most often this car is in the middle lane going 20+mph slower than everyone else. People coming up to them must slam on breaks and switch lanes to avoid wrecks which causes huge jams. Most often in LA it's a 1970s pickup truck with unsecured landscaping gear hanging out of the back.

5. Debris on roadway - most often it is the guys rake from #4 above. If there's debris in the roadway be ready for a traffic jam.

6. Two freeway intersection (sometimes even people just merging onto the freeway) - people do not know how to merge and play nice. If everyone would use the zipper approach the jams would be much less frequent. Unfortunately too many egos who will absolutely not let you in no matter what. Then there's the flipside of cars that ride the shoulder to pass traffic and then sneak their way in.

7. Construction - this one is bad. People are forced to slow down and/or switch lanes. If a lane is ending see previous (#6). People do not know how to merge lanes nicely.

8. Rain - not much to be said here. If it rains we floor it and aim for the nearest wall.

9. No reason at all - these one's always baffle me. Traffic is moving fine then all the sudden we jam on our breaks and stop for a few minutes then get back up to speed. Most likely a result of one of the other reasons listed above that I didn't see.

10. Accidents - on this list these are the least frequent causes of traffic jams I'd say. but this category is a result of the other categories. Which lead to the major backups. A note on this one: if you are in a minor wreck don't leave your car parked in the middle of the freeway. PULL OVER! It's dangerous.

[dexter14]

I can sum it up in 4 words....too many da*n people!

[ccm123]

11. People (still) using cell phones (with no hands free devices) and texting while in cars. Not only is it distracting to the driver, it slows other traffic down behind you.

[LuvSouthOC]

12. Applying mascara/doing hair.
13. Tailgating.
14. Running out of gas...in heavy traffic

[nightlysparrow]

15. Sweeper train
16. Sun in eyes at dawn or sunset

[Rkstar71]

Don't forget the popo does "sweeping" of the freeway sometimes, slowing everything up from behind. Not sure what the point of doing that is.

Also RUBBERNECKING! So what if someone is pulled over on the shoulder,KEEP MOVING.

L.A. Has so many bad drivers that even if the freeways were widened to 50 lanes each way there would still be traffic jams.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by Mr_Geek

This could probably be said for most cities in the country but after commuting in and around LA for many years I thought it would be fun to come up with my top 10 list of what I feel causes freeway jams here in LA. Feel free to add!

These things will cause traffic jams on the freeways as long as there are more than a few cars on the road:

1. Curve in the freeway - this one never seems to fail. Traffic is flowing and UH OH a curve in the road! Slam on the breaks everyone. This one is evident by looking at traffic maps such as SigAlert and always seeing red where the freeway curves.

2. Car on the shoulder - it doesn't matter if the car was in a wreck, ran out of gas or just plain pulled over. People slam on their breaks when they see a car on the side of the road. Yes I know it's safe to slow down passing a car but it causes huge back ups.

3. Cop car - whether the cop is on the shoulder looking for speeders or going with traffic people SLAM on their breaks. Going 100mph as you approach a cop? Slam on those breaks as soon as you see him even though he already has your speed recorded at this point.

4. Single slow moving vehicle - most often this car is in the middle lane going 20+mph slower than everyone else. People coming up to them must slam on breaks and switch lanes to avoid wrecks which causes huge jams. Most often in LA it's a 1970s pickup truck with unsecured landscaping gear hanging out of the back.

5. Debris on roadway - most often it is the guys rake from #4 above. If there's debris in the roadway be ready for a traffic jam.

6. Two freeway intersection (sometimes even people just merging onto the freeway) - people do not know how to merge and play nice. If everyone would use the zipper approach the jams would be much less frequent. Unfortunately too many egos who will absolutely not let you in no matter what. Then there's the flipside of cars that ride the shoulder to pass traffic and then sneak their way in.

7. Construction - this one is bad. People are forced to slow down and/or switch lanes. If a lane is ending see previous (#6). People do not know how to merge lanes nicely.

8. Rain - not much to be said here. If it rains we floor it and aim for the nearest wall.

9. No reason at all - these one's always baffle me. Traffic is moving fine then all the sudden we jam on our breaks and stop for a few minutes then get back up to speed. Most likely a result of one of the other reasons listed above that I didn't see.

10. Accidents - on this list these are the least frequent causes of traffic jams I'd say. but this category is a result of the other categories. Which lead to the major backups. A note on this one: if you are in a minor wreck don't leave your car parked in the middle of the freeway. PULL OVER! It's dangerous.

#1, #4 and #6 are all due to poor skills. I would add another couple to this general group. If there is a narrow or no inside shoulder, a certain fraction of drivers freak out about the center divider (which begs the question of why they were in the fast lane to begin with). Another similar issue is people who seem to go into a trance when they get along side a semi (instead of continuing to pass it) and then slow down, going the same speed as the semi. It would be good if we insisted on higher skills to get a license they way they do in Europe.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by nightlysparrow

16. Sun in eyes at dawn or sunset

Let me re-write that.

16. Never discovered the magic of sun glasses.

[Nafster]

I HATE the idiots who leave their cars parked in the middle of the freeway.

Drives me NUTS!

I agree that much of the time it's just too many people driving at the same time. Like all cities.

[Lovehound]

I can't read this topic because you didn't start from #10.