Driving to Phoenix on a holiday
July 1, 2011 2:24 PM   Subscribe

what time is a good time to drive to phoenix?

Driving to Phoenix from LA this weekend. I know traffic will suck. my options...

1) I could leave at 3:30 or 4 today.
2) I could wake up early in the morning on Saturday.

I'm not familiar with how bad traffic is on I-10 between LA and Phoenix on 7/4 traffic. Any thoughts?
posted by cartmancakes to Travel & Transportation around Phoenix, AZ (8 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
What part of LA? I think there's a big difference between leaving from Santa Monica at 3:30 and leaving from Pomona.
posted by muddgirl at 2:38 PM on July 1, 2011


There's just about nothing between LA and Phoenix, so you don't have to worry about any traffic outside of the two end points. (Unless there's an accident or something, but you can't control for that.) And, either plan, you won't hit any traffic in Phoenix. All you really have to be concerned about is traffic in LA. But, like muddgirl says, that really depends on where you are in the city.
posted by meese at 2:41 PM on July 1, 2011


I think the first part of the trip will be utter hell if you leave this afternoon. It's Friday + holiday getaway traffic. I'm assuming by L.A. you mean downtown LA or west of there. If you're on the eastern edge of LA County, you might save an hour. But overall, I'd definitely leave tomorrow morning.
posted by BlahLaLa at 2:42 PM on July 1, 2011


Yeah, getting out of LA this time of day, on this particular weekend is hell. You'd get to about Palm Springs and be halfway there, time-wise. Another vote for tomorrow AM, EARLY.
posted by carsonb at 2:51 PM on July 1, 2011


On second thought, even if I lived in Pomona I'd probably leave tomorrow morning. Or really, I'd leave at 3:30 today and curse the inevitable "everyone else had the same idea as me" traffic between the 15 and the 215.
posted by muddgirl at 2:52 PM on July 1, 2011


It's not just traffic; keep in mind, it's hot out there. It's 109 degrees in Quartzsite right now.

If you can possibly do the drive at night, do it.
posted by MrVisible at 4:22 PM on July 1, 2011


Over in Phoenix here, traffic is irrelevant. If you have air conditioning in the car, time of day is irrelevant, too. On the way between LA and Phoenix, there's basically nothing. The only thing that matters is conditions in LA. If you don't have good air conditioning, drive at night.If you're going to be driving during the day, though, take any sensitive electronics with you when you take breaks. Cars that are not running get extremely hot in Arizona. All that direct sunlight gets trapped in the car, and it is not fun.

Or, what everyone else said.
posted by yeolcoatl at 4:51 PM on July 1, 2011


You realize the forecast for tomorrow in Phoenix is like 116 right? I'd recommend NOT coming here at all.
posted by BryanPayne at 5:16 PM on July 1, 2011


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