The whole "waiting for a green light to just start" is the problem, I think. We have house rules that limit the cases where you need a green light, and the pace is much better. And less frustrating.
New house rule : It's illegal to say you have a house rule without citing said house rule.
Fair enough! IIRC (it was a long time ago) we did not need a green light to start except after a red light. This avoids the first player reaching 500 km with the last one having yet to actually start. You need to remove a couple of green lights because otherwise there are too many of them, though.
Coup-fourré! I play my Grognard card sideways and block your unofficial rules.