Driving in September in Los Angeles

Every September in Los Angeles the daily rush hours go from bad to worse, it all happens over one weekend When sumer vacations end and the kids start school. Traffic grinds to a halt. It's enough to drive you insane.

My summer drive time is 20 to 30 minutes for a 17 mile commute in the morning and 30 to 40 minutes in the afternoon. My route is the 91 to the 710 to the 405. (Translated: Riverside, Long Beach, San Diego)

Stats from my week:

• Monday: Morning drive was 1 hour 10 minutes, the afternoon was 1 hour 22 minutes. 
• Tuesday: Morning 1 hour (all side streets), the afternoon was 1 hour 34 minutes. 
• Wednesday: Morning 1 hour 15 minutes (all side streets), the afternoon was 1 hour 40 minutes. 
• Thursday: Morning 1 hour (all sides streets), the afternoon was a mind-numbing 1 hour 55 minutes. 
• Friday: Morning 22 minutes (all freeways), the afternoon was an hour (mix of side streets and the 405)

It’s the same every year. This pattern will last into December and ease off for the holidays. It will pick up again in late January and will last until June. We tend to forget our problems because of the good times in summer, but this just sucks and after 25 years of it, I’ve had enough.