Traffic Lesson

So I just got back to Atlanta from Augusta after a short 2-day visit. A very enjoyable visit, but that is not what this short post will be about. My 2 hour drive (ok, maybe 2 hours, 15 minutes) turned into almost 3 hours because of a majorly flawed decision as I drove into town. While I was still on I-20 but close to downtown, I noticed the handy little traffic board had the following message "Debris on I-75 NB near Northside Dr, 4 right lanes closed". Ok. So Northside Dr is the exit right before my exit. My initial thought is this would be a good time to take a detour. Then I think again (big mistake) and rationalize that it is almost 10:30 pm, not to mention I am nosy and want to see what is happening with this "debris". How many people could possibly be driving through downtown Atlanta at 10:30 on a weeknight? Answer: A LOT OF PEOPLE. So I didn't realize this mental error until I was stuck in the middle of a massive amount of traffic, hopelessly inching along through downtown. Then I hear a report on the radio. It's not 4 lanes that are closed on I-75 NB but ALL LANES. Well, this is in fact bad news. Meanwhile, I am realizing that if I were just a little smarter and a little less nosy, I would have detoured long ago and been safely home already. No such luck. I did finally wise up and realize that waiting to get past the "debris" was not going to be worthwhile. So I veered towards I-85 NB at the split and finally entered the mass of traffic that was actually moving. I took the first exit and very speedily found my way home on surface roads. Still no word on what the debris is, but I think I can wait until tomorrow to find out. Good night.