Why is morning traffic so much better?

[dexteroni]

I think it's because there are people on the road for other reasons than work commutes by then. People are running errands, taking kids to lessons or sports practice, going to dinner early, etc. There's naturally less of that in the morning - just oldsters on their way to breakfast and doctor's appointments.

Plus, when people are running late to work, they tend to step on it. In the evening, it's not as much of a rush.

[ssmjlm]

Mine commute is longer at the end of the day pretty much based on after school activities. Either one of the high schools has something which clogs up traffic or the local ball fields have games which clogs up traffic.

Unfortunately VDOT doesn't know how to time lights in my part of VA, so things can easily get completely clusterfucked in one light cycle.

[Deleted]

Morning traffic is always much worse here. I think that's because everyone is trying to flock over the same damn bridges to get downtown at the same time. Evening traffic is a cake walk.

[CloudBee]

It's much worse in the morning, for me. I think it's because everyone is taking their kids to school, etc.

[Deleted]

what dexteroni said

[Deleted]

Ours is always equally as bad. It just changes spots.

Tuesday and Friday had the best morning traffic. Evening traffic is just a guess. Sometimes I'm stuck at the merge and other times I can cruise through.

[ReenaP]

My traffic is much, much worse in the evening. And it always has confused me as to why.

[Deleted]

My traffic is much worse in the morning. But I know its because I leave for work at 8:15/8:30, so traffic is at its worst. I go home at 7 and traffic isn't bad.

Dexteroni's response makes a lot of sense if your hours are 9-5.

[distracted]

I noticed that too. I think it also has something to do with school letting out in the afternoon, with people transporting kids to soccer practice or whatever. Traffic seems to improve noticeably in the summer, although that could also be because of vacation time.

Friday afternoons are the worst here, adding about 10 mins to the drive. Is this universally true?

[DarcyLongfellow]

I imagine a lot of it depends on your hours. When I was working, I didn't usually get in until 9, which is fairly late for my city, so I missed most of the traffic. Then, I usually worked until at least 6:30 or 7, so I missed evening traffic too. But if I ever tried to leave any time between 5 and 6, it was a disaster.

I always assumed morning traffic was easier because people had staggered start times, but most people leave work sometime around 5 to 6 to get home and see their kids for dinner, etc.

[Doctorblue]

Mornings are so much worse here. There are multiple accidents daily. People around here just can't drive well.

[chicken]

I reverse commute, so my evenings are horrible because all of the suburbanites are trying to come into the city for the game, dinner, etc.

Morning still sucks, but is a breeze comparatively.

[agnes]

My morning commute is pretty good. My evening commute sucks balls. I've never really thought about why. But I'll take dexteroni's answer.