Speak Out: How Do You Deal With Traffic?

Last week, we asked you to tell us what area roads need working on.

Today, we'd like to know what you do when traffic grinds to a halt.

While traffic in the Upstate generally isn't all that bad, compared to other places, traffic jams are inevitable anywhere.

I learned to stop complaining about Upstate traffic several years ago when talking to my friend Josh.

After patiently listening to me rant and rave about how it takes forever to go from one end of Woodruff Road to the other, Josh reminded me that he lives – and commutes – in Los Angeles.

I shut up.

But people in the big cities really don't have anything to complain about. The longest traffic jam in history occurred in China in 2010.

Imagine traffic backed up for 62 miles. Imagine being stuck in traffic for as long as 12 days. Makes your daily commute seem not so bad.

Still, being stuck in traffic around here can be frustrating.

The average person spends 47 hours a year stuck in traffic. Some ideas for coping with traffic include: 

• Squeezing the steering wheel like a stress ball

• Eating popcorn — one kernel at a time

• Listing to books on tape, especially mystery novels

Speak Out: How do you cope with traffic? Tell us in the comments!