🇬🇧BRIT Reacts To BRITISH ROADS GOT NOTHING ON AMERICAN ROADS! *are they safer though???

[@lane6866]

I was born in the late 70s and was brought up being taught that the two most dangerous activities you could partake in were hitchhiking and playing with Ouija boards.

[@wolftitan]

Ouija boards only have the power in which you believe they have. They do not summon fictional demons or spirits. This is unless you drink a lot before hand. 🤣

[@virginiarobbins7539]

Not a lie on either of those

[@mrtyreus0]

Driving straight from the east to west coast is actually a bit of a contest here in the US. It's known as the Cannonball Run. The current record is 25 hrs and 39 minutes averaging 110 MPH.

[@gdhaney136]

I've driven east to west and back again 2 years later, but I took my time. I could never do the straight through. I'd pass out, especially driving in the desert at night!

[@zevynozevyn4102]

There's a KZbin video of it

[@dianem8544]

Yeah, but that was during lockdown, right? There was no one else on the road. Oh, Kabir! You should react to the movie: Cannonball Run (1981).

[@ultraman5168]

@@gdhaney136 New York to the Carolinas in one day destroyed me well enough. Even if I had enough caffeine (maybe I should try Adderall instead), I don't think my neck and shoulders would survive going coast to coast in one trip.

[@mildredpierce4506]

Except in the movie, who does that? If anyone did, it was before we had as many people on the roads as we have now. Besides that, it's a selfish feat. You're endangering other people just for a personal thrill.

[@SilvanaDil]

Nobody's going to use rail to travel from state to state other than in the northeast. Freight rail, though, is very extensively used throughout.

[@ms.harley]

I assume that most roads in the Midwest are under some state of decay due to use of salt on them during winter months which breaks down the ice. I live in Michigan so I see it all the time.

[@jariemonah]

I hope Kabir has learned by now that Chicago isn't an east coast city. It's the Midwest!

[@anniebalsbaugh2093]

Flatfoot56, Celtic Punk band from Chicago, " Jungle of the Midwest Sea"

[@kingjellybean9795]

@Annie Balsbaugh saw flatfoot back in 09 at a hole in the wall venue in wilkesbarre

[@tymiller176]

"I heard traffic can be bad in some states" must be the ultimate understatement ever lol. Also, people weren't hitchhiking in the 90s. It was mostly a 60s-80s thing. And finally, multi-lane roads actually increase traffic. Yes, European roads are too narrow. But having public transportation is the best.

[@kennethswartz8252]

You'd probably enjoy watching people try the Cannonball Run. East to West in a specific time frame.

[@cyndicook7755]

I love that movie.

[@Weaver1812]

I am in Dallas. I refuse to drive on the highways. I dislike heights. It is terrifying to me. I felt like I was driving on a Hot-Wheels car on some 5 year old's maniacal design

[@bryanjenkins8830]

Lol im from DFW also. I feel you! I drove my grandma from Mississippi around here and she freaked! 😂😂

[@brandyforsythe1882]

Same guys....HATE Dallas higways.

[@Tateorsomething]

I se a LOT of people here in D that seem scared of the highways and wish they would take your advice and stay off them.

[@Weaver1812]

@@Tateorsomething I just tapped out LOL

[@aliciarobinson4107]

The high 5 is scary tho.

[@kennethswartz8252]

Congratulations to Lawrence for buying his first house.

[@shanestanton8]

3:25, using high speed rail, that might depend on: 1. How far it is from point a point b. New York to LA is about a five to six hour flight, and commercial jets are by no means slow. 2. The geography of the ending point(s). If a town is at least an hour’s drive from the nearest interstate, the department(s) of transportation might not be interested in connecting it to the rest of the system

[@laurataylor8717]

In Rochester, we used to have a part of the highway in the city called "the can of worms." At some point before I started driving, the city fixed the issues with traffic congestion and the can of worms is no more.

[@Ethereal_Kay]

Currently living in the uk for now and let me just say this driving at night here is terrifying especially since there’s hardly street lights and oncoming cars use high beams which blinds me. Also, I find myself confused when driving on rural roads i can never tell if some are one ways or not.

[@TXKafir]

Here in the US, it's rare to find a one-way street outside of a city's downtown area.

[@Ethereal_Kay]

@@TXKafir I’m from America

[@JayStephens8]

Roundabouts safer yes but they get congested so quick and easy

[@jariemonah]

They make more sense in intersections where one street hardly has traffic. You don't have to wait a whole minute for invisible cars to pass through. I definitely benefit from the three roundabouts I drive through everyday in NJ.

[@themourningstar338]

@@jariemonah I agree with that. Over the last several years there has been around 10 roundabouts put in where I live in the west. They are all on intersections where there is heavy traffic on one street, and barely any on the other. I really like them and think they work great in those types of intersections (some locals hate them though🤷‍♀ lol). But they would be an absolute disaster in the busy areas where there's lots of traffic from all directions.

[@aaronmorris1513]

I drove from North Carolina to California and I did it in 3 days, and that was practically 12 hours non-stop driving each day all on I-40.

[@Yawnzee_]

I did something similar I went from San Diego California to Pittsburgh PA in 3 days I drove all the way through though only stopped to get gas. But it was a fun drive can't wait to do it again.

[@perfumedelight66]

When I taught in Houston, I came back home to Oklahoma once a month. It was usually on a holiday, so the traffic out of the city was so slow, I saw people actually reading books in their car. We’d move forward a few feet, then stop over and over and over. It would often take me 9 hours to finally get home. Brutal. Dallas traffic is scary. People ride your tail going 80+ with no room in other lanes. Number to bumper 80 mph. Nobody understands physics. I’d take every gravel road in East Texas just to avoid driving through Dallas.

[@gwyntx7620]

I hate driving on Dallas fwy. People are crazy there

[@Athyma28]

I’ve driven all over the US. The longest trip was from Georgia, across the south to Vegas, then up to Washington. Took us over a week, with gas and overnight stops.

[@ESUSAMEX]

Maps online say you can drive NY to LA in 41 hours (2778 miles), but that's not including traffic and/or bathroom and food breaks. Normal driving could get you their in 3 to 4 days

[@Sherlock4Sure]

Hey Kabir! I would never give up driving myself everywhere I go, no matter how public transportation was set up. I truly enjoy getting behind the wheel! I've lived in huge cities and the rural upper Midwest, prefer to get around either in my vehicle! The US is just too big to have any sort of alternate transportation to get where we need to go, when we need to be there. It's just the way it is. If people really want buses, subways, etc. They need to move to an area where they have them. Have a great day sir!

[@TXKafir]

Agreed. Not only would it, by definition, take longer to get there but you'd have no opportunity to stop and see the sights along the way.

[@mortimerbrewster3671]

I will never give up driving myself since public transportation requires traveling with the public. There are some unsavory people out there. Also, I like have the option to change my plans, detour my route, or just not have to keep stopping for other people to get on and off.

[@thomasgray4188]

the us is the perfect size for public transport its just government policy Plain and simple.

[@saybanana]

That Los Angeles interchange is one of my favorite views of LA area. Coming from the airport using the 105East to 110 north. The highest lane is 100 ft up. It towers all the homes, palm tress. On a clear day, you can see 100 miles away at the mountains with snow in San Bernardino County, the small Downtown LA skyline is 3rd tallest after Chicago maybe 4th, despite fewer buildings, it really sticks out majestically at this interchange. You can even see the Hollywood sign.

[@ESUSAMEX]

Kabir, You should checkout the Jolly Channel here on KZbin. They are two Brits that travel the US eating all our great food. And so far, they have loved it. They have eaten things that they thought they would hate and instead love them. They explain what the food is in most cases.

[@fayebell4716]

YESSSS!!!! Jolly and The Korean Englishman are actually the reason I found Kabir's channel, I'm loving their tour of the Southern food they are doing right now!

[@DJWeapon8]

I don't think Kabir knows about Josh and Ollie. So if he finds out about JOLLY, he'll find out Korean Englishman, too. And boy howdy, those two channels are rabbit holes. Lol Its also a little pipe dream of mine that Kabir gets featured in a Korean Englishman video as he lives near London.

[@gotham61]

I have driven coast to coast more than 40 times, sometimes solo, and sometimes with multiple drivers. Solo, my record from NYC to San Francisco is a little over three days, and by coincidence, I took a hitchhiker 2/3 of that distance. With multiple drivers we have driven from North Carolina to California in under two days several times.

[@lindaisyoutubing]

We have plenty of those narrow roads as well, where only one car fits at a time. There are some roads where if you’re driving one way and another car is coming the opposite way, one of you has to back up all the way to the nearest turn out to let the other pass. Doing that in the dark with no lights along the road is beyond scary. I’ve been to England and spent time touring around the countryside, and some of it reminded me of some rural parts here in the US. Beautiful countryside and roads in both countries. ❤

[@karenedwards6713]

We drove a little over 900 miles from Athens Ga to Tyler Texas in about 11 hours. We had a 4 year old who really loved the big rigs and he thought we were chasing them. Thank goodness he was a good sleeper. We did take breaks so he could run around the Walmart.

[@md_vandenberg]

As a SoCal native, my favorite freeway intersection (based on name alone) is the Orange Crush. It's where the 5, 22 and 57 freeways all come together in Orange County, hence Orange Crush. In case you don't know Kabir, Orange Crush is a fizzy drink and also a song by R.E.M. Over in the Inland Empire, the 91 Freeway was voted Worst Freeway for 8 or 9 years. I've driven the 91 from beginning to end multiple times and it does indeed suck.

[@MsIllrockyousohard]

My family would always drive to visit our relatives in the summer. We live in Austin Texas and our relatives live in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. We would leave around 6am and my dad would drive about 8 hours and my mom would sleep. Then they would switch so we never stopped except to use the bathroom. We would arrive in Philly the next day around 4pm… just in time for dinner!

[@tomgardner2638]

No, I'd continue using my car! Forget those public germ tubes! I rode a "trolley" to work for years when my office was in down town Pittsburgh. I was sick from mid January til June every year. NO WAY!

[@JakkiPi]

They forgot about Hawaii's 3 interstate freeways that don't connect to any other state, or even any of the other islands. The history of how and why they were built is enlightening.

[@TXKafir]

They justified the construction of the Interstate Highway system by saying it was defense related. In the event of an invasion, the military would use those roads for moving equipment and personnel. That's why you can have one on an island. If Puerto Rico ever becomes a state, you can bet there'll be one there, too.

[@markgulbranson7518]

It's not interstate if it doesn't cross to another state

[@Tijuanabill]

@@markgulbranson7518 Yes and no. You could argue a definition of interstate highways in the US includes any highways in the Interstate Highway system. It's Interstate, not interstate. Proper Noun, etc.

[@Mahomie_15]

It took me 17 hours to drive from Warner Robins, Georgia to Corpus Christi, Texas -- a distance of just over a thousand miles -- when I visited a friend back in 2017. I only stopped for gas and snacks/food. I'll never do that again without cutting that kind of distance over two days of driving.

[@brenz990]

I did a run from California to Pennsylvania and it took 43 hours. Driving was split between four people. We only stopped to refuel (pee and snack breaks while filling up the tank). Spring break was over and we needed to get back to school ASAP!

[@8mycake244]

For me, as an American, driving in the UK is stressful as F. Especially, like he says, when you get out in smaller villages. If you miss a turn, you're screwed. Sometimes you will have to drive miles to turn around. My wife and I were in the Cotswolds this last fall, and man alive. I nearly had a panic attack one day. The stress is high here as well. I live in Dallas, TX. Jesus. It's like driving in an amusement park where every rollercoaster goes at 90 miles per hour. Yikes.

[@TheNickZombi]

I would absolutely use public transport more if it were more widespread. We have a couple trains in South Florida, but they don't stop anywhere convenient for me so I've only be on them a handful of times.

[@andylipiro3862]

I live in Colorado and often take road trips. Driving by myself I have done Denver to Long Island NY in 27 hours. To Florida Tallahassee in 24. My last trip was to Bangor Maine, I decided not to drive straight through so I stopped at night. It took me 3 days and 34 hours of driving.

[@aliciasavage6801]

Hello fellow Coloradoan

[@billbrasky1288]

Traffic is usually not a big problem on long distance drives, although it can be a thorn in your side sometimes. Plan your trips. If you’re passing through Atlanta, for example, try avoiding it during peak hours. Some people even plan drives to go through big cities at night.

[@rohan1970b]

The narrowness of the roads, the fact UK drives on the opposite side from the US, and comprehensiveness of the UK's public transit system were the reasons all 3 visits I've made to the UK, I've exclusively used public transport and didn't bother with a car. At home (in the US) I tried public transport once and swore never again. :)

[@TXKafir]

The public transit system in Dallas is good for one thing: Getting commuters from the suburbs into downtown. It's practically useless for any other purpose.

[@Tijuanabill]

I end up taking taxis abroad, because I can't read the signage for the public transportation, and the taxi drivers know a (meandering lol) route to everywhere, so I don't have to figure it out.

[@TXKafir]

@@Tijuanabill I rented a car when we went to Cabo San Lucas. Apple Maps was useless. Google maps worked but kept mixing up left and right. Every distance was in metric and I couldn't do the math in my head quick enough, lol.

[@rohan1970b]

@@TXKafir That's the first good thing I've ever heard about DART :) (I grew up in Arlington)

[@TXKafir]

@@rohan1970b When I lived in Irving, getting to downtown on DART was fairly easy. I moved to Frisco and it got a bit more challenging but I did it anyway. Fortunately, I work from home now so it isn't an issue. Try to commute from, say, Frisco to Irving and you're just screwed. You have to go via downtown and then it takes over two hours. You might as well take your car at that point.

[@yugioht42]

unfortunately the interstate killed much of the old road system including much of the early route 66. its really hard to do the entire route as you have to jump back and forth between the interstate and route 66. that's why you see baron areas around route 66 as the interstate killed them.

[@karenc2192]

In 2006 I drove from Stockton California to Albany NY. I started Wednesday evening and arrived at Albany about 3am Saturday. Two and a half days, I guess Yes, I stopped to sleep. 🙂

[@jdanon203]

Wow you made pretty good time!

[@randalmayeux8880]

Hi Kabir, good reaction as always! I've driven the Katy freeway numerous times. It's crazy, I mean there are so many lanes and signs that it's hard to figure out what Lane to be in to reach your destination. The view from the top of the high five is amazing. When they say high they mean HIGH! My girlfriend at the time (now my wife) unbeknownst to me at a fear of heights. When we got on the high five up at the highest level she totally freaks out. She was hysterical and demanded me to let her out of the car which I did. I drove slowly alongside her finally convince her that it would be safer in the car.

[@kencramer1697]

I drive on the high 5 all the time here in Dallas. It looks impressive from the air, but on the ground it doesn't seem like a big deal. :)

[@brandyperry-giotis9962]

As a former Chicagoan I can say that there is nothing "Express" about the expressways. The Eisenhower (I 290) always seemed to be at a stand still and the Kennedy (I 90) was so congested it felt like it was going backwards. Traffic here in East Tennessee seems lovely in comparison. I don't miss the expressways.

[@erolbulut2584]

Happily left 30 years ago. Traffic in the Chi is ridiculous. In Cincy, now. Much more pleasant.

[@webbtrekker534]

I hated paying a toll every 10 feet. Couldn't wait to get out of the state.

[@josephbridges7470]

We already have the same amount of roundabouts as the entire UK and that number is skyrocketing yearly for a large number of reason from safety to less maintenance for cities that put them in and a saving of energy. I have over a dozen near me in the greater Cincy area.

[@d0lph1n63]

No I haven’t driven coast to coast but the drive from Chicago to Tampa Florida took 2.5 days (with breaks) and that was with clear traffic! Usually the roads around places like Atlanta are grid lock during the morning and evening commutes! And in Tampa, Florida we’ve got an interstate interchange called “Malfunction Junction”.

[@melissabelle8626]

I’ve driven from Maryland to San Francisco with my mom before. It took five days of steady driving.

[@mocrg]

I remember a joke by Alfie Bass. He met an American who said the roads in Britain are so small. His reply was that’s why we put steering wheels on our cars

[@Cricket2731]

😂😂😂

[@UncleBuckRodgers]

I live in rural Texas, no delivery. I drive a round trip of 30 miles to go to the grocery store and Whataburger! I'm numb to it, it's nothing to make 2, maybe 3 round trips a day for various things. Before that I lived in Dallas, TX for 15 years. Our office building was on one corner of the High-5. I worked for a newspaper, so I was sent to the top of our building to take photos each month while it was being built, from start to finish. Then we ran an article showing the progression. There is actually a Modern Marvels episode that shows how the High-5 was built. Very cool watch. They engineered brand new construction technology to build the upper levels.

[@catgirl6803]

There's an interchange coming out of Baltimore that's so high up I fear for my life every time I'm on it. I can't imagine anything being taller. I'm talking about the 95N ramp from 395 for anyone familiar. And it goes over water which probably makes it worse. I'm always visualizing my car falling and plunging in to my death. I'd love to have more public transit and I don't understand why we can't make it happen. I mean I do understand that it's driven by the oil and car industries and a really great marketing scheme that cars give people freedom and independence. We used to have a lot more railways than we do now. There's no need for cars if the trains run on schedule and often. But with the suburbs so spread out I don't know how people would get from the train to their individual neighborhood? I take the bus/train/subway/plane as often as I can. And I walk to a lot of places. You have to take into consideration too that we're huge with most people on the coasts and so we fly from state to state. If I'm going to New York I'll take the train, but to Boston I'll fly.

[@PerthTowne]

I've driven across country from the east to west coast, and I did it in parts of four days. But it really depends on your route, and how fast you want to go, whether you want to make stops, and so on.

[@monicapdx]

Hitchhiking was mostly a 50s-70s thing. The realization that it was dangerous on both sides gradually became more evident in the late 70s or so. Now it's illegal. Otherwise, it was really frowned on at various times, even in the 50s. I read an article, or a chapter in a book, about hitching, and the 50s had lots of complaints about the wild youth out there hitching everywhere. (I.e., same complaints they've always made, but more news coverage. 😄) In the earlier days, the idea was that 'nice' kids didn't do it. Especially girls. 😲. I've never hitched in my life.

[@dennisfitzgerald8486]

As a 73 y/o, a child of the 60's I hitched hiked everywhere , Ohio to Boston, Boston to Fla. and all over New England, sure had some scary rides, stoned drivers etc. but had the time of my life

[@raylewis2121]

I’m 68. I and most of my friends took multi-state and multi-country trips by thumb in the late 60s-early 70s. It was fun and adventurous! There were lots of hippies and truckers who would give any kid a lift. We never worried for our safety, and made a lot of friends.

[@monicapdx]

@@dennisfitzgerald8486 I'm a late Boomer, 1954. 😄 Just turned 68. My parents would never have let me hitch, though my 11 year older brother did. Glad you had fun! I was too late for most of the fun things, dammit.

[@thecrazyhobo]

It's not illegal to hitchhike unless you are doing it near a prison. In most states, you can walk on the freeway, but in others you can only hitchhike from the freeway exits and can't walk on it. Cops will harass you, but hitchhiking is free expression that is Constitutionally protected (freedom of movement has been judicially recognized as a fundamental Constitutional right) and isn't illegal except in certain situations (like near prisons or on private/restricted property). People still hitchhike all the time. I used to do it for over 20 years until I settled down (and now I have a car). I hitchhiked through the late 90s and the early 2000s with few issues. In fact, I have a friend currently hitchhiking across the country right now and should be here to visit in a week or so. I even know female hitchhikers. People saying that it's a thing of the past really have no idea. It's definitely still alive and quite common. So is freight train hopping, which is also something I used to do often, hence my name. Unlike hitchhiking, though, hopping trains IS illegal (trespassing), but they usually just pull you off and tell you to hitchhike out of town (or they will give you a ride to the next town). Cops don't want hobos and bums hanging out in their towns, and they know they won't pay tickets or stay in town for court so they usually just keep them moving out of town instead. There's a whole subculture that still hitchhikes and hops freight trains and I was part of it for 2 decades - recent decades (90s/2000s).

[@monicapdx]

@@thecrazyhobo I learned my something new for the day! Thank you, that was interesting as well as educational. So the cops don't beat the hell out of hobos any more? Good thing. (Of course, I think I read about that in one of Heinlein's books, 'Sixth Column', and that came out in-- :pause to check: Ok, serialized in 1941, book format 1949. 😄 A wee bit old for a reference.)

[@SherriLyle80s]

Some places encourage hitchhiking. I lived 30 mins outside DC and used to pick up "Slugs" at the commuter lot so I could use the HOV lanes (high occupancy vehicle) which requires 3 people to use at the time. The traffic was hellacious so picking up slugs was worth it. You would get in a car line and when you get to the front, you yell out your destination location and two people who are going that way hop in your car. 😁

[@sadiekincaid5310]

We went from Northern Nevada to Eastern North Carolina in 3 days. That was with 12 hours on the road each day and only about 5 stops a day for food, gas, and restroom breaks. We stayed in a motel for 2 nights while driving to North Carolina. It was 2,805 miles in January on I 40 which is 1 of the more southern rutes to cross thecountry. There was snow and it was really cold.

[@sherilynkd]

Another note I used to drive solo from Wash DC to Corpus Christi, TX and back with some trips going from Corpus to Tampa Bay, Fl back to Wash DC. I think it was about 30 hrs driving time in the 70s from TX to DC.

[@jenniferlogan3375]

My sister and I travel from Eastern Washington to Southern California every summer. When we did drive straight threw, it took anywhere from 21-24 hours depending on when we hit traffic in certain cities and weather. Driving threw Utah, almost always had heavy rain conditions. We're older now and just drive about 14-15 hours the first day, just a couple hours away from Las Vegas, and then get up early and finish the rest of the way.

[@R777-RLM]

When I first saw a UK country lane on TV, I figured they were either walkways or bicycle paths. Although, there's something I thought about pertaining to the UK's narrow traffic lanes. That is, that they would demand your attention, helping you keep your mind on driving.

[@TB-tr3cm]

Most U.S. cities have extensive public transit systems. Beyond that, there are trains, busses, and airplanes to move people from state to state. The distances are just too great to expect more of a national transport system. Plus, we're an automotive culture.

[@colegvozdas9897]

I drove from Helena, Montana to Richmond, Virginia and it was 2300 miles. Or 4 straight days of 8-ish hours of driving each day

[@tonyharmon8512]

He didn't say anything about a notorious interchange in LA called the Stack. It is where three freeways all cross each other. Each exit had to have 4 entrances to the other freeways. If each was dedicated so as to "simplify" everything that would mean there were 24 total entrances. That would have reached the sky trying to build all that so each exit joins with others and then they all split again for all the possible directions you want to go. The first time I used it as a teenager I ended up on the wrong freeway going the opposite direction I wanted. After getting turned around I finally got on the right freeway headed the right direction but I always avoided the Stack if I could as so many were confused that you always had to be on the lookout for people diving for the exits they wanted. It was a notorious traffic snarl at the best of times and almost unusable during a bad rush hour. A Gordian Knot of cars.

[@LSevenans]

I live in Idaho and use the 20 almost daily. I'm 73 years old and my father was a Lt. in WWII. He had an engineering degree and was sent to Alaska to help design the Alcan highway to facilitate quicker movement of troops and equipment from the lower 48 (this was pre Alaska/Hawaii statehood) into Alaska, which was classified as a battle zone. Pres. Eisenhower had served as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe. That experience opened his eyes to how difficult it would be to quickly move troops/equipment within the US without the interstate road system he backed 10 years post WWII. An adequate train system would have been more challenging simply due to the size of the US. It would have taken longer and cost more. Today, I really wish we had half the public transportation system of Europe. I lived in Southern California for more than 65 years and traffic is HELL! And it's not even the worst in the US.

[@LSevenans]

When I was 12, my family went from Palm Springs CA to visit friends in Alabama and Florida (people my parents had known in Alaska during the War). I think it took us 3 days to get across Texas! We did stop in New Orleans and Atlanta for a day or so in each place. But 5 days is probably a good estimate for East-West travel.

[@BrandonJXN2]

I live in Socal. I think the longest street in LA County is Sepulveda Blvd at 40 miles long from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach. And freeway interchanges are fun. Major freeway interchanges in SoCal are named: East LA Interchange, Orange Crush, El Toro Y, the 4 level, and I'm sure I'm missing a few.

[@CR-pp7ls]

as for roundabouts- here in the DC area we have some more than the usual places in US...Now, my hometown (Colonie, NY) has installed some over the past few years to decrease bottlenecks/slowdowns. So I guess they are taking a page from the UKs playbook.

[@JoeKier7]

Coast to coast is an easy 4 day drive (8am-6pm, 1 hour for lunch). As much as they love to brag about I-90 going from Boston to Seattle, at the bottom of Lake Michigan I-90 merges with I-80 so that I-90 stops existing as a separate freeway except for the signage having both numbers on it.

[@wandadavis8025]

I drove from Jacksonville, North Carolina to Dallas, Oregon with two small children in 1986. It took us a week but we did take a detour to see the Grand Canyon. I taught my then 6 year old son to read the paper roadmap.

[@mattp.3949]

When I was in England in November-December 2007 I rented a car and took a road trip around the country. I was not familar with most of the A or B roads so 75 to 80% I stuck to the multi-lane motorways from the M25 surrounding London, to the M3 to Portsmouth, to the M1 to the north, to the M4 west to Bristol, to the M40 and M42. The longest motorway I drove on is the M6 (around 300 miles) that ran through Birmingham to the Scottish border. The shortest is the M55 (around 11 miles) that leads from the M6 to downtown Blackpool, located on the Irish Sea about 50 miles north of Liverpool, around 280 miles northwest of London. The traffic jams (queues) on the M6 through Birmingham was a nightmare, so I took the M6 Toll road bypass (which cost four pounds at that time). To get to Manchester from Liverpool, I took the M62 from one coast to the other. I did not travel in Scotland, but I heard stories that the M8 in Scotland from the capital city of Endenburg to Glasgow is always congested with all types of traffic nearly as bad as the M25.

[@JohnLeePettimoreIII]

i grew up in the Fort Worth-Dallas area and the I-35/I-20/I-30 junction is referred to as, "The Mixmaster". it is often used to teach civil engineers how to *_NOT_* design interchanges.

[@Darvec]

Roundabouts vs controlled intersections: each has its pros and cons. Roundabouts decrease t-bone collisions at the cost of increased sideswipes. Roundabouts prevent stopping and increases traffic calming, at the cost of increased difficulty of pedestrian crossing, especially disabled pedestrians.

[@jackasswhiskyandpintobeans9344]

4:39 My mom always told the story of how she and her sister hitchhiked from Fargo, ND to Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming in the late 1930's. She worked a summer job as a waitress and her tips were always Morgan Silver dollars.

[@nickallain]

There's a challenge in the US to drive coast to coast as fast as possible. There's a number of different names for it, the most famous version is called The Cannonball. That's a "race" from NYC to Los Angeles. The record was broken several times during COVID lockdowns because it was possible to drive over 100mph without any traffic. The current record is 25 hours 39 minutes (2,906 miles), which means they averaged 110mph INCLUDING stops for fuel.

[@Altessee2145]

I once made it from New York to just outside LA in just under 60 hours... About 2 1/2 days. But that was straight driving. But I also have been on a road trip that took 2 1/2 months, or 15,000 miles.

[@Liamshavingfun]

I'm a truck driver and I drive about 600+ miles a day across America. With two drivers you can go from coast to coast in 2 days with the truck not stopping and just switching drivers.

[@drakeringholz794]

To drive from coast to coast in the United States it would most likely take 5 or 6 days of driving if you drove for 8 hours a day. However the fastest anyone has ever done it was in about 25.5 hours and they call it a Cannonball Run. There is actually a lot of history going along with the cannonball run and how it started, maybe you could check it out sometime.

[@joshlansford1706]

As an over the road truck driver in America, I have driven I-90 from Boston to Seattle multiple times. In a semi truck that's governed at 65mph with Hours of service requirements it took about 5 days (50-55 hours of driving). Obviously if you're doing it in a personal car you can get it done alot quicker (roughly 40-45 hours of driving depending on how much you're willing to speed.)

[@summerau5by5]

I got lost on a country road in Ireland once. It was daytime but even then you can't see oncoming traffic beyond the tall weeds and S curves I had never been more terrified 🤣

[@kathyastrom1315]

My favorite/most terrifying driving anecdote was also in Ireland. We were there at the tail end of our long family vacation and it was just my mom and I left in our little subcompact trying to get from the Wicklow Mountains to Kilkenny. The GPS told me to turn down this tiny road that could best be described as a cow path. It was straight as an arrow, but there were tall hedges and trees on both sides, no turnouts to allow for oncoming traffic to get by, and only a few driveways for the farms. To top it off, the tarmac had grass growing in the middle!! I started the road terrified that another car would be coming the other way and I would have to reverse the entire length of the road. About halfway through, I started giggling. By the time I reached the more major road at the end, I was laughing hysterically, because it was just so ridiculous! No other traffic, thank goodness, so it was just a fun story instead of a major headache. I learned to ignore the GPS if it tried that again, though. When the entire family was still there and we were in the big minivan with my brother driving one night, we got lost trying to find our B&B on a country road not too far from Blarney Castle. We pulled over into a total stranger’s farmhouse to ask for directions since the GPS wasn’t helping. They were amazingly terrific and not only pointed us the right way, they knew the B&B owner and without us asking called her to let her know we were on our way!

[@Tijuanabill]

The High Five in Dallas is kind of scary to drive over, for me. It's really high up. I try not to look down.

[@unseenmal]

where i live in NJ, roundabouts (or traffic circles/circles) are fairly common

[@lockaby1]

Taking the old hiways that crossed america before the interstates went in are the scenic routes that are beautiful but take a lot longer to get where your going

[@michaelmcgowen8780]

The Interstate Highway System, begun in 1956, is still under construction in 2023, 67 years later. Current interstate highways are restructured from time-to-time, while new sections are constantly being built.

[@TDHSFV]

LA, where I live is so traffic congested. Sometimes It can take over an hour to go a few miles. It’s like 25 miles to downtown from where I live and it can take like a couple hours sometimes. If you’re going to the city, you have to take traffic into consideration.

[@Cricket2731]

The best description I ever heard about LA is that it's a collection of suburbs looking for a downtown.

[@Blondie42]

My dad was born in LA, in 1950. Traffic back then was nothing compared to now as you know.

[@GenXfrom75]

We have Greyhound buses and flights cross country. But I love the train. Wish we had MORE passenger trains!

[@ClaireRader]

We hitchhiked a couple of times when we were on trips and the car broke down in between towns. It was either walk for a couple of hours or find someone to drive us the rest of the way to the next town. Usually whoever it was was nice enough to take us there and come back to our car. That was in northwestern Kansas.

[@mikeadams2677]

I'm a truck driver. I used to drive long haul. I've been on all the interstates in the lower 49 states. From east to west coast, at the speed limits takes about 3 1/2 days. From the Canadian border straight south to Brownsville, Texas takes about 2 1/2 days.

[@vickismith4180]

I live in Dallas and was pleasantly surprised that The High Five was mentioned. We have a lot of cloverleaf exchanges where one freeway crosses another.

[@allanweaverling730]

I live in Dallas and they redid Central expressway and 635 and they’re still congested

[@marthaross3598]

My husband is an over the road truck driver. Semi's can drive 6 or 7 hundred miles a day. I have ridden with him from Long Island, New York to Los Angeles in less than a week. Some Interstates have speed limits up to 80 miles an hour.

[@daveinthewildOG]

I moved 2300 miles from Detroit to the west coast, Sacramento California back in 1997. My belongings in a rental truck, my pregnant wife and son trailing in our Ford Escort wagon, stuffed with personal belongs, drove mostly I-80 the whole way. 4 days. On road time was shortened per day due to our toddler on board. We tried for 10 hour days. We did take in sites as we rolled. Nebraska was the worst part. Flat. Windy. Nothing for what feels like forever.

[@TXKafir]

Katy is a suburb of Houston. Despite its size, it is known as the Katy Crawlway because it is still completely congested at rush hour, proving that adding lanes doesn't solve the problem.

[@rdramos13]

There was this little thing called WW2 that shaped how transportation was redeveloped. Almost every major city in UK, and Europe needed to be rebuilt, and needed a massive work force to do it. Because of years of war, roads, bridges, railways were bombed out, everyone was poor, had no money, and definitely had no way of getting anywhere. So how do you bring in people to rebuild? A mass transit system is how. All your subways, trains, busses now are all because of the mass transit system that was developed to help rebuild Europe. This was also the same for Japan and lots of other Asian cities. In the US, it was the total opposite. No cities had to be rebuilt, almost nothing had to be rebuilt. Because of the war effort, soldiers came back and had money, all the workers building all the ships, planes, tanks, etc etc had money. The effects of the great depression are almost none existent. People fell in love with the idea of a personal car, and now had the money to buy one. In some parts of the country people were moving away from the cities, where others people were moving into the cities. And they were doing it in their newly purchased cars. So infrastructure for a highway system is what became a priority.

[@plots4]

Kabir, I live around Philadelphia and Google just mapped a route to Los Angeles in 39 hours of driving time. 40 hours to San Diego. 41 to Seattle. I know people who have done it in about 2.5 days in real time. Personally, the longest drive I’ve done was from DC to Atlanta for a bowl game in college, which took about 11 hours to go 650 miles. The main north-south highway through Philly is Interstate 95, which actually runs from Miami to the Canadian border in Maine. The Philly portion is completely elevated, essentially making it a bridge over land for about 20 miles straight. Also, the bridges across the river to New Jersey are about 150 feet above the water level.

[@fireheart6267]

The roads in indiana are among the best in the country. Indiana is known as the crossroads of America because so much of the commerce in America goes through indiana so the roads are very good. I'm not sure what he's talking about. Also public transport can't really work here. Theres just too much space and not enough people would or could use it. Also traffic is almost non existant in most states

[@colezulauf8027]

There’s this thing called the CannonBall Run, where people race from the east coast of the U.S. (New York) to the west coast (Los Angeles) to see who can do it in the fastest time.

[@CBena]

I worked for a heavy civil construction company (highway construction). On one of the jobs I was part of was 8 lane reconstruction and the cost of that job was 1.2 billion dollars.

[@madmike5421]

We have had round-about since before I was born(68). Now they are being incorporated in many road rebuilds or new construction.

[@carladams5891]

When I was a kid, my family made the drive from Bremerton Washington to Pembroke Massachusetts. Stopping every night at a hotel/motel, it took us five days.

[@VV-xe4ym]

I've traveled up and down the west coast of America from Los Angeles to the border of Canada twice now in my car. Its about a 21 hour trip, took me 3 days going up but 2 coming down. Driving 14 hours straight by myself ... felt incredibly stupid ... I never want to do that again lol

[@GenXfrom75]

Our town is starting to place roundabouts around all our schools. I like them! Idiots are stopping at them though...and that grinds my gears 🤣

[@TXKafir]

OMG! Me too. It's like they don't know what to do at a Yield sign. For the love of God, it means "Stop if there's traffic coming but proceed if not."

[@monicamad1285]

Same in Massachusetts, we call them rotaries. I've seen tourists go around them the wrong way, scary shit. And great Peter Griffin call back 😂

[@webbtrekker534]

I've driven coast to coast 5 times on a number of Interstates, (that takes 5 days driving), I-90, I-80 and I-70 (though that was for only 3 days before shifting to I-80 again) My longest days drive was 700 miles. (Sparta, Wisconsin to Spearfish, South Dakota). Never again!

[@VorchaKali]

06:20 its impossible to drive from the west coast to the east coast in 24 hours. I did it in 3 days and was speeding the entire time from Amarillo Texas to North Carolina having originally starting my drive from San Jose California. Why did i do this? In Amarillo Texas both of my rear tires blew out at the same time for some reason. Unfortunately for me none of the tire shops carried the same tires that i needed. However there was one tire shop that didn't have the exact same tires that i needed but found 2 tires that were similar to what I needed and would get me to my destination but i would have to wait for 2 days for those 2 similar rear tires to be delivered. I was in such a rush because i needed to report for duty at Camp Lejeune North Carolina in 3.5 days. I got there in 3 days with multiple speeding tickets in each and every state i drove through along the way.

[@justanotherdayinthelife9841]

Also yes. We would definitely use high speed rail. Think of all the bs and costs cars are, imagine just not needing to deal with that.

[@Boodieman72]

The Interstate system was designed for military use so it was possible to send tanks from one place to the other as fast as possible.

[@JEFFwasHERE...]

I would use my car just as much if we had proper functioning interstate Railways or whatever. We appreciate the comfort of Silence if we desire it when driving that is impossible on public transport and you've got to think about the people of this country. No thank you I'm from the south we got it figured out down here. 😉

[@ESUSAMEX]

Multi-level highways are the norm in the US. NY State has many of them.

[@kazeryu17]

Driving difficulty really depends on where you are in the US. There are places like Florida where i once lived that have big wide, idiot proof roads, and then there are places like where I currantly live in Virginia, where the roads are narrow and twisted, and the big roads have tiny street signs at intersections. We have CFI intersections where you cross over to the other side of oncoming traffic in order to make a turn, and diverging diamond interchanges, where the right lanes become the left lanes, and the left lanes become the right lanes. We have jug handle intersections, roundabouts, traffic circles, inverted roundabouts, and many other non-traditional intersections. There are railroad underpasses where only the two left lanes dive under the tracks, and the right lanes arrive at a dead end. Some of our country roads are extremely scary because they are twisty and are too narrow for 2 cars to pass, but they have a 45mph speed limit and a 6' ditch on either side. Just getting in and out of my neighborhood, I have to play the constant game of "Whose got the right of way", because it's not wide enough for two cars to pass, when there is a car parked on both sides. Don't even get me started on our bridges, tunnels, and bridge tunnels(yes, those are a thing)

[@stewartdowouis9218]

Driving through Houston/Katy is terrifying. My hands are numb from clutching the wheel so tightly once I get through. And when I say “through”…we’re talking like an hour or two at high speeds cuz Houston is ENORMOUS.