What would you do when stuck in Traffic

[xbUser]

I am stuck in traffic today. Stop and go less than 5 mph for more than 4 miles and I can't exit the "freeway". What will you do in this situation? Burning gas? Pushing cars?

[azraelswrd]

Happened to me a few days ago due to a construction zone leading to a stop light. If I saw red, I would shut off the engine. Otherwise, left it in neutral. It was still a painful chunk of time and caused my radiator fan to switch on (SGII showed my water temp at 200F)

In your case because shutting off didn''t sound like an option, I would have shifted into neutral (engine on) when possible and kept my eyes peeled for any changes in traffic around me in case I need to speed up or pull aside.

[Metro502]

Hard to say. I'd have to agree with azraelswrd about engine on coasting when possible. Only adding that you should keep a pretty sizable gap between your car and the one ahead of you to minimize braking frequency. Unless you were going up hill. Then the worst would be unavoidable.

[wagonman76]

Id be thinking of a different way to go for the future. Any side roads that are not so jam packed? Thats what I would always do when I found there was construction on the freeway.

[cfg83]

xbUser -

When freeway traffic gets below 20 MPH, it's hard to win. I was stuck in a less than 4 MPH traffic jam the other day on a slight uphill, so I had to keep the engine on. My wife was in the car, so I also ran th A/C for her. Sometimes you just gotta take your hits, .

CarloSW2

[justpassntime]

Well it depends, what city are we talking about?

If you in Chicago or NYC you lay on your horn, shake your fist, bang the steering wheel and yell out the window.

Everywhere else you sit there and wait and move when you can. Sucks but that's the way it is.

It would be more fun to pull over get the collapsible bike out of the trunk and ride by everyone.

[Matt Herring]

I got stuck about 2 weeks ago in Boston going to the baseball game. Normal 30 minute ride going 30-35mph turned into bumper to bumper 1.5 hour ride going 10mph for 7-8 miles. Demoralizing to watch mpg gauge go from 23.5 mpg to 20 mpg by the time I got back home that night.

I was using neutral when not moving but not much I could do to save it. I was about 40 miles into a new tank so I knew I had time to get it back but then on way home encountered similar traffic jam. Even tried a different route to avoid it but it wasn't to be that night!

About 140 miles through tank I'm back to 23 mpg and trying to get it to 25 by end of tank. I don't have alot of mods other than tire pressure up to 45psi (52 rated tires) so any wasted fuel is tough to make it up. Anytime I'm stuck in traffic I definitely use neutral coasting or idling. Been trying to use P&G and neutral coasting as much as possible lately.

Thankfully the weather has been nice and I've been using my scooter alot the past two weeks so I haven't had to fill up the 4runner since 7/12 and still have about 300 miles of fuel left according to vehicle gas gauge. Would love to get through July only filling my 4runner tank and scooter tank once in a month! My goal is 500 miles on a tank of gas in the 4runner.

[PaleMelanesian]

I was caught in a similar snag due to construction a few weeks ago. I put it in gear and let it idle along, barely faster than a snail. I managed to keep moving most of the time, with only a few stops (engine-off, of course). Idle in 2nd gear at about 3mph gave me about 40mpg. It was barely above lugging, but handled it fine.

[MazdaMatt]

that's what I usually do. let it idle in whatever gear matches the pace of "traffic". Let the guy in front get away, becaue he's just going to hit his brakes anyway. Accordian. I spent 3 hours in a jam across toronto and my tank still acheived good mileage.

[99metro]

If you had a CB radio tuned to Channel 19, you could ask how traffic is BEFORE getting on the interstate, then bail off a couple exits before the traffic gets bad. They make hand-held CBs that plug into the cig lighter if you are worried about an antenna messing with the aerodynamics.

I have had a CB for almost 30 years and it has saved me a bunch from having to sit in traffic. Although, my little Metro is overdue for a CB, my 55 mile one-way commute seldom has traffic jams. My F250 sits in the driveway with a CB, but it isn't easy to swap between vehicles due to the dual antennas and near-permanent wiring. Both my Full Size Broncos will be getting one each in the next couple of weeks.