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🗺️
Side Streets vs. Main Road

The Shortcut Gamble

Is that 'secret shortcut' through traffic really faster, or just more stressful?

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AB
Main Road · 10km @ 60km/h
Shortcut · 8km @ 30km/h

Main Road

10m 0s

Shortcut

16m 0s

Lost

6m 0s

Main Road

km
60 km/h

The Shortcut

km
30 km/h

🛑 The Stop Sign Tax

Side streets might be physically shorter, but every stop sign, yield sign, or sharp turn decimates your average speed. A 40km/h street often averages 20km/h in reality.

😡 Stress vs Speed

We choose shortcuts because moving slowly on a side street feels better to our brain than sitting still in traffic on a main road, regardless of the actual math.