A pile-up of traffic on Mandela Highway - a weekly sight. - NORMAN GRINDLEY
ANYBODY TRAVELLING WITH Roseanne on her way to dropping off her children in the mornings would be amazed at the route she takes. For that is just what it is, a maze.
To get from off Red Hills Road, St. Andrew, near the foot of Chancery Hall, to near the Canadian High Commission on West Kings House Road, she manages to drive on Molynes Road, cross Red Hills Road, go briefly along Mannings Hill Road and cross Shortwood Road.
Despite the traffic changes in Half-Way Tree, which have made an impact on traffic congestion as far away as where she lives, Roseanne is sure that her route saves her three things: time, frustration and, most importantly, money.
"It takes much less time when you avoid the major roads and traffic build-up spots," the 32-year-old teacher said. Although she cannot pinpoint exactly how much gas it takes for a single journey, she does know the impact on her wallet.
"Before I figured out the route I was using one and a half to two tanks of gas every week. Now I am down to one going into the weekend from Sunday," she said.
Taking the long way around may seem a curious gas-saving strategy, but mechanic Paul confirms that it does work.
"When a car idles, it uses about as much gas in five minutes as it would take you to go a mile at a moderate speed," the man of over 30 years experience said. "So when you add up all that time sitting in traffic, you could have gone many miles," he said.
Paul added that there is also the factor of frequent starting and stopping. "Every time you move off and then stop again, you use extra gas. Acceleration and braking, that is where a vehicle really uses gas. If you notice, if you reach a steady speed and hold it for a long journey, the gauge not going go down much. But if you speed up and slow down, like you are racing with somebody, it blow out quick," he said.
Darlton, a bank clerk, lives on the 'other side' of Spanish Town, St. Catherine, as he terms the section closer to the Bog Walk Gorge. For him, going the opposite direction from his workplace in Half-Way Tree, if only for a time, works quite well for saving gas.
"If traffic catches me in Spanish Town, much less Mandela Highway, I am dead," he said. So on the mornings when he is late, it is back towards Linstead and up into Sligoville, coming out at the foot of Red Hills. "People think of it as far, but it is not," he said. "Plus, they fixed the road recently and although it is not a highway, the ride is much, much smoother," he said.
To the start of the Sligoville Road takes him 10 minutes, then there is a further half-hour to end up in Kingston. "That same time would take me to maybe Twickenham Park when the traffic is really on," he said.
Darlton knows that since there is an uphill climb his Toyota will use more gas than if it was a level, but still claims gas savings. "Of course," he said emphatically when asked if that route saves him petrol. "Traffic kill your gas."
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