Traffic Blues

[cider_steve 26]

Hey there.

 

I was wondering what you folk do to pass away the hours of heavy traffic ?

 

I like to look around at everyone's number plates and make up words !

 

Sometimes I think of something really daft and laugh to myself. If the people in the car catch you laughing then it can be embarrassing. They preobably think that I am laughing at them. I can't really jump out of my car and explain that I am actually laughing at a word I made up out of thier number plate !

 

Oh well, it passes up the time and stops me going nuts.

 

Cheers,

 

Steve.

[locolagarto 15]

I usually don't have too much time to wait in traffic. but mostly I am organizing my morning so when I get to work I have a couple tasks to get done. I do like to people watch, it is humorous to sit at public places and just watch people walk by.

[cider_steve 26]

I usually don't have too much time to wait in traffic. but mostly I am organizing my morning so when I get to work I have a couple tasks to get done. I do like to people watch, it is humorous to sit at public places and just watch people walk by.

 

It is facinating to people watch. It always makes me wonder. We are all humans, but we are all so different.

[Dragon Brother 619]

You dont sing along to music? I dont have my license yet and therefore don't drive alone, but I can imagine myself singing along loudly (and really badly) to music

[locolagarto 15]

You dont sing along to music? I dont have my license yet and therefore don't drive alone, but I can imagine myself singing along loudly (and really badly) to music

 

Ah! you would be one of those I love to watch.

[Knuckles 904]

The only time I'm stuck in any kind of major traffic is during work. Getting stuck in the Big Dig (The main highway thru Boston that was moved underground) during 'rush hour' is awful. I'm usually with my co-worker and we start alphabet games.

 

For example We'll take turns naming every rock band we can think of starting with the letter 'A'. Once we exhaust our memories on that, we start with 'B'

 

We've also done Plants, Animals, Cars, Movies and TV Shows to name a few. Sometimes we'll do it at the beginning of a 2-4 hour drive. It really makes the time go by very quickly.

[Aegis 256]

What do I do to pass the time in heavy traffic? Lets see... whine and cuss at being stuck in traffic? I tend to revel in my whining and cussing, and that passes the time alot. ;p

 

Really, if I'm by myself, I'm usually fairly patient anyways, so traffic doesn't bug me to much of an extent. If I have a passenger on the other hand, depending on where the conversation is heading, I just join in on the fun. Stuff like building more roads, reducing the need for cars, and plotting to take over the world. Political stuff like that.

[chattius 2,531]

The main traffic jams in my area are when netherlands have winter or summer breaks. Then I wish that germany would do street taxes for highways like in france, austria, ... And a speed limit, since our oldtimer van isn't fast anyway. So that people do the shorter trip via france to south europe. But with france having speed limit and street taxes most drive via germany even if it is longer distance, but driving time is shorter. But it are just the weekends when breaks start when I have this feelings and I avoid autobahns at these weekends.

 

As for car signs:

 

German car signs are: 1-3 characters for district, a '-' and then 1-2 characters followed by 1-4 digits. So it is a bit hard to do combinations.

 

GI = district and town of Giessen. But people outside Giessen read it as GummiInsel (rubber island). The Gummiinsel is a river island in Giessen which had a rubber factory. People on this island are among the last people who speak manisch , a sort of robber language.

 

WZ = district of my birthtown WetZlar. The district had a lot of roads through forests which didn't allow to see what is behind the next curve. People living there knew the streets and were driving fast, so people from outside read WZ as wild zone.

 

LDK = at a district reforming Wetzlar, Dillenburg formed a new discrict named after the main rivers: Lahn Dill Kreis. Kreis = district. People living in th district read LDK as Land der Könige (land of the kings) while people from outside read it as Lauter Dummköpfe (all fool heads)

 

WW = Westerwald district = Wilde Wätz = wild horde

 

VB = VogelsBerg (bird mountains vulcano area) = Vorsicht Bauern = caution farmers. Vulcanic soil made a lot of farms.

 

F = Frankfurt at river Main: F is read as Führerschein = driving license

 

OF = Offenbach, a neighbour town of Frankfurt and old rivals: Frankfurts read OF as Ohne Führerschein = without driving license

 

...

 

So one of the games we do with kids in the car is doing funny nicks for the different districts.

[wolfie2kX 528]

You dont sing along to music? I dont have my license yet and therefore don't drive alone, but I can imagine myself singing along loudly (and really badly) to music

 

Ok.. Just as long as you don't wind up looking as rediculous as these guys...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea3oUnNfixw

[wolfie2kX 528]

When I'm stuck in traffic, I generally spend most of that time brainstorming... My most recent masterpiece was concieved while stuck on the Santa Monica Freeway (Interstate 10) one afternoon whilst the road did a splendid immitation of a parking lot.

[cider_steve 26]

Get stuck intraffic too long in England, and you get a parking ticket !