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An overheating engine is never an exciting or fun thing to experience,especially when its in bumper to bumper traffic .To try preventing this inspect your cooling system look for obvious leaks or cracks in hoses,check belt condition and the protection of your antifreeze, have it pressure tested and also have the radiator cap checked. Sometimes a $5.00 radiator cap is all it is.The radiator cap not only keeps the pressure at or below usually 14 or 15 lbs but also works as a return for the overflow to return into the radiator as the engine cools down. If that is not working, your system will eventually overflow the antifreeze never to return to the radiator,thus overheating.Another odd thing that has happened is the lower hose sucking shut from using a hose without a inside wire support to keep it from collapsing,this is not very common but does happen , it does this when the engine is under load going down the road so the faster you go the hotter it gets.
If your cooling system pressurizes instantly you probably have a blown head gasket or crack in the head ,in this case you should have the radiator checked at a garage to see if any carbon dioxide is present( combustion chamber breach into cooling system). The best thing you can do is have regular check up on your car done by a trusted mechanic.

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