2 comments | So my car-pool buddy Bob is back this week, and not a moment too soon.
He was in San Francisco last week, visiting college campuses with his son, eating at great restaurants and sampling really tasty beers at the local microbrews. Best of all (as a commuter, anyway), he used San Francisco’s amazing public transportation system with a weeklong pass. A great deal, he told me on our Monday morning drive, since it also provides discounts on cool attractions and museums. What a concept.
So we’re back together, at least for a couple days until I take off for a human resources conference in New Orleans this weekend, where I hear the streets are literally buckling from the heat. Lucky me.
We’ve both learned that driving together from Poway to Irvine is a challenge, but doing it solo for a week is a grind.
When I go solo, I need to leave earlier than our normal 6 a.m. take-off, since I can’t use the car-pool lanes in Orange County. And after 7, traffic is already a mess up there.
I just don’t do well in stop-and-go traffic. I dread it. I’d take listening to a never-ending loop of Foreigner doing “Hot Blooded” any day. Well, maybe not. Still, I do whatever I can to avoid the worst of the morning rush. I also avoid classic rock stations; no sense tempting fate and bumping into a Foreigner tune.
I’ve also discovered that no matter what time I get on the road, there are some things that are unique to the I-5 commute-two of which are the car-pool lanes and the Border Patrol checkpoint at San Onofre.
There was some serious Border Patrol activity last Thursday morning. And maybe it’s just me, but after three years of doing this commute, it seems like the BP has been very, very busy lately.
Heading northbound, several Border Patrol cruisers were parked along the shoulder, the checkpoint was open and two officers screamed past in their cars chasing something that took them way out of sight. It wasn’t until I got to San Juan Capistrano that I saw they had separate vehicles pulled over a mile or so apart.
Their chase had nothing to do with lane jumpers, but there are times when I wish they were patrolling for these people.
On the drive home that day I dodged three car-pool lane jumpers within a mile span in Lake Forest just south of the I-5-405 merge. Two jumped out, and one jumped in. Sounds kind of like a playground game, or a modern-day nursery rhyme-diddle, diddle, dumpling I hate lane jumpers.
I’ve gotten adept at the almost daily dogfights with these selfish, me-first jerks, but that day made me realize why someone once said a rush-hour commute is as stressful as flying an F-18. Since I’ve only flown fighter planes on a computer game-let’s just say I am no Eddie Rickenbacher-I’m probably not the best candidate to compare the two.
But the Border Patrol chases and narrow misses with self-righteous lane jumpers makes most every day another trip on the concrete Highway to the Danger Zone. Just call me Maverick.
See more of Rick Bell’s Extreme Commuter columns
Ironically, my terrestrial Top Gun experience occurred the same day a survey was released on which cities have the angriest and most courteous drivers.
The Driver’s Seat 2009 AutoVantage Road Rage Survey revealed Portland, Oregon, has the nicest drivers (not really; they all just drive really, really slow, much like the people in Rancho Bernardo). San Diegans didn’t make that list, but we did rank as the 10th angriest drivers nationwide.
New Yorkers topped the list, but frankly, their commute pales compared to ours. Everyone deals with heavy traffic every day. Big deal. Our lane jumpers, Border Patrol and CHP car chases, all manner of bouncing furniture, ladders, hard hats, and rocks spewing from construction rigs usually occur at mach speed.
New Yorkers are just naturally angry people, but road rage here is as common as spilling hot coffee on your lap.
I’ve seen motorcyclists literally performing stunts while weaving in and out of traffic. If I hadn’t been so damn worried that this knucklehead was going to drop his bike at 75 mph right in front of me it would have been really
Rick Bell does extreme commuting as a daily exercise.
entertaining. I even saw a motorcyclist texting while driving (this of course was legal, I think, since it was before the anti-texting law went into effect).
And now we have to contend with the added stress of summertime traffic. Laid back? Hang loose? No bad days?
Maybe at the beach or on a bumper sticker, but on our freeways it’s all about survival.
Rick Bell is senior editor for Workforce Management in Irvine and previously was managing editor of the San Diego Business Journal. He can be reached by Twitter @Rickbell123 or e-mail: rickbell(a)cox.net.
Tags: SDNN
Comment by: StressFree Posted: June 30, 2009, 7:29 am
Rick, I can personally identify with your commuting experiences. In the last few months I got so fed up I decided to get a bike and supplement my car commute with it. It’s a Montague CX folding bike that fits right in the trunk. Basically, I drive part way, find a good lot to leave my car in, pull out the bike, and ride the remainder to work…it has done wonders in lowering my morning stress level and often times allows for a faster commute.
Comment by: Elaine Posted: July 3, 2009, 12:53 pm
Rick, I feel for you - commuting daily for hours. I’ve been working on the Zen of it and easing my shoulder pain at the same time. As a commuting Yoga teacher/writer, I find traffic here in San Diego is always a study in contrasts: way too fast and then far too slow. That drives me crazy - then I start the ‘conscious breathing’ (Harvard’s Mind Body Institute study shows it lowers blood pressure, increases energy and mental clarity - all good when on the battleground with road warriors). You can trigger your natural relaxation response and lower your risk of heart attack, which is higher an hour after most commutes.
Stress management is a personal thing and finding two or three things to master, that work for you, is key. There’s a lot more commuter stress tips at http://www.DrivetimeYoga.com. Enjoy your ride, Elaine