>I mean inexplicable in the sense of no accident blocking traffic, or
>rush hour. Bumper-to-bumper traffic at 1 PM on a Wednesday in
>Hawleyville, Ct., seems weird.
Weird traffic things do happen and I think it would be impossible in most cases to get an explanation. You'd have to something unfeasible like canvas people while they're in their cars on the freeway and ask them where they're going and when else they are routinely on the road going to that destination.
One of the tricks of moving through traffic in Los Angeles is knowing when off-ramps that appear to be "exit only" are not. You can get off on one of those and stay on a system of feeder roads that run parallel to the freeway for several miles. I do this coming downtown and it works like a charm, except on Friday. Why the change on Friday I've no idea. I can make some educated guesses, but who knows really?