Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm reading a bio of Charles Lindbergh. Now think about this one: In 1918, Charles and his mother drove to Los Angeles from Little Falls, Minnesota and it only took them 40 days of driving to get there. Sometimes, they had to hold up in a hotel, for a couple days, until the roads dried out, as there were no paved roads.
After reading that, I'll never complain again about road/street conditions, and only give thanks instead.
Dirt roads can become a quagmire of mud that can trap the vehicle, and they can also become essentially paved with holes - like a field of moguls on a ski slope that slow you to a crawl. Either way, progress is going to be slow.
It really is something, when you think about what a road trip was like in those early years of automobiles - or the horse and wagon days that preceded them. Even relatively short trips were a real adventure, and could be a real ordeal.
Pretty great roads overall in the US, still room for improvement.
I do my best to gradually slow when I see a big roadcrater coming-up.
Thank you autos, the city-roads used to be littered with smelly horsey-ploppings.
Yes, and the houses were full of flies. These people have long since died, but I remember reading historical articles about the "good old days". When the farm across the street became a subdivision, the amount of flies & mosquitos greatly declined. Of course, the amount of traffic on my road greatly increased. Six of one, half-dozen of the other.
Yes, and the houses were full of flies. These people have long since died, but I remember reading historical articles about the "good old days". When the farm across the street became a subdivision, the amount of flies & mosquitos greatly declined. Of course, the amount of traffic on my road greatly increased. Six of one, half-dozen of the other.
I am 64yo, and were it not for modern medicine, I'd have died in my youth from various serial throat and respiratory infections, and even if I somehow made it past that, I've had hypertension since I was a teenager - even though I was a fitness nut until my late 30s... I can see it in the family history in my mother's line - I'd still have died by middle age due to heart attack or stroke without pharmacotherapy.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,820 posts, read 81,772,341 times
Reputation: 58216
The I90 freeway between Issaquah and Seattle has big potholes with the rebar showing, and local roads having potholes deep enough to damage tires. It's not only a hazard to the car but dangerous when a car swerves to avoid them. Meanwhile our property tax has gone up to over $11,000/year, and our gas tax is among the highest in the country now at 70.78 cents/gallon. That gas tax money was supposed to be to used to pay for road maintenance, but they don't seem to be doing a good job of spending it.
"Stop complaining about cramped airline seats and the TSA security process, because in 1918 you had to take a steamship oceanliner across the Atlantic Ocean".
Seriously?
I get it. Our first world problems tend to pale in comparison to the genuine hardships people experienced from long ago and of course back through ancient times. I get that we complain about petty things today, but that is because we expect more today. We are certainly paying enough in tax money and in market prices for things to work somewhat better than they do.
I have a fairly new Jeep Grand Cherokee, which is marketed as a pretty robust, "off road capable" vehicle. HOWEVER, in my experience, in the pot hole strewn roads of western NY, that claim doesn't hold up. Even though I sometimes may look like a drunken lunatic, swerving all over the road, I'm just dodging the potholes and gaping expansion strips.
Despite my efforts, I've still managed to catch some of these craters, and in the 8 years (and 26,000 miles) that I've owned this Jeep, I've had it aligned approximately 10 times. SERIOUSLY!!! I got very lucky, and made it through last year, without needing to have it realigned, but I caught two potholes in the last 3 weeks, and I can feel that it's a little off....
One hundred+ years later I would expect significant improvement of our roads. Sadly, this is not always the case.
Yup. Back then I might die of a simple infection or illness that would be nothing today. I would've been treated like property for popping out babies. Doesn't mean I don't expect quality medical care or respect/equality in my life just because "eh, could be worse."
Quote:
Originally Posted by leadfoot4
Even though I sometimes may look like a drunken lunatic, swerving all over the road, I'm just dodging the potholes and gaping expansion strips.
Saw a meme once. "Driving sober"-- shows tire tracks going in a straight line. "Driving drunk"-- shows tire tracks swerving all over the place. Beneath that, same two graphics, reversed, labeled as "in {my state}": "driving sober": tire tracks swerving all over the place to avoid potholes, and "driving drunk": tire tracks are straight, going right through the potholes...
Here I've learned-- if the person in front of me swerves, I probably should, too, because by the time I can look at see what they're swerving around, I've probably already hit it (and it is most likely to be a pothole).
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
