Fluff Poll Time: Which route to drive to work?

I would do #1, but if the traffic report indicates a major slowdown, Id take one of the other options (not sure how "back road-y" your back roads are)

I personally would prefer #1. I like one straight direct route. I can pay for what is called FastTrak here to use the carpool lanes as a single driver, but I don’t want to pay. There are actually not too many options for #3 on my route. So I am probably biased towards #1.

I am not sure where you are or the conditions of traffic, so I can only reply in regards to my experience here.

I will gladly drive an extra 5 to 10 minutes through town on surface streets in order to avoid the traffic on the 55/240/40 speedway that is here.

I am not exaggerating when I say that no matter what time you are driving, there is at least one @sshole doing 90 and swerving from lane to lane, tailgaters, and people cutting you off. You have people driving cars that are missing bumpers or fenders or windows or have an entire side door smushed in.

Putting your blinker on is just like waving a red flag to other drivers. They don't see it as a heads up, I'm coming over, but they take it as a personal challenge to fill that space and keep you from changing lanes.

On top of that, Memphis has a crazy amount of uninsured drivers (numbers have been put at anywhere from 40 to 60%-- people have to show proof of insurance ro buy a car but then cancel the next day) as well as people with suspended or absolutely no license.

Add to that mayhem, with the cluster-f that is the county clerk's office, people have just started printing temporary tags on their home computer and drive with impunity knowing they won't be stopped.

So, for the sake of my blood pressure and to avoid anxiety and stress, I choose to drive surface streets when possible. If I have to get on the highway, it's like getting on a roller-coaster. You hold your breath and hang on tight and try not to notice you are doing 20 miles over the speed limit just to keep up with the flow of traffic while still being passed by people doing 90.

So I am definitely on your side on this one.

I was at a really slow moving traffic jam on a highway. When I made it to the next exit, I got off and went to take a side road to reach my destination. Too many people also had the same idea, and it was just as slow if not slower. The highway had 3 lanes per direction, whereas the side road only had 1 lane per direction. I didn't know the area so I didn't dare try another side road. My luck I'd get lost.

Most of the toll roads in So Cal are not carpool lanes. There are carpool lanes that allow a transponder if you are a single driver, but not all toll roads have carpool lanes.

When I used to have to drive to our old office every day (pre-2018), I would take the freeway, but I would take the back roads to get on the freeway further down, after the tunnel at the start of the freeway that was tolled. It added an extra 10 minutes or so to my journey, but to me that was better than having to pay an extra $30 or so every week. If I was in a hurry to get to work or home from work, I would use the tunnel. 

My son is an apprentice carpenter, and his pay is quite low. I have agreed to pay his tolls while he's still on apprentice wages. It's costing me between $120 - $160 every month! But he does so much driving, most of the jobs are a long way from home, I would never ask him to take a longer route. 

I will 99/100 times pick the direct highway route and take that chance. You can also plug your phone in and turn on Android Auto and put in your destination, and you will be notified of traffic stalling or slowdown (most of the time) so you can decide to choose back routes. Or there is waze which I've never used, or similar.

It will show on Google as a yellow or red route as opposed to a green route, if traffic is slowed or stalled. There is also an Emergency Vehicle alert which makes a noise that sounds terrifyingly like an emergency alert from my car so sometimes it gets me, thinking that my car is about to die. I do hate that, though the heads up is nice.

I do number 3

Sometime I put it into GPS and let her decide

How long is the commute?

Around here (Northern Virginia) I would absolutely pick #3. If I truly lived in the country and "backroads" meant rural twisty windy roads I'd probably take the highway, because less risk of deer or getting stuck behind a tractor like someone mentioned. But up here it would just mean neighborhood streets. Our highways can be moving right along and then suddenly stop. And often when you finally get out of the traffic jam there is no apparent reason for the backup.  I'd rather keep moving and go through non-highway streets. 

When I was commuting from Northern Virginia to a hospital in the upper northeast part of DC I could have taken the Beltway and in theory been there pretty quickly. But, the thing about the Beltway (and most major highways) is if you're suddenly stuck in a jam you can't necessarily get out of it. You might have to do stop and go until the next exit. But on city streets if there's an accident or something causing a backup you can try to go around. So I opted to drive straight through DC.   lol. I left the house by 6:30 at the latest. Usually the only stopping I had to do was for red lights. Coming home at 3:30 was a different story, but I still opted for the DC route over the Beltway. 

I'm with you, the back roads every time. If the toll fee made a big enough difference to matter, I'd probably pay it for busy days like Fridays, and just skip buying/paying for something else to make up for it. Like pack a lunch instead of eat out type of thing.

I hate sitting on a freeway. I'd rather take a more scenic route even if it meant a little extra time.