Imagine it is being read to you in one of those posh, emotionless, monotone voices so beloved of sat-nav systems . . . it will make you feel better.

>> Traffic jams are common in heavily populated areas.

>> Traffic congestion is a road condition characterised by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased queueing. It occurs when roadway demand is greater than its capacity. A period of extreme traffic congestion is colloquially known as a traffic jam.

>> There are three main causes of traffic congestion:

1. High traffic volume;

2. Construction;

3. Accidents.

>> Traffic congestion has several negative effects:

1. By increasing motorist stress and frustration, congestion can encourage road rage and cause reduced health of motorists;

2. Congestion wastes fuel and increases air pollution due to increased idling, acceleration, and braking;

3. Since drive time is a nonproductive activity, congestion reduces regional economic health by increasing drive times.

Wikipedia relies on contributions from the public for its definitions and no doubt you could have written every word of that yourself.

Traffic, it seems, is the new inflation, the unwanted by-product of our economic boom and a problem proving as difficult to solve as its monetary counterpart back in the '70s and '80s.

Major public transport infrastructure may be on the way by 2020 with 2bn worth of undergrounds, interconnectors, Luas extensions, tunnels and underpasses.

They will all arrive too late, especially if we continue to build at the same rate on and around new arteries such as the M50.

Meanwhile, the commuter is insulted daily by the fact that even the small things are overlooked. Traffic management is minimal, with important lights and signals often left out of order for days. Bus services to the major outer commuter towns such as Arklow, Carlow, Navan, Drogheda and Dundalk could easily be upgraded to persuade people to leave the car at home.

Car pool lanes could be introduced and incentivised. An upgraded signal system could allow far more regular trains on the existing rail infrastructure serving greater Dublin. And far more effort could be put into sourcing parking space near stations to make park 'n' ride meaningful.

In the absence of any or all of these, we continue to drive . . . ever more slowly.