The Secrets of Getting Through LA Traffic from Professional Drivers

Want to know the secrets to getting through LA traffic? Ask the couriers who have to navigate through it every day. Think of them as LA’s Traffic Masters because it’s their job to find ways to deliver to their customers anywhere at any time, no matter how clogged the roads get.

Carlos Mayorquin and James Lizama deliver everything from airplane parts to the promotional movie “standees” that grace the lobbies of the area’s movie theaters. They are couriers for Pearl Transportation & Logistics, an LA-based delivery company that promises to get anything anywhere any time. These couriers have braved the worst of LA traffic for years on tight deadlines because they have to.

How do they get their jobs done without losing their minds? Here are some of their secrets to help everyday drivers cope with the monster that is LA Traffic:

Pick your time – If you have the flexibility to plan your trip before 2:00 p.m. take that as a golden opportunity and go. “Before, Rush Hour was between 4:00 and 7:00 p.m., but that’s no longer the case,” says Mayorquin, who’s been driving for Pearl Transportation for three years. “Now, people think they’ll beat the worst of the traffic by leaving early, so they start clogging up the roads between 2:00 and 3:00. Between 3:00 and 4:00, it escalates. You’re stopping and going, but there is still some movement. It goes in spurts. But then you get to the 5:00 and 6:30 time slot and that’s peak traffic – the ultimate bumper-to-bumper. You can expect three miles of cars backed up, just doing the stop-and-go thing the whole route. Whether it’s the 405 or the 101, you will just sit for long stretches at that point.”

What makes the 2:00 to 7:00 p.m. slot so challenging, according to Lizama is the variety of vehicles jamming the roads during those five hours. “It’s the diversity of cars that makes it crazy,” he says. “It’s not just passenger cars. It’s also communal cars; transportation vehicles and trucks. They all have very different places to go and they are crammed together on the main roads.” He’s been driving for Pearl Transportation since 2012 and offers drivers his “lunchtime secret” for getting anywhere faster: “During lunchtime is when traffic is the lightest. People will walk for lunch. They won’t get on the roads. If I can arrange to make a delivery during lunchtime, I find it’s the quickest time to get it there with the least hassle.”

One App Won’t Do the Trick – Both of these couriers have learned to check multiple sources for the best way to get their deliveries to their clients on time. While Mayorquin swears by WAZE, he almost always checks other sources. “I check traffic whenever I go. I know the routes, but I still check traffic. I use Google Maps and WAZE. I like to use WAZE during Rush Hour. Before that I usually use Google Maps because it’s cleaner as far as detail. I usually have both apps going at once. You can never to have just one running. I use WAZE to help me find alternate routes that aren’t as congested. During Rush Hour I have to be smarter than the computer. I stay away from Google Maps then. Everyone is getting out of work at the same time and taking the same route from 4 to 5 because they are following Google Maps. I also listen to the radio because they give traffic reports on the fives. That complements what I’m seeing on WAZE and Google Maps,” he says. Lizama also supplements that information by monitoring Sig Alerts, through an app that’s updated by Caltrans. Drivers can also go to SigAlert.com to plan their trips ahead of time. A Sig Alert is any event that causes the closing of one lane of traffic for 30 minutes or more. Lizama uses the app specifically to monitor traffic on the highways.

Side streets may or may not be the answer – While many think heading to the side streets is the best way to deal with heavy traffic, these couriers say it’s not always a good idea. “When traffic is at its peak, it’s actually best to just stay on the Freeway,” says Mayorquin. “I know that advice is the opposite of what you’d think. But, once the traffic gets really heavy, it’s pointless to take the side streets. Everyone is on them thinking they’ve got a short cut. There are traffic lights on those streets and no way out once you’re on them. When it gets really heavy and you’re already on the Freeway, stay there. You’ll get somewhere. At least on the freeway it moves. Lizama agrees: “When it’s really heavy it’s best to stay on the highways because if you get stuck on the side streets there is no place to go.”

Just chill – The biggest piece of advice these couriers share is not to let the traffic get to you. “It’s LA. It’s traffic. That’s just the way it is,” says Mayorquin. “If you’re always stressing about traffic, it will overtake you. If you are overthinking about traffic it will make it seem like it’s even worse than it is. Don’t focus on it. Accept it.” He listens to talk radio and chills out with Spotify. “It helps me keep calm,” he says. Lizama also listens to news talk radio, which he says keeps him focused on something other than the traffic. “It keeps me updated and helps me calm me down. It also gives me perspective by showing me that there are people out there who have it way worse I do,” he says.

Lizama offers these parting words of advice to traffic-addled Angelenos: “In LA, traffic is always on your mind. Wherever you want to go you just have to know it will take you longer than you imagine to go 10 miles. Like it or not, if you live here, traffic is a way of life. Plan way ahead before you go anywhere and allow more time than you think you will need.”

Let Pearl Transportation & Logistics take care of traffic for you and deliver anything anytime for you.