North Jersey commuter turns daily gridlock into TikTok content
Riverdale resident documents his 90-minute-plus drives to Jersey City, capturing the cost, frustration, and unpredictability of life on the road
More Stories
For Chris Polakowski, the moment his car door opens, the clock starts ticking.
Three days a week, he makes the drive from Riverdale to Jersey City—a commute that can stretch to nearly two hours each way, depending on traffic.
“I tend to find that since New Jersey roads are pretty unpredictable, it’s a lot easier for me to just find the one road that works and never deviate from it,” Polakowski said. “I normally do my daily [Interstate] 287 to [Route] 23 to [Route] 46 to [Route] 3 to [Route] 139, and then that’s when all the traffic tends to break down.”
What began as a routine drive has turned into something more. Under the TikTok handle Chris in Motion, Polakowski shares real-time glimpses of his commute, documenting delays, bottlenecks, and the emotional toll of sitting in traffic.
“One hour and 41 minutes just to go 31 miles,” he says in one video, capturing a standstill on the highway.
Polakowski said the videos started as a way to cope with the frustration.
“Not getting there at the time the GPS was saying, kind of panicking in the car,” he explained. “I felt other people shared the same frustration, so I figured—why not record it?”
But the challenge of commuting isn’t just about time—it’s also about cost. Rising expenses have forced him to make small but meaningful changes, like switching from premium to regular gas.
“To put in an extra $10 every single time you’re filling up—it’s just not worth it,” he said.
Still, the biggest obstacle remains the unpredictability. Certain stretches, like Route 139, are almost always congested—though some days are better than others.
“When I tell you this is always backed up—it’s always backed up. This is so not bad today,” he said during a recent drive.
On this particular morning, Polakowski parked in Jersey City at 7:50 a.m., wrapping up a 1-hour and 25-minute commute. From there, it’s a quick coffee stop and a five-minute walk to the office.
Over time, he’s learned to adjust.
“You have to rearrange your schedule. You have to be a little bit more strategic with your time,” he said. “You do get used to it… but an hour in and an hour out—it gets exhausting every once in a while.”
For Polakowski, “being in motion” isn’t just a social media persona—it’s a daily reality shaped by long drives, traffic jams, and the constant effort to stay on schedule.
