As anybody who has ever lived in a large metropolitan area will tell you, traffic is an unholy nightmare.  The daily commute is filled with smog, impatient drivers, hour-long jams, and aggravating radio DJs.  Getting to work can be so harrowing (or at least so frustrating) that an eight-hour day of drudgery actually seems pleasant.

Here are some helpful tips on how to stay safe and how to make it to work without becoming a gibbering wreck.

• Drive the speed limit or lower - The limit's posted for a reason. Follow it. The faster you drive, the less time you have to react when someone inevitable does something stupid.
• Don't tailgate people - If they slam on the brakes, you want to be able to stop by doing the same, and not by piling into the back of their car.
• Use your turn signals - These let people know you're about to switch lanes. If you just swerve in and out without using this about 5 seconds before you turn, you're likely to get slammed into by someone who didn't know you were doing it and couldn't stop in time because they weren't following the first two rules.
• Triple-check before changing lanes - Are you sure there's no car in your blind spot? Really? Absolutely sure? It's really easy to miss that blind-spot inhabiting car, but it's also really easy to check first.
• Drive with the weather, not against it - If it's foggy, raining heavily, or otherwise inclement, drive more slowly and carefully than you normally would. It will take you more time to react than it normally would.
• Watch for idiots - A lot of people don't know how to drive safely, or can't be bothered. Watch for them, and assume that everybody on the road is a homocidal maniac unless proven otherwise.

• Remember the big picture - So you're stuck in traffic.  So what?  Just remember that in the grand scheme of things, an hour in a traffic jam is nothing at all.
• Leave early - If you've got some place to be, make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to get there.  It's better to arrive early than to arrive half an hour late due to unexpected traffic.  It's a whole lot less stressful, too.
• Know the back roads - If the freeway's completely stopped up, you may be better off just taking a regular street to get where you're going.  My normal commute is 15 minutes by freeway, but if it's particularly bad, the 30 minute street route is faster.
• Listen to something relaxing - Relaxing music can be a great way to take your mind off the traffic.  If you're into classical or jazz, there's a ton of relaxing, uplifting classical music that can make your trip almost enjoyable, regardless of the traffic.  If you prefer rock or pop, there's plenty of relaxing music for you, too.
• Listen to something entertaining - If you don't like relaxing music, try an audio book instead.  You can purchase these online as MP3s now from many stores, or you can even get them for free from your local library (albeit as a timed WMA file in the case of the latter).
• Above all, Relax - So that guy cut you off.  Big deal!  Is it really worth stressing about?