Poll Position: Do you secretly enjoy having time to yourself while commuting?
In the aftermath of the T-SPLOST, I heard numerous theories about why the proposed tax went down in flames. I’ve offered my own, broad explanation for this result. But it does not necessarily exclude lots of sub-explanations — reasons some particular commuters might have had for voting against it. Here’s the most intriguing one I’ve heard:
Some people secretly like their time in the car, because it’s the only time they have to themselves all day.
Do you enjoy having "alone time" during your commute?
- Are you kidding? Heck no! (67 Votes)
- Yes, but don't tell my spouse (52 Votes)
- I plead the Fifth (8 Votes)
Total Voters: 127
Loading ...Personally, I don’t subscribe to this idea. I don’t mind my commute because, nine days out of 10, it’s quick and easy. And on that one day out of 10, I’m not happy about the extended driving time. But a few people I know have admitted to enjoying their “me time” in their cars — time they can spend listening to their music, or a podcast, or sitting in relative silence, or whatever — and it made me curious whether this is a widespread sentiment.
Based on what I’ve heard from various people, I would guess this only applies to people who have medium-length commutes: say, more than 30 minutes each way but less than an hour. But hey, I didn’t think anyone thought this way, so maybe I’m wrong about that.
Or maybe this whole idea is off-base. What say you? Whether you’d admit it to your spouse, kids, co-workers or anyone else, do you secretly enjoy the time you spend commuting? (It’s OK; you can tell us. None of you use your real names, anyway!) That’s this week’s Poll Position question. Answer in the nearby poll and — if you dare, or if none of your loved ones know which character you play on this blog — in the comments thread below.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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98 comments Add your comment
Dusty
August 10th, 2012
12:48 pm
Skram30082 @12:36
Kyle does not have to worry about arriving home or the office in a much better mood. He has us happy campers expressing pleasantries all day long just to keep his spirits up. I can feel his appreciation.. He puts us to bed every night at seven just to keep us healthy and happy.
Hillbilly D
August 10th, 2012
12:53 pm
He puts us to bed every night at seven just to keep us healthy and happy.
He probably does that for his own health. After dealing with the likes of us all day, a traffic jam is probably a welcome relief for him.
SlickRick
August 10th, 2012
1:03 pm
A blind study was done with self-identified conservatives and liberals as the test subjects. The goal of the study: to determine, based on brain scans, how and why people respond to boredom, nothingness and routine/mundane tasks. On average, the conservative test subjects were 97% more likely to have no brain activity of any kind and were completely at ease doing, literally, nothing. 100% of the liberal test subjects showed high levels of brain activity as they were seeking to fill the void of nothingness with actual thinking. The researchers concluded from the study that the progressive test subjects were markedly more intelligent than the conservative test subjects. Interesting, only after doing the study, the researchers then conducted a regression analysis of each test subject’s IQ. And lo and behold: the IQ analysis proved the researchers’ conclusions vis-a-vis the so-called boredom study.
Frankly, I’m not in the least bit surprised by these results.
MadMax
August 10th, 2012
1:07 pm
Class of ‘98
August 10th, 2012
12:12 pm
They are all unemployed and can’t fill up their tanks with gas so they are off the road.
MadMax
August 10th, 2012
1:09 pm
SlickRick
August 10th, 2012
1:03 pm
Please make my day and tell me the study was paid for with our tax dollars.
O House Dawg
August 10th, 2012
1:12 pm
When I’m commuting and have time to myself . . .I’m alone with my thoughts. . .WOOF WOOF
SlickRick
August 10th, 2012
1:15 pm
MadMax – Sorry, but it was actually commissioned and paid for the the Heritage Foundation. Talk about egg on face. Yuk yuk yuk.
sam
August 10th, 2012
1:22 pm
after we had our second kid i used to take the long way home because i secretly ‘enjoyed’ the commute home
southpaw
August 10th, 2012
1:54 pm
Slick Rick @1:03 and 1:15
Searching the Heritage Foundation’s website for “brain scan” and “intelligence” doesn’t give the results you describe. If you can provide a link, that would be an interesting read. Before reading it, I’m not sure I buy the conclusions, though. Maybe conservatives are just more content instead of less intelligent. Remember the Type B and Type A personality descriptions? That seems to fit the test subjects pretty well.
Class of '98
August 10th, 2012
1:55 pm
Tyrann Mathieu has been dismnissed fromn LSU and reports indicate he is unconcerned. lmao.
St Simons - we're on Island time
August 10th, 2012
1:57 pm
just a con, alone…in my car…with my AM radio….
really, dudes, y’all are takin this ‘make up an alternate universe and
just live in it’ thing a little too far.
southpaw
August 10th, 2012
1:57 pm
Closer to on-topic – I ride a GRTA bus to Five Points and take MARTA from there. The commute gives me a little time to catch up on the sleep I missed.
SlickRick
August 10th, 2012
2:01 pm
southpaw – Ya, I know. Methinks they’ve removed it because of the conclusions therein. Oh well!
No Artificial Flavors
August 10th, 2012
2:03 pm
No, but it is a great time to fart before getting home to the wife.
The Snark
August 10th, 2012
2:12 pm
$%*& no. Are you *&^$ing kidding me?
East Lake Ira
August 10th, 2012
2:30 pm
Driving stinks so no it is not fun in any way shape or form. I’d much rather catch a train or bus but living in town and working in the burbs means I’m stuck in the car.
Fla alum
August 10th, 2012
2:36 pm
Is anyone concerned about the cost of the commute itself? Gas is again approaching all-time highs!
a dad
August 10th, 2012
2:57 pm
When my friends from other parts of the country ask about Atlanta traffic, I describe it as the blending of that native NASCAR spirit with NYC cabbie manners. What is it about letting someone merge in front of you that is so doggone offensive around here? Judging from the types of vehicles I see speeding up once I put on my turn signal, it’s not transplants I’m talking about. What, does it hurt poor lil’ Southern self-esteem to be polite and courteous or something? Geez!
SlickRick
August 10th, 2012
3:00 pm
a dad – The answer to your question is: self-involved, narcissistic, “personally responsible,” ruggedly individualistic (dare I say “conservative”?) a-holes.
Jefferson
August 10th, 2012
3:02 pm
So this is what the easy money wonders ?
Kyle Wingfield
August 10th, 2012
3:15 pm
southpaw: I don’t think there’s really a study outside Slick Rick’s imagination.
md
August 10th, 2012
3:34 pm
“And there is a special part of hell reserved for the people who drive all the way to the front of the traffic jam in the empty lane and then put on their blinker to be let in at the last minute.”
In reality, it’s those that get over way too early that are the problem, causing the slinky effect to be lengthened even further back. If folks would stay in the affected lane all the way to the front and practice take gap give gap with regularity then traffic would move much quicker. Unfortunately, many have no clue what TGGG means…………
md
August 10th, 2012
3:43 pm
“Methinks they’ve removed it because of the conclusions therein. Oh well!”
Me thinks it never existed or common sense dictates it would be plastered all over ever leftist blog imaginable………..instead, when googled, even in it’s entirety, there is absolutely nothing……
I think someone is trying to be “slick”………….
stands for decibels
August 10th, 2012
3:49 pm
Late to this, but I’m voting “Heck no.”
I think those who would actually prefer a longish commute to avoid the trials and tribulations of home life need to get some sort of professional counseling.
stands for decibels
August 10th, 2012
3:52 pm
I’ve had commutes that’ve ranged from thirty seconds (bedroom to downstairs home office) to over an hour.
I’d take the thirty seconds, all other things being equal, any day of the week and twice on Sundays.
JamVet
August 10th, 2012
3:53 pm
Kyle, take a look at the following roads right this minute – 400N of 285, 75N of 285, PIB/Holcombe Bridge/Peachtree Pkwy north of 285.
Do YOU think those folks are secretly enjoying themselves in yet another agonizing Friday night of endless brake lights and headache causing gridlock???
Here’s to their secret happiness as they move past yet another awful little strip mall at 7MPH!
LOL…
Rider Inman
August 10th, 2012
4:11 pm
MrLiberty, you’re not a taxi cab driver. If you want a “true” carpool partner, call the Clean Air Campaign and they can help find you one tomorrow. There’s solutions people, all you have to do is look.
Kyle Wingfield
August 10th, 2012
4:14 pm
JamVet: Like I said, it isn’t my idea of a good time. But I’ve heard it from enough normal people that I thought I’d throw it out there.
md
August 10th, 2012
4:16 pm
“If you want a “true” carpool partner, call the Clean Air Campaign and they can help find you one tomorrow. ”
Do they have a “menu”?
SlickRick
August 10th, 2012
4:20 pm
Hey, now, Kyle and MD!!! You guys make stuff up, too. ALL. THE. TIME. I figured that what’s good for the goose is also good for the gander, non? Oui, mon cherie.
Rider Inman
August 10th, 2012
4:25 pm
md, actually they do. A menu of programs and services to help ease your long god forsaken commute. Any other questions…
md
August 10th, 2012
4:26 pm
Slick…..make stuff up?? Be more than happy to admit that if you can show were I’ve ever made anything up……..
Jefferson
August 10th, 2012
4:27 pm
Reckon Romney dreams of the day he can tear into that 100mil IRA while he’s commuting to the “club” ?
SlickRick
August 10th, 2012
4:27 pm
Well now, md, I do believe you just made up having not made anything up. So there’s an example of you making stuff up. Have a nice weekend.
MIchael Adams
August 10th, 2012
4:28 pm
I currently telecommute 3 days a week, have a 45 minute each-way commute 1 day a week, and have a 2-3½ hour commute each way 1 day a week. In my career, I’ve had commutes of varying length, and have done both the self-drive and public transit thing. I currently live in New England, but am familiar with Atlanta.
With that background, I offer my $0.02:
For a short or medium-length commute, say under a half-hour each way, I have a slight preference towards mass-transit, with that preference being shifted based on relative convenience of transit (door-to-door service, versus lengthy walks, traveling in the wrong direction to get to a stop, or having to travel out-of-the-way to make a transfer), relative hassles of driving (if it’s an easy drive, I’ll drive; but if traffic is generally congested or parking a problem, I’ll seek transit), and relative comfort (crowded buses and trains suck). If the commute is short enough, then I still have plenty of time to hop in the car and run errands in the evening, if those errands aren’t transit compatible.
For longer commutes, my bias tends to shift more towards driving. Yes, crazed drivers or parking issues may make transit more attractive, but in my own vehicle I can crank up the volume on an audio book (whereas on a bus or a train, I’m more likely to have the literary experience interrupted) or talk on the ham radio. For a long commute, it makes more sense to run errands on the way home (something more difficult to efficiently do when riding an express bus or commuter rail), and that longer commute makes it difficult for a mass-transit based commute to be competitive time-wise against self-driving.
And, up here in the northeast, the commuter trains tend to be packed. You haven’t lived until you’ve had to stand up for most of an 80-mile ride into Grand Central with a few hundred of your closest, caffeine-deprived friends in a rail car where the air-conditioning isn’t working quite as well as you might like. (At least in the evening, some Connecticut-bound trains have a bar car.) It’s almost as unpleasant as sitting in traffic on I-95 on a hot summer day.
But regardless of whether it’s by car, bus, or train, my commute time tends to be my time to mentally prepare for or decompress from the day at work. Perhaps that subtly influences the choices I make in how I get to and from work.
md
August 10th, 2012
4:28 pm
“md, actually they do. A menu of programs and services to help ease your long god forsaken commute. Any other questions…”
I meant a “menu” of people………
And I no longer have a “god forsaken commute”. We choose everything we do…..so I did.
md
August 10th, 2012
4:30 pm
slick….Ill take that as “I got nothing”….
SlickRick
August 10th, 2012
4:31 pm
md – Yes, you do indeed got nothing. Well, you do got something – my good wishes for a good weekend. Chapeau!
1961_Xer
August 10th, 2012
4:42 pm
I hate the commute. Period. Some folks on here and other forums are constantly crowing “those otp chose their commutes, they deserve to wait in traffic”. When I hear this, I know that they truly have no f’n idea what they are saying.
When I lived in Gwinnett, I commuted 15 minutes to work. I graduated college, and got a job at Cleremont road…. 30 minutes. My company got acquired by another company, and my place of work went to the Perimeter area. Suddenly, my commute was one hour each way. THEN, my company moved to Alpharetta, and my commute went to 1.5 hours each way. All of this started with a 15 minute drive to work!
So, ultimately, I moved North of Alpharetta. My commute was back to a normal less-than-30-minutes each way, with telecommuting 3 times per week. The recession hit. I lost my job. After 9 months of looking, I got a job in Marietta…. 1.5 hours each way. I have been doing it for three years. Now, though, I cannot move because my house is underwater.
What to take from this is: A helluva lot of people have no choice. Proponents of the TSPLOST basically said “tough shiite you chose your commute, choke on your commute.” This is, in fact, wrong. I chose a great commute that had me in a car for less than 2 hours per week!
It was easy for TSPLOST proponents to blame me for my commute, and to give me a big middle finger. They could not see that… through 20 years of commuting… that you simply cannot plan where you work and live. You have no control over your company being acquired. You have no control over your company moving locations. You have no control over recessions, job losses, or housing values. ALL of these things go into determining specific commute times. The ONLY thing you have control over is where you choose to live for the job you already have today when you are moving today. In that respect, I chose short commutes. In the end, I have consistently ended up with very long commutes. For that, TSPLOST proponents vilified me as being part of the problem.
md
August 10th, 2012
5:03 pm
“What to take from this is: A helluva lot of people have no choice. ”
I hear your story, and feel your pain, but that doesn’t change the fact that we do indeed choose everything we do.
You mention not being able to move because your house is underwater……and who exactly made the choice to buy that house??
Not trying to be snarky, just pointing out that the choice was indeed yours……..
Ralph
August 10th, 2012
5:03 pm
I just ordered a new bumper sticker. It says NOT A REPUBLICAN. I will display with pride on my car.
md
August 10th, 2012
5:07 pm
“I just ordered a new bumper sticker. It says NOT A REPUBLICAN. I will display with pride on my car.”
I hope your boss is a democrat……hate to see someone caught in the “numbers”…….
Dusty
August 10th, 2012
5:40 pm
LIke their owners, those BUMPER STICKERS,
Are only made for bumper snickers.
Proudly shown by lackless losers,
Upon the derrieres of their cruisers.
What shame for man when IGNORANCE FLICKERS! .
SlickRick
August 10th, 2012
5:43 pm
Yo, Ditz, it cuts both ways.
DawgDad
August 10th, 2012
5:59 pm
“they voted for their wallets (selfishness or against change)”
Voting for one’s personal preferences and interests is NOT selfish. It’s why we vote. If you aren’t voting for your interests and preferences you are a fool.
anne
August 11th, 2012
1:19 am
You know, I am self employeed. My office about an hour from home. I commute about 3 days a week and work from home the other two.
I love having it both ways. On the days I commute, I kick back with a cup of coffee and talk radio and it is very relaxing. On the days I stay home, I love saving the drive time to take care of chores etc. Its a happy medium.
Anne Anderson
Owner “Legitimate Online Job Directory”
Providing a free directory of free, no scam, no mlm legit work from home companies.
Don
August 11th, 2012
8:37 am
I enjoy my book and/or nap while on my Xpress bus trip. That’s real “me” time! Driving is always work.
PressReleaseWriter.info
August 12th, 2012
1:10 pm
The T-SPLOST initiative would have benefited from better PR linking project costs to reduced travel times along specific travel corridors.