Why does traffic seem to be twice as bad when school is in session?
Posted by CeePeeCee@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 27 comments
Lifelong American here. I can understand the morning rush hour but afterwork traffic is horrendous. School buses are usually off the road by this time. Also the highways are bad during the school months and busses don't go in highways. What gives? Domino effect?
Divertimentoast@reddit
Parents rush to get kids to school, generally all around the same time.
annaoze94@reddit
Nobody sends their kid to school on the bus anymore they all line up in a bunch of SUVs and drop them off. So yeah that's going to create a lot of traffic and then you know soccer practice and Dan practice after school It was going to clog up The roads as well. People need to actually consider sitting their kids to school on a bus
Tommy_Wisseau_burner@reddit
Because it is? Parents are traveling more around school hours to pick up kids,pick up/drop off/see sports or plays or other extracurricular activities.
GOTaSMALL1@reddit
All the showbirds leave in the summer.
115 makes for less traffic apparently.
manicpixidreamgirl04@reddit
People don't have to stay home and take care of their kids
BuildNuyTheUrbanGuy@reddit
Who does that for the whole summer? Teachers?
manicpixidreamgirl04@reddit
nowadays a lot of people can work from home
BuildNuyTheUrbanGuy@reddit
Most people can't, though. Hence the reason why we still have a shit ton of traffic. I drive through the New York and CT frequently.
liberletric@reddit
People are busier during the school year just in general.
cohrt@reddit
School sports, people thinking their kids are too good to take the bus, people commuting to college, plus all the teachers and staff are now included in that rush hour traffic.
LivingLikeACat33@reddit
In some areas busses don't just go on the highways there are actually bus stops that let children off on 4 lane highways. There's one down the road from my house.
Some kids have 2 hour bus rides in my area and the middle schools get out after 3, so that can definitely contribute.
Then we've got the flood of college students, back to school/holiday shopping, back to school events, extra curriculars and seasonal jobs all happening on top of each other.
7yearlurkernowposter@reddit
Twice as many trips on the road whether they drive or not.
freedraw@reddit
Colleges, universities, community colleges, adult education also generally follow the school calendar. Their classes don't only run during public school hours though. And lots of those students commute on highways.
crushedhardcandy@reddit
my law school is nestled away in the back of a neighborhood. I have a 60 person lecture that ends at 5, and there are several other large classes getting out at the same time. From 5-6 the road leaving the school is bumper-to-bumper for 4 miles. I imagine there's, like, no rush hour traffic in that area when our school isn't in session.
freedraw@reddit
Yeah, when I was in grad school, the classes were afternoons and evening, so I’d be commuting during rush hour.
DOMSdeluise@reddit
I always have thought that enough people are on summer vacation with their kids that it reduces traffic volume.
mklinger23@reddit
Most kids get driven to school. So parents have to drive to school, then work, then school, then extracurricular activities, then home.
Our transportation system is horrible on top of that. Basically everyone has to drive. The only way to make traffic better is to get people off the road. That either means give people different options or build communities where people have all their amenities and don't have to drive. Or at least they would just drive within their own neighborhood instead of on highways with everyone else.
Youre_ARealJerk@reddit
During the summer:
tons of people are not commuting to work before OR after work (teachers and school staff, parents who WFH in summers for childcare reasons, etc)
people go on vacation meaning they’re not commuting before or after work hours.
tons of people who normally commute for school (college students, technical schools, private schools that would put people on the freeway, etc) are not in session so not driving during typical rush hour times.
lots of extra curricular activities are not in session, or are not at typical “after school” times. During the school year parents aren’t just going to and from work/daycare, they’re also driving kids to all kinds of activities. Sometimes multiple kids to multiple locations. A lot of this stops in summer or is scheduled during the daytime.
All of those things cause less traffic at typical morning and evening rush hour times.
Otherwise-OhWell@reddit
Spring and Fall, everyone is employed or at school. Everyone is driving.
Summer: schools out, teachers aren't commuting, parents aren't driving their kids to school or extra-curriculars, people take vacation.
Winter: many seasonal-workers (construction, landscapers, etc) aren't working, many take vacation around the holidays, but the weather might suck.
ButterFace225@reddit
From my experience, it's usually people coming home from work (9-5 shift) and/or kids going to and from some sort of sports practice, after school care, or a activity club. Some older kids are going to work. Also, a former kid that rode the bus, I definitely went on highways. Schools cart entire sports teams and the school band to away games.
thestereo300@reddit
Parents that work 9-5 have their kids in aftercare because they can't get them at 2:50 to 330 when the school lets out. Lots of pickups are happening between 4-6 during the school year.
sammysbud@reddit
People take more vacation during the summer. Extracurriculars like, say, soccer practice going from 3pm to 5pm. Some jobs (like mine) give more flexible remote work in the summer. Also, college students who get out of class at 4pm aren't there in the summer.
During the summer, it takes me 15 minutes to get to work, driving through city streets. During the school year, it takes me 30-40 minutes. It is what it is.
thatsad_guy@reddit
After school activities
Konigwork@reddit
Kids have these things called “extracurricular activities” and also there’s things in the afternoon like “millions of people going home at 5pm”
DMmeNiceTitties@reddit
Cars commute one way to get to work causing morning traffic. Do you think those commuters don't commute back after work lol?
Plus-Ad1061@reddit
I think it’s a combination of more people taking vacation in the summer and commute times being compressed. During the school year, parents have to make their work schedules fit around school and extracurricular activities, not just daycare
Negative_Way8350@reddit
People often go on vacation during their kid's summer break as well. Once their kids are back in school, they're back on the roads. Not to mention that school buses must stop not only for all of their scheduled route stops, but also for train tracks, may not turn right on red...
All of this works together to gum up the works significantly.