If you live in a major city, and you drive your car from your home to work and back again (every day), then you probably know all about rush hour. The term means the time of day when you have a lot of people on their way from to and from work, most of them in their personal vehicles. You will also usually have buses, taxis, and rideshare vehicles as well.
Chicago has a population of almost three million, so you can just imagine how rush hour looks there. In New York or Los Angeles, it’s even worse.
If you need to drive to get to work during that time of the morning or early evening, then you might wonder whether you should act any differently as a driver. We will discuss that topic in detail right now.
Some people don’t seem to let any driving situation phase them. They look just as serene if they’re driving along a country road in the sunshine with no other cars around as they do in bumper-to-bumper traffic with all the other drivers honking their horns at once.
However, many other drivers don’t have the same level of confidence when they’re behind the wheel. In fact, some people move to smaller cities partially because they can’t stand dealing with rush hour traffic.
If you live in a city that has it, though, and you can’t work from home, then you must contend with rush hour traffic, whether you like it or not. In a smaller city, you might regard rush hour as an annoyance, but not one that you dread every day. You can probably act the same way during rush hour in a small city as you would if there were fewer cars on the road.
In a major city, though, rush hour can seem like a major obstacle that you must deal with on a daily basis. You might feel like it’s the bane of your existence.
You always have the option of taking public transportation or a rideshare vehicle if you live in a large city and you don’t like the idea of driving during rush hour. Sometimes, though, that’s simply not practical. For instance, maybe you need to have your car with you at work so that you can pick your kids up from school later.
In a major city, you need to keep your wits about you when you’re trying to get somewhere during rush hour. It’s helpful to leave the house with plenty of time to get to your destination. That way, you won’t have to try to speed. Speeding in rush hour makes an accident much more likely, so that’s certainly something you’ll want to avoid.
You should drive defensively when you’re in rush hour in a major city. That means switching lanes when you have the opportunity, but only doing so after signaling. It means not trying to make it through the yellow light at an intersection right when it’s about to turn red.
In short, defensive driving means not acting recklessly and following all traffic laws to the letter. That’s probably the best advice you can get when you’re trying to make it though rush hour traffic in a major city.
You can also prepare for these conditions in some other ways. You should have a pair of sunglasses in the car that you can put on if you are driving directly into the sunrise or sunset. Since rush hour usually happens just after dawn or right before dusk, this practice can serve you well.
You will also want to try to learn your primary route to and from work as well as you can. That way, you will know when you need to get over into a different lane of traffic, and you can do so in plenty of time.
You should know about any alternate ways to and from work. If you have your normal route completely blocked off, then you can always try local roads instead of the highway.
You can also get ready for rush hour traffic by meditating beforehand. If you get up in plenty of time in the morning, then you might meditate for 20 minutes to set your mind at ease before you tackle the day.
This simple act can put you in a much better frame of mind as you get ready to get out on the road with millions of other citizens trying to get to work. If someone honks their horn at you, you will not respond in kind. You also won’t gesture angrily.
That’s absolutely behavior that you want to avoid when you’re in rush hour. Keep in mind that in the big city, you might trigger a road rage incident if you make a rude gesture at the wrong person. You never know if they may have a weapon stashed under the front seat or in the trunk.
You should also make sure that you pay strict attention to the road ahead of you and the traffic around you when you’re in rush hour. That means not checking your phone, even if you hear that telltale noise indicating that you just got a text message. Put your phone in the center consol or the glove compartment if you feel like you might let it distract you otherwise.
If you pay attention when you’re in rush hour, don’t let anything distract you, and drive defensively, then you’ll likely get to and from your destination fine. Maybe a time will come when you don’t have to drive to and from work during rush hour anymore. Perhaps you will find a job where you can work from home, at least for part of the time.
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