I used to commute to and from Redmond to South King County. It didn’t take me long to realize that, despite the fact that I had to go an extra ten miles out of my way, my commute was faster if I took surface streets to I-90 and went the long way to SR-18 than if I took I-405. I actually ended up saving 10 to 15 minutes each way. An interesting article in the Seattle Times talks about the problem…

Looking for the worst commute in the entire Puget Sound region? Then get a job in downtown Bellevue and buy a house in Tukwila, Seattle or Everett.

A new state study released this week says trips to and from downtown Bellevue now are generally worse than commutes to and from downtown Seattle.

In fact, the state Department of Transportation’s report says, the two worst afternoon freeway commutes in the region both originate in Bellevue: the voyage south down Interstate 405 to Tukwila, and the haul west across Highway 520 to Seattle.

…

“Wherever you are, you’ve got a problem,” said state Transportation Secretary Doug MacDonald. “It is not happy news.”

Interestingly enough, the Times article missed a great point. This morning, on my commute to Seattle as I was listening to the news I heard an interesting statement. This is from memory, because I don’t have an actual recording, but I think a transportation official sad something to the effect…

If people would just drive better and stop crashing into each other there’d be less congestion.

It sounds blindingly obvious, and it’s apparently supported by the congestion study available on-line.

Rear-End Collisions and Congestion
Rear-end collisions on the other hand correlate with congestion. There appears to be a definite link between rear-end collisions and congestion.

So please… watch where you’re going!

Cross posted to Perri Nelson’s Website