How To Survive Severe Traffic Congestion – Do It Smartly

Everyone hates getting stuck in severe traffic congestion, but very few people can handle such obstacle smartly.

Do you know why? Well, as in any other aspect in life, people take practical approaches to hectic situations.

Imagine you get up early on a Monday and leave for work on time. You are cruising along the highway and notice a stream of red lights ahead of you.

Not to mention that traffic starts to build up owing to other drivers who respond to delays quite poorly.

Wouldn’t that be hellish?

While traffic jams may impact our mood, there’s no reason to join the chaos.

Instead, follow an authentic path that could help you skip a traffic-congestion tantrum from now on.

Here are 10 ways to survive severe traffic congestion for once and for all.

1. Keep the right attitude

Remain calm if you notice traffic starts to build up for no reason. More importantly, keep the right attitude.

A positive attitude is all you need to handle things smartly. Next time you get stuck in heavy traffic congestion, take that extra time to reflect on things that really matter.

2. Contact your boss, friend, or relative

Another advice is to call your boss or any other person you intend to meet once unexpected traffic congestion starts to affect your driving.

Rather than trying to beat traffic, find a safe spot, call the person, and let them know about your new arrival time.

They’ll be grateful to know you care about your commitment to meet them.

3. Turn off the engine

Unless you are driving through tough weather conditions, turn off the engine of your vehicle.

By turning off the engine, you are saving fuel and reducing emissions. This perfectly applies to urbanites.

Smog and poor air quality concentrates in urban areas. And that’s detrimental to our planet. Think green. Turn off the engine!

4. Tune the best radio station for traffic updates

Listen to your local radio station for traffic updates. It’s the best, if not traditional, way to be informed about traffic updates and delays in your area.

Savvy drivers find the safest situation in which they could check for traffic updates on their smartphones.

If you rely on your phone for road updates, you are advised to do it prior to starting your journey.

5. Be alert

At times, it is common to feel discouraged or unmotivated about leaving for work or any other destination during early hours.

Be alert! Watch for traffic around you and do not let other’s mistake or lack of courtesy annoy you.

There’s a chance you could end up stuck for long time and do not lose focus.

6. Stay away from that annoying car horn

People would have enough with the noise coming from other vehicles while on the road.

By sounding your horn you’ll be contributing to more noise. Believe it or not, certain noises, including car horns, could impact your stress levels leading to road rage.

7. Keep a book handy

Severe traffic congestion often means not moving for a considerable amount of time.

You could use that free time to read a book or even a magazine to burn time until driving resumes.

You could turn a tense situation into a productive moment.

8. Communicate with other road users

If you cannot figure the source of the traffic congestion, roll your windows down and try to listen what other drivers are commenting.

There is a strong chance you could get further information about any possible incident by simply asking.

In the meantime, use the right vehicle features to communicate your intentions to make a maneuver to avoid adding more to the disruption.

9. Do not get out of the car

Forget about getting out of your car to check on traffic. Even when vehicles are stopped you are still vulnerable.

Instead, stay in your car and check your surroundings. By staying inside your car, you are also protecting your valuables from potential thieves.

10. Have something healthy to eat

If you are stuck in traffic, make sure you are still energized to keep driving. If not, do not hesitate to have something healthy to eat.

A granola bar or a fruit could be enough to get that extra fuel to resume your drive.

Though you are still advised against eating while driving. Eat your healthy snack after stopping your vehicle and do not even try to multitask.

With that being said, traffic jams are not the end of the world. Follow our advices and stay out of danger.

If you know any other tip that hasn’t been mentioned yet, please let us know in the comments below.

SEE ALSO: Quit These 10 Bad Driving Habits To Remain Crash-Free