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Advice on coast to coast road trip across the USA? |
Travel Info I'm planning to drive from New York to San Francisco via Toronto, Chicago, Nashville, Dallas, Tucson, and Los Angeles, all on the major freeways, and with a day or two stop-over at some of those cities. I'm having difficulty deciding how many miles a day it is safe to drive without the risk of having an accident due to fatigue, and other factors. Once I have that number(max miles per day), I can plan more stop-overs (and travel days) to match. Appreciate any feedback.Thanks! Travel Tips Depends on you. If you are a very early riser, you should be able to travel a pretty fair amount of miles each day. I usually use an average of 62mph for a planned trip. I travel the spped limit of slightly above at all times so this 62mph average includes all of my stops... which are not for long and they are not many (for me that is). For me who does not spend a lot of time when I stop for gas... I can usually be "spot on" if I use a 62mph rate for figuring how many miles I can travel in any number of hours. In other words, if I am driving for 12 hour day, let's say 8am to 8pm... I can travel 744 miles. You would then add or subract the hour time change as you travel through time zones to determine what time you will be arriving at a motel destination. I am used to driving, and I do love to drive, in all types of weather. And moreso, I am one of the percentage that feels comfortable in all types of driving situations. So.... for me it doesn't matter if I start a trip at midnight or at 8am in the morning or at 4pm in the afternoon. I delight in driving! I delight in lng trips! You need to determine when YOUR best driving time is. When are you most comfortable driving during the day? Early morning at the crack of dawn? Mid-day? Evening? Night? If you have a good night's sleep and are well rested... and you can begin your drives in the early morning hours just after sunrise.... you should be okay from fatigue for a pretty long period of time. That is... if you love to drive. I know a lot of individuals who admit to hate driving. Others that say that driving just fifty miles puts them to sleep. If you fit into one of these categories... .then you ay have a difficult time accomplishing a long road trip such as that which you are planning. You never said if you have another person accompanying you to split the driving task and help out when one of you gets tired from driving??? If you love to drive.... and if there is no rush to get to these destination cities.... you could ask each state's tourist agency what the most scenic routes are that are going in your direction. I often...often get off the superhighways and do the rack roads travel..... I have happened across the most beautiful sights and experienced the very best of our great country accomplishing my own side excursions on my trips. It takes longer.... .the trip that is. However, I plan for the extra time as that is an integral part of my "road trip." We have a great country to see... and each state has it's own incredible scenery to experience. I hope you do take the time to "smell the roses" wherever your trip takes you. I do envy you! Mind if I come along???? *grin* Others Figure on around 800 miles a day if you're aggressively trying to get somewhere and 500 miles if you're in the mood to take it easy and checked into a motel before dinner. in a car you will have to stop for food and gas more frequent. As a long haul driver for many yrs we averaged legally anywhere from 500 to 600 miles give or take every day on a cross country trip. If you dont have a high tolerance for drivng long distance you will find that 500 is about average. You should be ready to call it a day after that and wind down if your not in a big hurry. A scenic drive you should be able to drive 300 easy and really enjoy the day. Lots of factors to take into consideration. The weather, if it is clear more miles, rainy less miles. It depends on how much you stop, what kind of shape you are in, if you are in good physical shape, you will be able to withstand a longer day. I usually work out the day before, walk alot and get my energy level up. I am in my 60's and I can do 500 a day so if you are young and in shape, you should be able to do a bit more 400 miles maximum for you. Didn't you ever drive before? I can wake up at 2AM and do 1000 miles. If you have a car full of kids 200 miles is an epic journey. Depends on you. Go by hours, because it will take freakin' forever to get through Chicago, but not so long to drive the rest of the way out of Illinois. Personally, I don't drive more than eight hours or so when I've got several days of driving to do. I can do ten to twelve in a day, but I feel really, really gross and need some recuperation time. Six to eight is a good guess, depending on how you feel that day and what you want to see along the way, and what the drive is like. The midwest is _boring_ to drive through. |
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