I'm not sure what it is like where you live but:

Here in California when you have a traffic jam like on one of our many many freeways and it lasts say 5 or 6 hours it might take several hours or more to unjam it. With Ships it's worse in the Suez Canal because there is only so much room to send ships through so you have ships having arrived from places like Columbia headed to Europe maybe Romania with cattle dying on board because there isn't enough food or especially drinking water there for them. After all, you are in the middle of deserts to both sides of you so where are you going to get water for the cattle while moving or sitting in a ship in  or near the Suez canal? And once cattle die their carcasses soon will be worth nothing and what are you going to do with their carcasses to prevent disease on a ship in the middle of the desert on board a ship? So, the types of problems shippers are having now in regard to the Suez canal are sort of extreme, especially those with live cargo heading across the desert on a canal dug in the late 1800s. 

One of my worst experiences with this was it took me 12 hours to drive from San Francisco to Palm Springs when it should have been only 1/2 that time.

My mistake was trying to visit my son in Palm Springs on a Friday and hitting Los Angeles to Palm Springs traffic and be bumper to bumper for 6 hours straight after already having driven 6 hours that day already.

So, my basic rule now is: "NEVER TRAVEL ON A FRIDAY UNLESS IT"S A COMPLETE EMERGENCY!" However, if you are working 9 to 5 5 days a week you might have no choice.

But, if you are retired like I am and can leave any time you choose it's a different story. So, since I was forced to retire in 1998 with health problems there is a certain peacefulness that comes from being able to go anywhere whenever you feel good enough to do that and so you time your journeys to not coincide with any traffic at all if you are wise.

Here's what I have learned:

Don't leave until 9 am weekdays.

Try to never travel on Fridays or Sunday Afternoons if you can help it.

Saturday is the best day to travel on a weekend because most people got to their destination Friday night and will then leave that destination Sunday afternoon and evening.

So, Saturday and Tuesday might be good days to travel.

Monday is sometimes okay too.

But, Saturday and Tuesday might be best but Wednesday are Thursday  are also okay if you only travel between 9 AM and about 3 PM on any Monday through Thursday.

And once again: Never travel on Friday unless it is a family emergency.

If you live somewhere other than California like a non-populated state like Wyoming or Montana none of these rules might apply to you there.

But, this is true of ANYWHERE in California because 40 million people with cars and trucks live here.