NAVIGATING MAJOR CITIES SAFELY

At some point, it becomes necessary to pass through a major city.   If you can traverse a major city on Saturday or Sunday, or weekdays between the hours of 10 am to 2 pm, there seems to be less traffic.

Rural interstates are mostly two-lanes.  That’s easy – stay in the right lane until you need to pass, then pass in the left lane, and return to the right lane immediately.  No brainer.  All’s well and good until you encounter a major city.

All of a sudden, two lanes becomes three lanes, three becomes four and five and six and – is it Atlanta that has seven lanes at one point?  In which lane do you need to be to get through the city safely?  You do NOT want to be constantly changing lanes in the middle of city traffic, especially during rush hour (avoid at all costs!)

It has been my experience that:

(a)     If there are three lanes, stay in the middle lane.  This keeps you out of the exiting and entering/merging traffic and out of the fast lane to your left.  Also, it gives you the most opportunities if you need to exit – there are some left exits (I hate those!).  In most cities, you can continue in this one lane, start to finish.  Lanes will “grow” to your right and will also end as “exit only” throughout, but you don’t have to worry – you will be unaffected.

(b)   If there are four or more lanes, stay in the lane just to the right of the left-most “fast” lane.  Most lanes to the right will become “exit only” lanes, until eventually, you are out of the city and back in the right lane of a two-lane highway.

Watch the merge signs.  Some will have traffic merging into your lane if you are unlucky enough to still be in the right lane; some entering traffic will continue in its own lane – a “new” lane, which almost always becomes an “exit” lane a little further on.  You can always tell an “exit only” lane by the yellow sign underneath the green exit, even if you can’t read the exact words from a distance.

Some cities are painting the highway numbers right on the pavement in the lanes.  That’s helpful.

I tested my theory on several major cities during my last cross-country trip.  In Houston, I had to move one lane right at one point because of a left exit.  In El Paso, though, I stayed in the same lane from start to finish through the whole city.  In Albuquerque, I can stay in the same lane on I-40, west to east or east or west, with no lane changing.  I can name more, but not today.

Of course, I prefer to avoid major cities by planning my route on US highways and State highways when possible.

SLOW POKES

Traveling by interstate highways provides a fast but limited view of the country.  Speeds vary from 65 mph to 80 mph.  You need a vehicle that will keep pace reliably at such speeds. 

Many people believe that 55 mph delivers the optimum fuel savings and, therefore, absolutely refuse to drive faster.  Well, if you are driving 55 mph in an 80 mph zone, your fuel savings will be nil if you cause an accident.  Other drivers expect traffic to flow at the same relative speed.  Consider this:  if you are driving 35 mph on your local street and there are several vehicles beside and behind you, what happens if you suddenly come upon someone riding a bike directly in your lane?  Everyone, including you, will be scrambling to move to the outer lane to avoid a collision.  It’s likely that someone will not stop in time to avoid hitting that person in the middle of the road.  Ratchet that up to tractor-trailer rigs going 75 mph – you all know they have limited stopping power - and the certainty of a rear-end collision ratchets up exponentially.   Big rigs, including RVs, can’t be swerving from lane to lane to avoid folks who either refuse to or can’t drive faster than the speed limit allows.  So, if you can’t keep up the speed, don’t drive the interstate highways.

It is a universal truth that traffic will speed up at the entrance of a city and that the interstates traversing said city will be miserably worse – potholes, rough bridges – you name it, it’s bad.  Sometimes all you can do is hang on and pray.  Or, as a sticker touts:  “Get in, sit down, shut up, hang on”.

I’ve found that US highways and State highways are preferable over interstates where possible.

BE CONFIDENT IN YOUR VEHICLE

Confidence in your vehicle’s ability to take you from Point A to Point B is paramount.  You must have a vehicle in top mechanical condition to avoid breakdowns on the road.  You must have great tires, because a blowout could cause extreme damage not only to your own vehicle, but to someone else’s. 

It is very stressful to worry about your vehicle’s condition while traversing a major city, bouncing over potholes and rough bridges, trying to keep up with traffic.  It is no fun to be stuck on the side of a road, waiting for road service (be sure to have a road service policy!) because of the radiator overheating, a muffler falling off, or a flat tire.

Sometimes, accidents occur and it’s not your fault.  One friend was driving north towing a 5^th wheel.  In the southbound lane, a truck lost a tire.  The tire rolled across the median and collided with the 5^th wheel, shearing off its axle.  Not a pretty sight!

Rotate the tires or buy new ones.  Check for weather cracks, check the manufacturer’s date, and replace after five or seven years no matter how many miles are on the tire.  

Service your vehicle before a major trip.  Replace the windshield wipers.  Clean out the crap from previous trips.  Start fresh with each new adventure.