US driving

[Rattlenbang]

I recently spent some time near the Mexican border in Arizona, and drove a friend's Subaru back to BC for her. Not wanting to while away 3,000 kilometres on the interstates, I decided to check out the secondary highways, as I was planning on a trip back down there in my L300 and wanted to find a good route. It was a real eye-opener for me. I had previously only driven through Washington and down the Oregon coast, and had no idea the lunatic speeds that people travel in other areas. In a lot of places the speed limit was 75 mph, and of course that meant the traffic was going well over 80. I had hoped that leaving the freeways I would find something saner, but even narrow, two lane highways (one lane in each direction) had speed limits of 65 or 70, and god help you if you do even close to the limit; soon you'll have a massive, impatient line of traffic behind you. Some of the roads were very winding and steep, and the volume and speed of traffic was insane.
I used to be a big follower of VW Westy forums, and I couldn't understand the obsession so many drivers had with getting more power and speed out of their vans; now I know why. And now I'm concerned about driving back to Tucson in my van because there is no way it can keep up with the traffic I found myself in, especially in the mountainous areas or California and Nevada.
Do other people here have experience driving in the US and how do you avoid getting run over? We were almost wiped out by one maniac who blew past us (we were already doing well over 70 in a 65 zone), forcing oncoming traffic into the shoulder to avoid a head-on collision. It almost seems like the interstate would be safer, because at least there's lots of lanes for people to blow past you, and they don't wind and climb so much. I suppose it's that or find the most remote-out-of-the-way roads possible, but that's a very slow way to make up 3,000 k.

[drrod]

I drive and ride a motorcycle quite a bit in the Western states. I too find that traffic (esp in Cali) moves quickly. However, I find that the problem is not the speed itself but several other factors that may cause issues.
- speed limit artificially low for the road
- slow drivers refusing to travel in the far right lane or use pullouts if holding up traffic
- improper (or complete lack of) use of signal lights
- inattentive/poor drivers (probably the worst).
- use of cruise control on freeways resulting in excessively long time taken to overtake
- general lack of courtesy

My suggestion for your trip is to use freeways and stay in your proper lane or, if you take the back roads, pay very close attention to your rearview mirror and do what you can to facilitate the flow of traffic. That being said, traffic in OR and WA tends to travel closer to the speed limit that CA or AZ. "Back roads" in CA and AZ tend to be relatively free of traffic and can afford you the opportunity to travel at your own pace and enjoy the many sights there are to see that are not available from the freeway. Either way, I wouldn't let it detract from your plans. Your experience is the major reason I like driving/riding in Europe rather than in NA. In Europe, by and large, drivers are much better than here. It is almost like driving is a privilege there whereas here it is considered a right. There is the large speed differential there as well but it seems to work out. Until we get better testing and licensing procedures here, it is not likely to change. Sadly.

Rod

[nxski]

I never had a problem with this, I stuck to major roads and stayed to the right. Semi trucks would often honk at me or drive by giving me the finger, but you just don't let it get to you. My best investment was some very bright LED lights on my roof basket pointing down and backwards. If someone's riding my tail, I just flick the lights on them and they back right off.

[1994delicaman]

My best investment was some very bright LED lights on my roof basket pointing down and backwards. If someone's riding my tail, I just flick the lights on them and they back right off.

I like that idea!

[Rattlenbang]

I guess I'll have to choose different roads. Keeping to the right isn't an option when there's one lane. And doing 70kph up a steep, narrow road while everyone wants to do twice that is a recipe for trouble. It would be nice if one could get an idea of topography, so you could find out beforehand just how steep a road is before you take that route. The area we went through -death valley and hwy 395 - didn't have many options and a lot of the high elevation routes were closed for the winter. It looked like a small enough backway, but still tons of speeding traffic. The worst was hwy 93 between Pheonix and Vegas, which was a pretty drive and looked safe enough, but I would never take my Delica that route; very little passing, steep areas and brutal traffic.

[Mr. Flibble]

I have spent months driving around those areas. Going back in a few weeks to do more.

As everyone says, stay right.

If you build up a line of cars? Signal right and PULL OVER!

Let them pass! In fact, help them pass!

[sasquatch-hunter]

Driving towards Alaska can generally avoid this problem.

[Yokohama]

As an American living in an area where the only real time anyone obeys the limit is when there is known speed enforcement, I can reiterate what you have been told and add some details.

Avoid toll roads if you don't want to have a semi-truck up your rear. Toll road limit 75, real toll road speed 85+. That said, there are RVs and such on the toll roads here and they know to stay to the right!

If you do drive slower on two lane 'free road'/rural highway then yes, use the shoulder to pull over (maybe slow down, but don't stop) and then let the cars behind you by. Just be aware of the shoulder condition before you do, sometimes it is loose gravel or something else that is not pavement on rural highways.

Sometimes, there is no shoulder on rural highways and no place to really pull over without stopping, but you can also slow down a little and make it easier for them to get around when you are in a passing zone. That said, you can pull over and stop to let people by.

We have lots of gravel roads also, and it is not uncommon for people to blast down them too, and sometimes they are really narrow, so you may have to slow down and go as far right as you can to let an oncoming truck/car by. But, expect that they may not slow down when they pass you. Just don't let it get to you, as they do it all the time and they know what they are doing.

Also, get a trucker's road atlas as it is way more detailed than the state maps!

[Onesweetvan]

You wont like I-15 in Utah, the limit is 85 MPH in places.

I drive truck all over the US and lots in the west. Because I'm in it for the money, I try to keep my fuel bill reasonable and that often means going slower than than the flow of traffic. 56-59 if there's a headwind and 65 if there's a tail wind. Others don't share my philosophy.

I would say let them, indeed help them, pass you. I just get on the CB and work with other drivers make it happen.

[Yokohama]

You wont like I-15 in Utah, the limit is 85 MPH in places.

I drive truck all over the US and lots in the west. Because I'm in it for the money, I try to keep my fuel bill reasonable and that often means going slower than than the flow of traffic. 56-59 if there's a headwind and 65 if there's a tail wind. Others don't share my philosophy.

I would say let them, indeed help them, pass you. I just get on the CB and work with other drivers make it happen.

Owner operator?

[Onesweetvan]

Yes.

[Yokohama]

Yes.

I thought so; when you are paying for fuel, then you tend to have a different outlook.

[Rattlenbang]

This has been an interesting conversation. I do have some concerns about pulling onto the shoulder to let people pass, as I was under the impression that you are only allowed to do this under unusual/emergency situations (hence the solid line), and if you simply move over to let people pass you are in essence driving on the shoulder, which is illegal, and if an accident ensues while someone is passing you can be held liable.

Another interesting aspect is our American cousin's approach to fossil fuel consumption; I thought that energy self reliance and conservation was becoming politically important, and yet the vast majority of vehicles I saw motoring at these high speeds were SUVs and full-size pickups. How anyone can afford those fuel bills is beyond me. Remember the double nickle in the 70s after the last energy crisis? I guess even at 1.35/litre, gas is till very cheap.

[nxski]

This has been an interesting conversation. I do have some concerns about pulling onto the shoulder to let people pass, as I was under the impression that you are only allowed to do this under unusual/emergency situations (hence the solid line), and if you simply move over to let people pass you are in essence driving on the shoulder, which is illegal, and if an accident ensues while someone is passing you can be held liable.

Another interesting aspect is our American cousin's approach to fossil fuel consumption; I thought that energy self reliance and conservation was becoming politically important, and yet the vast majority of vehicles I saw motoring at these high speeds were SUVs and full-size pickups. How anyone can afford those fuel bills is beyond me. Remember the double nickle in the 70s after the last energy crisis? I guess even at 1.35/litre, gas is till very cheap.

In the states, Diesel was $0.79/L in some places, compared to $1.45 when I left Canada to go travelling.

[Onesweetvan]

Another interesting aspect is our American cousin's approach to fossil fuel consumption; I thought that energy self reliance and conservation was becoming politically important, and yet the vast majority of vehicles I saw motoring at these high speeds were SUVs and full-size pickups. How anyone can afford those fuel bills is beyond me. Remember the double nickle in the 70s after the last energy crisis? I guess even at 1.35/litre, gas is till very cheap.

Have you seen what Ford has done with their new EcoBoost? HP and Torque like a 460 and 3 times the MPG.