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  • Driven To Distraction

    DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION
    By Rachel Uranga, Staff Writer

    Los Angeles Daily News, CA
    Aug. 31, 2006

    Felicia Montgomery used to hate traffic. But gridlock now occupies a
    special place in the heart of the 40-year-old personnel clerk. If not
    for a chance encounter during a bumper-to-bumper trip home last year,
    she would not have found the man of her dreams.

    "Some people complain about road rage. Well, I fell in love on the
    freeway," said a giddy Montgomery, who met her fiance while stuck in
    traffic on the San Bernardino Freeway.

    For L.A. commuters, who spend more than 93 hours a year in
    rush-hour traffic - more than those in any other city in the U.S. -
    the precious moments sitting behind the wheel are often spent doing
    things authorities say they shouldn't.

    And a new study finds they'll be looking for even more diversions.

    The Los Angeles-based Reason Foundation predicts that by 2030, driving
    during rush hour will take twice as long as it would take during
    off-peak hours. Already, average speeds can slow to 13 mph during
    rush hour on the Ventura Freeway through the San Fernando Valley.

    "L.A. has now set the mold that is being followed by Atlanta, Miami,
    Dallas, (Washington) D.C. and Chicago," said Robert Poole, director
    of transportation studies for the Libertarian think tank.

    "This (behavior) really frightens me. There are accidents because
    of this. But it's completely understandable. People are desperate to
    figure out something to do."

    So Angelenos - who spend an average of 23.4 minutes commuting one
    way to work - are going to continue coping with the traffic in their
    own way.

    Stella Chalian, 31, blushes as she talks about her grinding, two-hour,
    round-trip commute on the 134 and 101 freeways.

    "I do all the calling - the doctor, the credit card companies,"
    Chalian said. "I write bills. Because it makes you feel good that
    you are not so stupid being stuck in traffic for so long."

    And, of course, she does her makeup, sometimes in the rearview mirror
    of her 2006 BMW 325.

    "I wake up five minutes later because I can put makeup on in my car,"
    she said. "I am just sitting there idle. I would go crazy if I didn't
    do something. It saves me from insanity."

    Between the 134, 101 and 405 freeways, Officer Leland Tang, a spokesman
    for the California Highway Patrol, has seen it all - couples kissing
    while driving, men shaving and women flat-ironing their hair.

    "The whole multitasking while driving is a recipe for disaster,"
    Tang said.

    "Rear-end collisions are the No. 1 type of collision encountered in
    the Valley. A high number of them are from speeding and most of them
    may have an element of distraction, but (drivers) are not going to
    admit it at the time."

    But for all the finger-wagging at commuters, even Tang was impressed
    by Montgomery's commuter love connection.

    With no air conditioning and the radio on the fritz, the personnel
    clerk was just beginning to settle in to her daily, 45-minute commute
    from downtown to the San Gabriel Valley. Then, her soon-to-be-fianc
    called out, "Hey, pretty lady! Hey, pretty lady!"

    "I just kept saying to myself, `Don't turn around, don't look. You
    know how people get shot on the freeway."'

    But after eight calls, she did. She gave Edward Bielucke her cell-phone
    number, and three dates later, she started to fall in love.

    Montgomery, a widow, said her deceased husband is the angel that must
    have sent Bielucke.

    Most Angelenos aren't that blessed. Though Poole points out that
    even dating patterns are determined by the couple's proximity to one
    another, most use the time for more mundane activities, like singing
    or learning a language on tape.

    But for some, the car doubles as a boardroom or a rolling office.

    Garen Vartanyan, a 47-year-old gas station owner and Glendale real
    estate broker, stores his files in his trunk, where he can always
    grab them before the next meeting.

    "My car is a second office. I have everything I need here. I have my
    files, my suit, my appointment book," he said, pointing to the trunk
    of his 2002 BMW X-5.

    There are also routines developed around time in the car - from
    choosing the right traffic report to buying a single cup of coffee
    before kicking off the Prada stilettos to ensure they aren't scratched
    by the gas pedal.

    Identities form or are reflected by one's vehicle. Vartanyan, who can
    sometimes spend up to four hours a day in his car, wears his identity
    on his license plate - HIBROKR. "Hi" means "Armenian" in Armenian.

    Radio is formatted for car listeners, and doctors even have special
    names for a condition caused by anger behind the wheel - road rage.

    Traffic patterns and shortcuts become the topic of water-cooler
    conversations and cocktail party chats.

    But Poole said if Angelenos are going to live their lives outside
    their SUVs, convertibles and clunkers, transportation officials need to
    dedicate more money to freeway infrastructure - double-decker freeways
    and toll roads that would allow motorists to travel farther faster,
    rather than investing in short-range public transit.

    Local and state officials say developing a balanced approach -
    making highway and public-transit improvements as well as building
    transit-friendly development - is the best way to reduce congestion.

    For now, many of the freeways remain a parking lot.

    The latest figures show that during the most congested time during
    the evening rush hour, the 405 near the 101 interchange slows to
    an average 16.7 mph. The 101 near the 405 interchange grinds to an
    average 13.2 mph.

    By 2030, with no infrastructure changes, the Southern California
    Association of Governments predicts that average rush-hour speeds
    along the same stretch of the 405 will slow to 4.1 mph and the 101
    to 6.2 mph.

    Steve Ries says he's already become accustomed to the idling. He
    commutes for more than two hours round-trip - sometimes three -
    from his home in Valencia to his job as an elevator serviceman in
    Warner Center.

    To pass the time and distract him from the stresses of traffic,
    he catches up with his colleague via phone.

    "He's my driving buddy. We talk on the walkie-talkie while sitting.

    We talk about family, complain about work, a little bit about
    everything," he said. "So I don't get overly stressed."

    Ries, who can wind up driving for four or five hours in a day, said
    it keeps his temper cool and him from becoming too focused on the road.

    "Everyone is in a hurry," he said. "People are constantly cutting
    each other off. They don't use turn signals. Then you will see the
    person that gets cut off cut somebody else off to get to the car
    that cut them off. Then you see arms flailing and you think they are
    cursing. It's just terrible."

    Jeffrey Spring, a spokesman for the Automobile Club of Southern
    California, said to de-stress, people should allow enough time to
    get to their destination.

    "Listen to your favorite music," he said. "It sounds simplistic,
    but those are key things."

    Caroline Miceli, a college fundraising specialist for Scripps College,
    has her own solution - books on tape.

    "I am going through a self-help topic right now. It's amazing how
    many books I have gone through," said the 27-year-old, who commutes
    for about an hour and 15 minutes from Hermosa Beach to Claremont in
    her Toyota Prius. "I only wish I could exercise in my car."

    [email protected]
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