Traffic

Today I needed to get to the doctors office for my annual physical and I left the house in plenty of time to get there with even a little time to spare since they always have funky paperwork for me to fill out even tho nothing has changed since the last time I was there.

Anyway, I am tooling along on the highway when I come around a curve in the road and suddenly have to slam on my brakes.  TRAFFIC.

Now, I know it was "rush hour" and I know that there are many cars on the road.  I mean I grew up on Long Island where you were taking your life into your hands just to get onto one of the parallel roads that run the length of the island, but to do so during rush hour you were surely to be committed as suicidal.

I understand accidents and construction.  I understand needing to move 3 or 4 lanes of traffic down to 2 or 3 or worse yet one, puts a strain on the already strained capacity of the roads.  I guess I even understand rubber necking - that morbid curiosity that makes us all slow down to see what gore and grossness we can when there is an accident or someone changing a tire. 

What I don't get is when traffic is virtually stopped, I mean sitting still turn off your engines stopped, then go, then stopped, then go - alright, you get my point, for a mile or so, then it just opens up and everyone is moving along again at sixty miles an hour and then two miles down the road it stops again and you go through the same pattern.  There is no accident, there is no car stalled in the left lane, or policeman giving tickets or even one to be seen.  There is no on or off ramp causing everyone to yield to incoming vehicles.  I mean what the heck?  Is there some giant hand descending from the heavens yielding a giant stop sign playing havoc with the commuters?  Are God and Zeus having a contest to see who can piss off the most drivers in a five mile span?

Anyone????