Post Sandy Traffic: Where did all the cars come from?

   Hurricane Sandy hit almost everybody in the New York Metro area. Sandy took away peoples homes, causing there to be many people who are displaced. Sandy also destroyed thousands of cars, giving the towing and junking industries a much needed boost, along with the need for rentals and new cars.

   The river that covered the streets for a few hours due to Sandy's rage seems like a car dealership's dream come true. My uncle has been searching for a new car. My neighbors have been looking for new cars. My friends have been looking for new cars. Rentals are non existent. 

   On my commute home from school the first week after everything was shut down from Sandy, traffic was no where to be found. At 5 pm, the LIE is usually completely jammed. The week after Sandy, the LIE looked like i95 in South California at 3 am. 

   I thought to myself, since Sandy ruined so many cars, people will have to take mass transit for their commute. Will light traffic be the new norm for the remained of the semester? Why not? People don't have cars and the people who do have rentals, and the rental places have no more cars left. I won't have to worry about traffic anymore for at least a few more months. Makes sense. 

   Boy was I wrong. A week later, traffic on the Southern State was so bad, I had to get off at the first exit Eastbound. Going through the streets adds another half hour to my commute. For those of you who do not understand why this is such a big deal, the Southern State is not known for having congestion like the Van Wyk or the Belt Parkway. Before I leave class, I have a tradition to check google maps so I know which way to go with the least amount of traffic. Union Turnpike or GCP? Lemme check google. Oh look, Union Turnpike looks good. Cross Island or Francis Lewis? Cross Island looks good. My commute looks good so far. Let me just check the Southern State just to be safe, but I'm sure it's fine, just like it always is. TRAFFIC, STAHP!! The entire Southern State appeared to be red, my worst nightmare. I can handle Union Turnpike having traffic until 188th st. I can handle Traffic on the Cross Island. But Traffic on the Southern State? Now THAT's crossing the line.
   Back to the point about this blog post: Where did all of the cars come from??