Now that I’ve moved out of the Bay Area, I thought I’d make a contribution to everyone living there by revealing my traffic tips. 
I-80 Eastbound
From the bay bridge all the way to University Ave in Berkeley is always jammed. If you can take the carpool lane, take it. Otherwise you’ll just have to stick with it. You can try taking Frontage Rd to the west of the freeway, but that is not recommended during rush hour as everyone who commutes knows about that road.
Once I-80 splits with I-580, you should be able to drive normal speed until you reach Cutting Blvd. Since the freeway now has a few up hill bumps, for some reason everyone slows down here. The freeway is typically jammed from here all the way past the Freeway 4 juncture.
I-80 Westbound
From the Carquienez Bridge, up to the 80/580 merger point is usually smooth sailing unless there’s an accident. However from the merger point to the bay bridge, is where hell starts. This is where traffic starts every work day around 3:00 pm up until around 7:30 pm. Usually you won’t find any accidents. Instead the traffic is caused by the traffic of the 80/880 San Francisco traffic. You may hear this part of the freeway called “The Maze”.
If you continue into San Francisco, expect the downtown area to be always jammed. For some reason there’s always construction going on as well so expect certain exits to be closed off. Once you get out of the downtown area, then it’s usually OK.
I-880 Southbound/Northbound
During traffic hours, you’ll find the point where 980/880 meet is where traffic starts, and typically ends around High Street. Then everything slows down once again when you reach the Coliseum up to the the 238 freeway area. After that it’s mostly OK with brief periods of slow downs when you reach one of the bridges. Once you get down to the Milpitas area, then expect the traffic to slow down once again for people wanting to get on the 237.
I-580 Eastbound
This free is mostly free from traffic except around the Maze area. The San Rafael bridge area up to the 580/80 junction is mostly traffic free unless for the rare accident. From there to the bay bridge, expect things to slow down as always (usually even weekends). Past the maze, it’s typically smooth sailing. Occasionally there’s traffic once you past I-680, but that’s usually only during traffic hours.
I-580 Westbound
This is similar to I-580 Eastbound where the majority is traffic free except during traffic hours around the Maze area. Refer to the I-80 Eastbound details.
I-238
If you happen to be on 580 and want to get on the 880, you’ll have to take the very short I-238. Why this is even an interstate freeway is beyond me, but that’s what it’s called. Going west towards 880 is a nightmare with there always being a ton of cars. The right lane is the only lane that goes onto 880 south, with the left lane going 880 north. For some reason, everyone always wants to go south so the right lane is always jammed with the left lane mostly free. As you might expect, lots of people take advantage of this and take the left lane in hopes of cutting someone off on the right lane. Expect this if you’re driving on the right lane.
Well these are some of my observations of the freeways that I frequently travel on. General tips (which may or may not apply to other cities) I’ve learned are:
- When the traffic comes to a halt, the right side lanes are usually faster than the left hand. Just be careful of people coming on and off the freeway.
- Constantly changing lanes is usually more risky than it’s worth. Just stay in a single lane and don’t worry about it.
- While driving a truck for my move, I realized that driving slowly is actually better than always trying to match the fast traffic. Let the idiots who drive fast go on their way while you stay in your own world. The only thing with driving slow is make sure you stick to the right lanes and let the fast drivers pass on the left side. There’s nothing worse than having some idiot tailgate you with a foot clearance because he wants to pass you.
- Use a GPS. If you don’t have one, go buy one now! Most people think a GPS is only useful when you go to an unknown area. While that is true, I’ve found a GPS is quite useful for daily use too. For example, a GPS can tell you how much time is left on your trip (estimate of course), tell you your elevation, and some can even track your trip which you can then export to another program for further analysis (ie. Google Earth).