Miami is a city on the water.

The Miami River, which runs through part of the city, is wide and deep enough that all shapes and sizes of vessels, from consumer-level yachts and speedboats to DJ Khaled on his jet ski to huge slow-moving cargo barges and other “worker” stuff navigate this Biscayne Bay tributary.

There are drawbridges that help land dwellers like me get over the river at certain points and serve as the only “inclines” that a biker or runner will find in South Florida.

Some of these vessels going under the bridge are so large that the bridges need to open up for the boats to pass. The raising of a bridge is first signaled by the loud tolling of a bell and the dropping of long plastic arms to halt traffic. The length of the delay depends on the speed of the passing boat; some are so big and slow to lead to a 20-minute wait.

If you get caught at an opened drawbridge in Miami, you’re stuck there; rivers are long and the other drawbridges are open with halted traffic at the same time, too, for the same vessel. There’s no way to get to the other side besides either waiting or swimming across (hopefully avoiding the boat) and leaving your car behind. There’s nowhere to go, and patience is a virtue. Trying to circumvent the delay by driving to the next drawbridged-street (there are three of them that are relatively close to each other in the downtown area) will only get you stuck in more traffic on your way to it (I know from personal experience).

But that doesn’t stop people from trying.

I got stopped at a drawbridge last weekend. I calmly shifted into park and did the same thing that you would do: Grabbed my phone from its dashboard holder and occupied myself. While waiting on the bridge, a few drivers who were in front of me apparently couldn’t handle the delay, hitting U-turns and turning off into side streets. Where they were going, I don’t know.

I suppose they had extra time to waste.