RoadTripFilter: Driving from New York City to Chicago, IL for Lollapalooza. A few questions... [more inside]
posted on Jul 23, 2008 - 10 answers

Mostly on highways, but also on large surface streets, there are these configurations of tar lines. Usually two per lane. They're sort of octagonal -- basically squares with angled-off corners, making them 8-sided. Additional lines of tar lead from the roadway to the shoulder. What are they?
posted on Jul 17, 2008 - 12 answers

Why are there so many dead deer bodies on the side of the highway on the Merritt Parkway in CT? Do they die on the side of the road right before they prance onto the highway? They look too perfectly placed and appear to lack much bleeding to have been run over then moved aside. [more inside]
posted on Jun 9, 2008 - 19 answers

I want to travel to Brisbane from Melbourne via the Newell Highway. I have done thisn drive many times before, but non stop. I have a young family now and would like to break the trip up. [more inside]
posted on Jan 26, 2008 - 3 answers

Why does road paving take so long in Massachusetts? Last year, when the Mass Pike was being paved, it was a multi-month project. They would mill the road, leave the milled road as is for several weeks, then pave it. The process of covering the length of the work area took several months. By comparison, when I lived in the DC Metro area, paving happened overnight on Route 66 in Northern Virginia inside the Beltway - seemingly instantaneously. One machine would mill the road, collect the milled asphalt, turn it into new asphalt, lay it, and then it would be paved -- in hours, not weeks or months. They would mill/pave one lane one night, then move to the next lane the next night. [more inside]
posted on Dec 9, 2007 - 19 answers

There is a stretch of highway 25 in Wareham, MA (south of Route 195) that consistently smells like garlic, and I have no idea why or where the smell is coming from. [more inside]
posted on Sep 11, 2007 - 4 answers

Driving from San Jose to Pasadena via CA-1, what are the must-see scenic stops? The time constraint is 24 hours (from Sunday morning to Monday morning). So far, the only markers on my route are the Mystery Spot and Big Sur.
posted on Aug 1, 2007 - 14 answers

What's the difference between highways and freeways/the interstate in the US? [more inside]
posted on Jun 18, 2007 - 29 answers

Question about cruise control vs. a special acceleration/coasting technique in terms of fuel efficiency. [more inside]
posted on Jun 14, 2007 - 11 answers

What is the best method & location for live-blogging a cross country trip using a MacBook, DSLR camera, DV camera, t-mobile EDGE and intermittent wifi? [more inside]
posted on Jun 13, 2007 - 6 answers

Is there anywhere that two interstate highways cross at the same exit number? [more inside]
posted on May 14, 2007 - 8 answers

In late May, I'll be driving with a bunch of friends in an RV from Sacramento CA to George WA and back for the Sasquatch Music Festival. I've only driven as far north as the Oregon border before, so I'm looking for recommendations of interesting places to stop - your favorite diners, pie shops, waterfalls, hot springs (improved or not) and other oddities of northwest highway culture. I'm familar with many Northern California hot springs (I really like the one in Sierraville), and would love to find other very inexpensive and informal places like that.
posted on Apr 25, 2007 - 14 answers

A "wide load" vehicle on the highway seems to always have a sign on the back to indicate that it's a "wide load", but the sign doesn't say "wide load". Instead, it has the letter "D" in the middle of it, and red/white vertical bars. Why a "D"? What does the "D" stand for? Why not just have the sign say "WIDE LOAD"? I'm in Canada, if this is something that'd be different in other countries.
posted on Apr 20, 2007 - 11 answers

Do I have to stop and render aid when witnessing an accident? [more inside]
posted on Apr 2, 2007 - 16 answers

A motorcycle cop turned on the flashing lights and started weaving back and forth between cars on the highway. The passes kept getting wider, gradually prompting everyone to clear out of all 4 lanes and hang back about 1/4 mile behind him. Then he continued these sweeping 'S' maneuvers across the lanes for miles. By the time I had to exit, prevailing speed had dropped from 75 to 40. What was he doing, and why?
posted on Feb 5, 2007 - 24 answers

Can anyone recommend some good stops on Highway I95 between NC and Florida? I'm driving to Florida after Christmas on Highway I95 and thought I'd consult the mefi hive for some suggestions on good stops for food or other things that are worth pulling off the road for periodically. I've driven the route before but I've always wished I knew of better places to eat than the usual chains/fastfood (ugh!) that have saturated the highway offramps. Roadside attractions are welcome, too (but not Pedro's tourist trap emporium at the NC/SC border).
posted on Dec 20, 2006 - 10 answers

What are common courtesy signals for driving at night on highways? [more inside]
posted on Nov 13, 2006 - 27 answers

Why do people in Los Angeles usually refer to their numbered highways with "the" (for example, US 101 is "the one-oh-one")? [more inside]
posted on Feb 28, 2006 - 117 answers

Roadconstructionfilter: Why do I see so many highway crews replacing only a 10' by 2' section? [more inside]
posted on Dec 8, 2005 - 13 answers

What's a good safe place to park a car for maybe 4 days along the I-80 corridor, south/west of Davis CA and north/east of the Bay Area? [more inside]
posted on Sep 7, 2005 - 3 answers

Highway_Patrol_Filter: I'm moving from Baltimore to Manhattan in three weeks and trying to avoid shelling out $250 for a moving van. I don't have that much stuff, but want to take my mattress Is it ok to strap a full sized mattress to the roof of a volvo station wagon on I-95 or will that result in me getting pulled over by the cops? Also, for those of you who've moved like this, what's the best way to strap it to the roof?
posted on May 11, 2005 - 18 answers

[trafficsnarlfilter] Seattle, as I'm sure a lot of you know, has a very serious traffic problem. There are two causes that get the majority of the press (geography and highways that don't support the population) but I'm curious if folks in other metro areas have this problem: you're driving along on the intersate/highway/freeway/whatever and suddenly you come to a standstill. After a while, you come to discover that someone has been pulled over by the police or there's a tow truck on the side of the road. At the head of the pack, some wonderful lookie-loo has slowed down to see if they know this person stuck on the side of the road and caused a chain reaction that forces everyone else to slow down as well.

This happened to me yesterday on my way to Thanksgiving dinner. It took me 45 minutes to go 3 miles. I was not a happy camper.

Somehow I'd feel better knowing it's not just drivers in Washington State that are this dumb. Then again...

:-)
posted on Nov 26, 2004 - 21 answers

My SO's long-held family house looks like it will soon have a 6 lane highway built through it. Is there anything that can be done or said that could have a bearing on the route? (MI)
posted on Nov 22, 2004 - 15 answers

Ambulance Etiquette: Divided highway, two lanes in each direction, pull over into shoulder and stop?
posted on Oct 11, 2004 - 12 answers

SprawlFilter:

I'm driving to Vermont in a few weeks. I'll reach the NYC area around noon on a Saturday. I usually take the NJ Turnpike to the last exit at Ft. Lee, hit the Ft. Lee Starbucks and then the Palisades Parkway to the Tappen Zee, Saw Mill to 684, 684 to 84 to 91.

This does not work spectacularly well, but I've always figured it was as good as any. But maybe it isn't.
posted on Jun 28, 2004 - 9 answers

Can someone explain the red liquid spray patterns that appear on the asphalt of Southern California freeways? [more inside]
posted on Mar 26, 2004 - 6 answers