Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with highway

Name this scifi story about highways of the future

chrisamiller — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:09:15 -0800

Looking for a short sci-fi story that I read on the internet. It was about a police force who worked in the very risky highways of the future, where rocket cars zoomed around at hundreds of miles an hour. Other half-remembered details:

- The protagonists drove in a huge vehicle with three or four personnel, including drivers and a medic

- Traffic was heavy at one point because people were returning to Ohio from a football game in California

- it started snowing at another point in the story

- The highway was several lanes wide and contained differential speeds: 400 mph in the left tube, 300 mph in the middle, etc.

I can't even remember if it was a particularly good story, but I stumbled across it several years back and would like to read through it again. Thanks.

Highway measuring devices...maybe?

brandman — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:20:14 -0800

Question about highway....measuring devices? Not exactly sure. So where I live (US midwest), there are these orange strips that are placed across the highway every so often - usually in three sets, usually in increasingly close proximity to one another (see here for my faithful recreation). I assume these are measuring traffic patterns, possibly including the various speeds and types of vehicles driving on the highway, but I'm not sure. And I've not yet figured out why they would need three sets with varied spacing. Anyway, I can't figure it out via google, so I figured I'd ask you all. Thanks!

How is highway traffic entirely stopped?

cdenman — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:26:11 -0800

How do the police/traffic authorities stop a moving highway/motorway? Often you see highways/motorways that have had cones placed across some or all of them. My question is how do the authorities accomplish this - they can't simply place cones down because of the fast moving traffic behind, nor can they really wait for a quiet bit since without warning signs it would create a hazard. How is a fast moving motorway 'stopped'?

Highways that are NOT Interstates?

sandra_s — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 06:27:08 -0800

Planning a road trip. Is there a place I can find a list of 4-lane, 55 to 55+ MPH highways that are NOT Interstates? I'm going to be taking a Month-long road trip of the US, south of the Great Lakes and East of the Mississippi River, with no particular destination.

I'd like to stay off Interstates as much as possible, but I don't want to get stuck behind someone doing 35 in a 55 on a 2-lane highway for 50 miles.

Here are 2 Pennsylvania examples of what I'm looking for and what I'm looking to avoid:

Looking for:
Route 309 between Montgomeryville PA and Allentown PA. 4 lanes, 2 in each direction, 55-65 posted limits, a stoplight every 10 miles or so in a smallish town.

Looking to avoid:
Route 6 between Scranton PA and Mansfield PA. 2 lanes, 1 in each direction, lots of lights, 55 posted but nowhere to escape a slowpoke.

All information is appreciated. Id be very interested in Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. NON-Toll preferred.

Thanks in advance!

Which direction would you choose to drive on the Pacific Coast Highway between LA and SF?

chudmonkey — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 12:17:30 -0800

Which direction would you choose to drive on the Pacific Coast Highway between LA and SF? Hey Gang,

Next April, I'll be traveling with some friends for 8-10 days and our intent is to spend the bulk of the time in San Francisco. We want to drive the PCH and spend an afternoon/evening in LA also.

I apologize for the open-ended-ness of this, but what factors should I consider when deciding whether to drive from SF to LA or vice-versa? I'd love any perspective you can share on traffic, best times or days to make the drive, differences between the experience driving S or N, and all the issues I'm not thinking of.

We'll be flying to CA from Calgary, AB, expecting to arrive in one city and leave from the other. Thanks in advance!

Four buses closed the northbound I-4 in Orlando on Wed. - why?

nothingsconstant — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:53:04 -0800

My parents are curious why the police had the northbound I-4 + on ramps closed in Orlando (until the turnoff for the airport) for 4 Mears buses on Dec. 31 at 2pm or so? Who was in them?

Fixed a freeway sign.

acidic — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 11:48:09 -0800

Read a story in the LA times a decade ago, can't remember the details: a man fixed a misleading freeway sign by himself. It was a Los Angeles-area freeway-- maybe the 5 or the 405? There was a sign that gave motorists the wrong instructions for getting onto another freeway, or something like that. This man painstakingly researched the style of signs, found really obscure materials, and drove a van to the sign and climbed up to fix it. Google is failing me-- anyone remember the details or have a link to the article?

What caused my engine to shut off?

I_Love_Bananas — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:07:34 -0800

What caused my engine to shut off? I was driving at about 65 mph and was resetting the cruise control on my 2006 Pontiac Torrent. The last thing I did before losing the engine was hit the "minus" button two times in a row by mistake (the button that would normally reduce your speed a bit while still keeping the cruise engaged).

The speedometer and tachometer needles immediately dropped to zeo and the engine lost all power. I made it over to the breakdown lane and stood on the brakes to stop. I lost no electronics though- all lights, the radio, etc. all remained functioning through the whole thing.

I turned on my flashers and freaked out for a few minutes. Then I restarted the car, got back into the flow of traffic and nothing else happened the whole trip. (I did not attempt to re-create the incident, however.)

I found info on "kill switches" online but I don't think this that... Would it be possible that some sort of combination of button/control pressing would purposely cause the engine to shut down? If so, why? Or was it maybe just a short circuit?

How's Fredericksburg I-95 traffic on Black Friday?

parttimesaint — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:38:58 -0800

How bad will I-95 traffic around Fredericksburg be on Black Friday? I'll be traveling from Richmond to DC and back on the day after Thanksgiving and I'm concerned the traffic around Fredericksburg (and all the malls/outlets) will be terrible. Is that exactly what I should expect? Would it be worth taking an alternate route (like 301) to avoid it altogether or would that burn up as much time as being in the traffic?

Are there any sites that offer driving recommendations?

Deathalicious — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:51:58 -0800

Are there any sites that offer driving recommendations? I don't mean driving directions, I mean sites that offer tips and tricks for more pleasant ways to go from point A to point B, or that provide information and tips about specific interstates, freeways, highways, and roads. Tomorrow I'm taking a trip from Philadelphia down to Virginia. Google maps says take I95, but I'm fairly sure that taking I81, though a greater distance, will avoid the potential nightmare that is the beltway on a Friday afternoon. Beyond that, however, I really don't know what's better: do I stay on I81 the whole way and then take I64 East? Or are there state roads/highways that offer a more scenic, pleasant, or stress-free trip?

So, I'm wondering if there is a "Chowhounds" for driving...a place where expert/practiced car travelers share their collective wisdom about the best way to get from one place to another. Reports on individual roads would be great too, especially if they're updated regularly enough that information like construction is listed there on a timely basis, or at least more timely than Google (Here in Philly Google Maps routinely tells me to take a street that is not only currently partially roadblocked, but also takes ages to drive on).

Piggyback question: I know a lot of people swear by those in-car GPS tools like TomTom. Is it possible to use factors like "low traffic" or "pleasant scenery" when calculating a route? Is getting one of those worth-while?

Are Badlands Good?

silkygreenbelly — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:38:32 -0800

Is it worth it to leave I90 and drive through Badlands National Park? Google maps says taking SD 44 adds 13 miles to our trip and taking SD 240 adds 18 miles. Is either route worth the extra time so we can see the Badlands as we pass through?

We are towing a trailer and part of our concern is that either state highway will be more hilly than the interstate, putting more stress on the truck and reducing our time and mpg too far.

Best route from SoCal to Washington?

fermion — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:56:27 -0800

I'll be driving from Los Angeles to the Seattle area in a few weeks. I don't want to endure the dreariness of I-5 all the way up, but I also don't want to spend too much time on the trip. Three days would probably be ideal; four would be acceptable. What route will provide the best balance of beauty/points of interest and expediency? Routes that won't be too hard on my elderly and heavily-laden Civic are a bonus. Note: I've looked over previous threads on coastal roadtrips, but they're mostly more focused on sight-seeing than I'll have time for.

Highway to hell?

weaponsgradecarp — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:50:17 -0800

RoadTripFilter: Driving from New York City to Chicago, IL for Lollapalooza. A few questions... According to Google Maps, we're looking at a thirteen hour drive. We plan on leaving Wednesday the 30th, late afternoon/evening, and doing a good chunk of the driving during the night, until like midnight or so, and then crashing somewhere along the way, waking up the next morning, and finishing off the reminder drive.

A couple of questions:
1) Any suggestions/personal experiences as to a particular recommended sleep spot, and/or place to avoid? Cheaper is better, but since we four are splitting it, it doesn't have to be like $35/night seedy. $100/night seedy is probably fine. Any thought?

2) As far as the route, it looks to be pretty much a straight shot on I-80. Any experiences as far as traffic speed and flow? For example, the speed limit on my home highway turf, the LIE, is 55mph, but going under 60 in anything but the right lane is...dicey. Conversely, going above 72 is basically asking for a speeding ticket. What should we keep in mind as far as driving style, regionally speaking?

3) Suggestions for not killing eachother during the trip? Four collegiate males in a car...if you've done this before, anything you wish you'd brought/done/hadn't brought.

4) Suggested road trip music?

Thanks!

Mystery in the fast lane

mudpuppie — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:39:36 -0800

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?

Why are there so many dead deer bodies on the Merritt?

Jimmie — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:48:46 -0800

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. I know every once in a while you see a dead deer body on the side of the highway here and there. However, this weekend I drove down the Merritt Parkway from Milford into New York and saw at least 10 dead deer bodies on the side of the highway.

The bodies didn't look like they're run over and even if they are... do people who run over deer really have the time to back up to move the deer body aside? Especially at night when cars tend to speed down the Merritt... deer-hitters actually get out of their car to move the deer body aside risking the possibility of getting hit by a car themselves?

I know it was unusually hot this weekend (mid 90s) so maybe deers are passing out cause of the heat? But I also noticed the high body count of dead deers when I drove down in February when the temperature was in the 30s.

Travel the Newell Highway

mattoxic — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 14:41:21 -0800

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. We'd like to do the trip over three days, with one day beig around Dubbo so we can visit the zoo. Can anyone suggest other overnight stops?

Why does road paving take so long in Massachusetts?

scottso17 — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 15:43:15 -0800

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. As another example of the lengthy paving processes that take place in Massachusetts, there is now a major project underway to pave Route 9. It's so involved that it even has its own website: www.pavert9.com.

Regarding the paving on Route 66, I thought of three reasons why it may have been so speedy - and these are far from comprehensive:

1. Capital area security: Milled roads might provide a hazard in the event of a disaster inside DC.

2. Budget and/or availability of machinery: Mass doesn't have access to the fancy machines in the DC area or can't afford them.

3. Weather: It doesn't get nearly as cold in DC, and that may make the milling process easier.

Any of these make sense? Anything else?

Why does this town smell like garlic?

nekton — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 08:44:37 -0800

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. The garlic smells "appears" suddenly about 2 miles south of the intersection with 195 (GMap of area) and fades about a half mile before 195. I have attempted to track the source of the smell (on side roads next to the highway) and haven't been able to find it. There are multiple cranberry bogs on either side, but I have never encountered another bog smelling like this.

What could this smell be? Where is it coming from? (Is it keeping the vampires away?)

Driving from San Jose to Pasadena via CA-1, what are the must-see scenic stops?

parttimeninja — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 08:43:11 -0800

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.

What's the difference between highways and freeways/the interstate in the US?

pravit — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 03:17:32 -0800

What's the difference between highways and freeways/the interstate in the US? Got curious after noticing everyone made the distinction in this question. The answers would make it seem like a highway is a road that does not require you to enter via an entry ramp, that it may have intersections or pedestrian traffic, and that it is an alternative to taking the interstate. However, where I live, I can't think of any way to get to the next major city without getting on the interstate, unless you were to drive along the frontage road, which is hardly what I would call a highway. Until reading the AskMe question, I've never heard anyone make the distinction between the interstate and the highway. Perhaps this is a regional difference? I live in a smaller city in the southwestern US along I-10 and have never driven in other parts of the country.

Also, I read the Wikipedia articles and googled around a bit, but I'm still not very clear on the distinction.

Accellerate/Coast method more fuel efficient than cruise control?

Quarter Pincher — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 09:39:28 -0800

Question about cruise control vs. a special acceleration/coasting technique in terms of fuel efficiency. If you've got say, a speed limit of 45, and while driving on flat clean road, no wind aside from your own forward movement, etc, you accellerate to 47, coast until you're down to 40, then accellerate to 47, coast back down -- could this period of brief gassing up and long coasting by momentum, use less gas than having the pedal down the entire time and keeping at 45 (which I would assume cruise control would do)?

Would there be an ideal range (instead of up to 47 and down to 40, and back up/down) that would achieve greater efficiency? Would it be better to quickly accellerate to 47, or slowly (as the transmission gear may affect gas consumption)?

What is the best way to live-blog a cross-country road trip??

tarthur — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 19:40:01 -0800

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? I'm about to drive/move back to Southern California from Central Florida with my boyfriend and we want to document the trip with photos/video 'live' as we progress across the United States. Our travels will bring us up through New Jersey, Chicago, Denver with a stop at the Grand Canyon.

I have a t-mobile phone capable of EDGE (slow but useable) data transfer for the Mac and plan on stopping at wifi equipped locations to upload video/photos. A GPS type hookup would be sweet but I'm not familiar with doing that with a Mac.

It would be nice to have some type of map showing progress (GPS preferred but manually updated OK), the ability to post photos, gas prices, mood and other utterly useless information.

Has anyone had any experience with this type of blogging? I'm trying to determine if it would be best to use my limited skills to build some type of moveable type/wordpress with google + flickr or use something like Vox.

Thanks!

Crossing highways?

smackfu — Mon, 14 May 2007 06:40:04 -0800

Is there anywhere that two interstate highways cross at the same exit number? For illustration, a close but not quite example is: in NJ, the I-287 exit to get onto I-80 is Exit 41A/B. The exit on I-80 for I-287 is Exit 43.

on the road again

luriete — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 14:57:06 -0800

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.

What's the deal with the "D" on a "wide load" sign?

gwenzel — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 21:16:37 -0800

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.