Commuting Driving Up Stress

February 17, 2011
by Rodney Olsen
11 Comments

I was very interested to see the front page story in today’s copy of our local newspaper, The West Australian. While it’s talking about a local issue I’m sure that it’s one that people can relate to in cities right around the world.

According to the story Commuters suffering traffic stress, three quarters of Perth commuters are getting stressed out during their daily drive to work.

I couldn’t put myself through that day after day. I very rarely get caught in peak hour traffic and I hate it. Having to do that ten times a week, five times to work, five times home, would convince me it’s time to make a change.

Three out of four Perth commuters become stressed and frustrated during their daily drive to work, with most blaming rude and aggressive drivers and stop-start traffic.

A major survey of commuters across Australia, to be released today, also found that Perth commuters were the highest users of private vehicles in the country.

Seventy per cent of Perth commuters opted to drive their car to and from work.

The details come from a major survey of commuters across Australia. It also seems that Perth commuters are the highest users of private vehicles in the country with 70% of Perth commuters choosing to drive their cars to and from work.

Perth commutes are generally shorter than in other Australian cities but we’re still getting stressed.

It found that 97 per cent of Perth drivers spent less than an hour commuting to work, with an average one-way trip of 27 minutes – the lowest in the nation.

Yet 73 per cent said they experienced stress during their daily commute, with 28 per cent saying it had a negative impact on their health.

It’s interesting to see that in a related story, Workers dodge freeway frustration, The West is highlighting cycling as a way to beat the traffic blues.

With the amazing conditions we have in Perth I’m surprised that more people haven’t switched to two wheels. One of the highlights of my day is zooming along the freeway bike path while people sit stuck in traffic. It’s not that I delight in seeing people experiencing the stress of peak hour traffic, it’s more that I know that what I’m doing is actively driving my own stress levels down. Well, that and the fact that I’m having an enormous amount of fun every morning.

How’s your daily commute? Do you feel stressed as head to work and home each day? Would you consider cycling to work? What would it take for you to make the switch?



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Merging into conversations

November 23, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
2 Comments

Merge_Sign.jpgHave you ever noticed how some people have no idea how to merge in traffic? In theory, vehicles should speed up or slow down slightly to allow for everyone to enter the lane seamlessly. When it works right it’s a wonderful thing but that’s often not the case.

Conversations can be a little like that at times. Some people seem to have no idea how to enter a conversation. They cut you off or cause you to swerve out of their way. Sometimes there are even nasty collisions.

I had an interesting and somewhat frustrating experience recently. I was involved in a conversation with someone I’d only just met. We were both adding interesting elements to the discussion and feeding off one another with a variety of anecdotes. The person I was talking to was a fascinating older gentleman who I could have talked to for hours.

Suddenly another person wandered over to where we were standing and without waiting, introduced himself and then derailed the conversation. We were both happy to welcome the other guy to our conversation but he didn’t want to merge, he wanted to cut in and completely hijack the conversation. Instead of merging we were suddenly moving in a completely different direction and the discussion we were having was lost.

What are you like at merging?

Merging into a pre-existing conversation shouldn’t be all that difficult. First, ascertain whether the conversation is a private one or an open one. If you believe it’s an open conversation, acknowledge the others involved and then listen for a while. Listen to the tone and direction of the conversation. Develop an understanding of what’s being discussed then join in when appropriate. That doesn’t mean taking over with bigger and better stories but adding your thoughts, sparingly at first, to see whether those already talking are seeking your input.

Sometime soon I hope to catch up with that older guy again so that we can continue our conversation that was halted so abruptly.

Have you experienced people who don’t know how to merge into a conversation? What are you like at joining others in their discussions?



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Cadel Reignites Car versus Bike Debate

December 12, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
1 Comment

If you want to get emotions running hot there’s nothing that works quite as well as talking about cyclists on our roads.

Cycling star, Cadel Evans, has stirred things up by claiming that Australian drivers are far too agressive, especially towards cyclists. He has been quoted by News.com.au in an article titled, Australians drive cyclist star Cadel Evans to despair.

I drive on the road and I don’t like people just not having respect for other road users.

I spend half my year in Europe so I know what the traffic is like there.

It is really strange, to be honest, the way Australian drivers are.

Our roads have much less traffic, are far larger, and the drivers have much more space, but they are much more aggressive and negative to other road users.

When you ride a race in Italy or Switzerland or France, the roads are much narrower and there is much more traffic, but the drivers are much more tolerant and easier to deal with. It is a bit of a shame.

His comments have started a flood of comments on the article with both drivers and cyclists throwing insults.

I see the main problem being the lack of education for road users. Many drivers are unaware that it is perfectly legal for cyclists to ride two abreast. Unfortunately some cyclists will ride two abreast even when it isn’t safe to do so.

I’m currently cycling about 250 km a week and I’d admit that the majority of drivers are courteous but it would only take one errant driver to put me in hospital or a morgue so it concerns me that there are many drivers still don’t get it.

The argument from a lot of drivers is that cyclists break the road rules all the time. Let me tell you something, it not only annoys you, it annoys me. For some reason we all get tarred with the same brush so when some cyclists do the wrong thing, there are motorists who take that as a license to harrass the rest of us.

Common sense tells us that not all cyclists break the rules. Common sense also tells us that even though I’m seeing more and more motorists running red lights and making other dangerous and careless errors on the road, I don’t have the right to make blanket statements about ‘all drivers’.

Some drivers are dangerous. Some cyclists are dangerous.

Some drivers complain that cyclists slow them down. I wonder what those drivers would do with the extra 10 or 20 seconds they would gain if they didn’t have to slow down to pass a cyclist. (And lets face it, you probably don’t even lose that much time. You probably just get to the next red light a little later.) On the other hand, if the thousands of commuter cyclists in each city decided to jump into a car instead each day, could you imagine the extra traffic chaos? Could you imagine how much longer the daily drive to work would take?

Thankfully, most of my new commute is on a well built and well maintained cycle path. I have great joy in whizzing past rows and rows of cars which are stuck in peak hour traffic.



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There is only one Jeep

July 17, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
4 Comments

jeep.jpgI had a close call on the way to work this morning.

I was cycling up to a set of red lights and noticed a Jeep with a sticker on the back saying “There is only one Jeep”.

Well, I’ve seen lots of Jeeps so I knew right away that this vehicle was clearly delusional. I went past it as quickly as possible.

Then as I was stopped at the lights I saw another Jeep going through the intersection and I thought, “Hurry up. You don’t want this vehicle behind me to see you. There’s no telling what it might do if you shatter its illusions. It thinks it’s the only one.”

Thankfully it got through the intersection without incident. I don’t think the first Jeep saw it and if it did it certainly didn’t recognise it.

If you’re out on the roads today, take care. There’s no telling what some vehicles might be thinking.



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100 000

March 27, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
11 Comments

At some point today, my Sitemeter will kick over the 100 000 mark.

Yes, I’m fully aware that Sitemeter may not be the most reliable way to collect statistics and that my visitor count may well be considerably higher.

Yes, I know that many of the hits that have been recorded are probably just me checking in on my own blog and so my visitor count may well be considerably lower.

I’m also fully aware that many serious bloggers will get 100 000 hits before breakfast each day and that it’s taken me over four years to get to this point.

Keeping all that in mind, it’s my 100 000 and I’m going to celebrate it. To mark the occasion I’d like to give one lucky blog reader $100 000. I’d really like to … but I can’t even afford to give away $100 so you’ll just have to be happy with my very sincere thanks.

Thanks for dropping in, even if it’s only been for a few seconds. Special thanks to the regulars who not only drop in faithfully to read whatever I happen to write but also add to the conversation by commenting.

Thank you to everyone who’s ever visited. You’ve made all the time that I put into keeping this blog worthwhile.



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