Driving Miss Daisy in Houston

Actually there is no Miss Daisy but a Red Dodge Caliber that I have rented for the time that I am in Houston. The picture here is probably I-45 or I-10 going past downtown Houston or I-610 or even route 59 and the assumption is that there is smooth sailing past the famous skyline. This is false as the highways are generally packed, slow moving, and totally frustrating. Worse than the Freeways in California if that could be possible and like LA there is not a moment in the 24/7 without TRAFFIC. The side roads are jam packed with workers, shoppers, and football moms driving mostly pickup trucks. It seems every corner on these streets have traffic lights that are programmed to turn red when vehicles are sensed to be moving in their direction and remain red for at least 15 minutes before an obligatory 3 second green light. Here is a traffic map of central area. If you get on one of the main highways you must be aware that traffic moves along faster on the right hand side when you need move right to get off and when you need to move left to avoid getting on to another highway, vice versa...forget it!!! ! I will be glad to get back to the good ol´Autobahn with its tiny narrow lanes, poorly marked and lighted but the fast flow directed to the left and don´t remain there long as a porsch doing 200 miles an hour will be up your tailpipe...