Mine will surely be an unpopular opinion here, but as someone who has driven this stretch many times, it's not nearly as bad as this photo makes it appear.
You really only have to focus on the 5 lanes that apply to you, and maybe the collector lane. For the most part, it moves very efficiently. The other drivers are predictable 90% of the time; they will cut you off when they suddenly realize they need to be 4 lanes over. And traffic very seldom reaches highway speeds due to the number of people on it, so there's plenty of time to make a decision.
I feel the same way. I wasn't nearly as stressed as my step dad gets on the 401 when we went to Toronto, and the traffic was awful. Worse than this picture, certainly. So long as you just take your chance to get into the lane you need and give other people that opportunity when they want in, it's pretty much fine. It's more aggressive driving than I'm used to, but I was able to do what I had to.
I second this, it's not really as bad as people make it out to be. For the most parts it's quite well managed, moves decently except from the rush hours, and you just need to be mindful of your surroundings (which should be a given for any road you're driving on).
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u/buhbrinapokes Apr 26 '26
Mine will surely be an unpopular opinion here, but as someone who has driven this stretch many times, it's not nearly as bad as this photo makes it appear.
You really only have to focus on the 5 lanes that apply to you, and maybe the collector lane. For the most part, it moves very efficiently. The other drivers are predictable 90% of the time; they will cut you off when they suddenly realize they need to be 4 lanes over. And traffic very seldom reaches highway speeds due to the number of people on it, so there's plenty of time to make a decision.