Sometimes a journey that might take half an hour could take two or three times that. Most of us will be used to it but it doesn't make the journey any more pleasant.
In recent years, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has been getting the message about holiday traffic out early and quickly.
People are advised to travel at off-peak times such as early morning or in the evening. They are also very active on social media, updating followers to any crashes or road works throughout the country.
In the Bay of Plenty on Monday evening, there were three road work sites and a warning about holiday traffic between Waihī and Te Puna. NZTA also warned about resurfacing delays on State Highway 30.
A great service if you're about to travel on our roads.
However, if you were to ignore all the advice and travel at the same time as everyone good things might happen.
Picture a clear blue sky with the sun beating down, causing the air conditioning to be on full-bore and the car tyres to stick to the road's surface.
And to make matters worse - or better - you're stuck in a long snake of traffic as far as the eye can see. It would be a sight to make your blood boil until you put your mind to an important task.
This task could be thinking about how to solve the Bay of Plenty's housing shortage, how tourism operators could bounce back from Covid-19 or how to make our roads safer. An answer to the latter would be invaluable with more than a dozen road deaths already over the holiday period.
This period seems to be one of the few times people travel in their vehicles with more than themselves in the car. It would make sense to use the time spent in congestion to put it towards something of use.
A good debate and brainstorm never hurt anybody — maybe you could discover the solution to continual holiday traffic woes.
But if you're stuck in the car with young children, maybe you're best sticking to I spy and in that case, good luck.
