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I live in Geogia and Atlanta is bad. If it was me ,up around Chattanooga, I would get on US 27 and drive on down to Tallahssee. The majority is 4lane,very little traffic. I always think this route is one of Georgia's best kept secrets.
I have always thought about using that route, but since I didn't know how much stop and go it was I have not tried it. Here in Tennessee US 27 is a good road, easy to drive but that does not mean it stays the same when you cross into Georgia. If I go to Florida this spring I may try it. I detest the Atlanta traffic, total crazytown. Even here in Tennessee I-75 can be a huge mess. That road in general can ruin your day.
Thank you all for the advice. My extreme reaction is pulling a 16ft U Haul with a 1500 Dodge Ram quad cab big a-- truck and if you don't know ahead of time what lane you need to be in you kiss the lane switch goodbye because they see you are from out of town and they torture you....So there Escort Rider
Thank you all for the advice. My extreme reaction is pulling a 16ft U Haul with a 1500 Dodge Ram quad cab big a-- truck and if you don't know ahead of time what lane you need to be in you kiss the lane switch goodbye because they see you are from out of town and they torture you....So there Escort Rider
Best wishes on your move. I remember you have been wanting to move to Florida. I am so happy your dream is coming to fruition. We live in SC, but, LOVE Florida, and travel there as often as we can!
My husband and I are moving to FL the first of Feb. I am not so much dreading the trip down pulling a 16 ft. U Haul but getting through Atlanta one more time has me very much on edge. I hate it !!!! What is the best way to get through that place? One of the bypasses or just white knuckle it straight through. We have been to FL many times and throughout the years and has become a nightmare. We are coming from around Lexington, KY. Is there ANY other way around that you all take? I looked at the map and didn't see anything. Also what time is the best time to go through? Thank you all so much..
Hey there,
I'm a native of Atlanta and if I was in the same situation as you, I would go straight through the city on I-75 (becomes I-75 and I-85 or the 'Downtown Connector' through the city) then 75 and 85 separate a few miles south of town. I would recommend timing it so you go through the city between 10:30am and 2:00pm if you possibly can. After 10:30am, all morning accidents and any other problems will be cleared and the snarled traffic from those accidents will dissipate by then. If you get through town by 2pm, you don't have to worrya bout afternoon traffic.
The reason I would go directly through town on I-75 instead of using I-285 to go around the city is because you won't need to change lanes and exit/merge on and off multiple times while towing a 16ft trailer! A very helpful hint- as you approach the intersection with I-285 while one I-75 South (on the north side of town), make certain that you are at least four lanes over from the left. The three left lanes all exit onto to I-285, the 4th-7th lanes continue on I-75. You may also want to utilize the HOV (any vehicle with two or more people can use it) as you go through town. The lane will turn back into a regular lane at the intersection with I-285 on the south side.
Does that make sense? If you have any other questions or need more info about any part of driving in North Georgia, feel free to send me a PM!
Well - I acknowledge traffic can be bad. There have been some excellent suggestions to getting through Atlanta. We have moved back to the metro area in the last year and OK - here goes - I love it ! Traffic and all. For me I have had huge issues getting through Nashville also. Face it, traffic is bad in many places. Just plan and pray !
I keep trying to tell people that Los Angeles is not the only city with bad traffic congestion. I, too have experienced Atlanta, and it's grim, although I don't understand the OP's extreme reaction. It's just a question of having patience and putting up with the delays.
I live in Atlanta but I visit my cousin in Los Angeles (Woodland Hills) three or four times per year. I've grown pretty comfortable driving there, but there are a few significant differences between the two. To get to her house from LAX, I get to drive on "the 405" and "the 101" both of which can grind to a halt at 2am on a Tuesday for absolutely no reason.
People in LA rarely signal when merging or changing lanes. I do it out of habit and it's seen as a sign of weakness by some drivers. I usually drive my cousin's car while I'm there and I've learned to be a bully just like the other drivers. People also drive much faster in general on the freeways in LA than in Atlanta. You really need a car with quick acceleration so you can merge into the fast moving traffic and to execute lane changes when no one wants to let you over. I drive my cousins car while I'm out there and she has the (massive) Lexus LX570 SUV (fancy Toyota Land Cruiser). I can bully my way over when people don't want to make room for me to merge. Being the 'big guy' has advantages...the tradeoff is 10.2mpg average.
Atlanta drivers fall primarily into two categories- courteous and oblivious. The courteous ones are paying attention to what's going on around them, they see a car coming down an on-ramp and they'll fall back just a little to allow that room car to merge. When they see someone signal a lane change, they'll either speed up to get out of the way or slow down slightly to make room for that driver.
The other 85% or so are oblivious and they're the ones that seem surprised that the on-ramp lane ends and they need to plan their merge...even though they drive the same road every day. They're also the ones doing 60mph on I-75 in the far left lane without noticing the line of 10+ cars bumper to bumper behind them. The left lane is for passing and quicker moving traffic....it is never just a driving lane, especially for anyone going close to the speed limit!
Well - I acknowledge traffic can be bad. There have been some excellent suggestions to getting through Atlanta. We have moved back to the metro area in the last year and OK - here goes - I love it ! Traffic and all. For me I have had huge issues getting through Nashville also. Face it, traffic is bad in many places. Just plan and pray !
Nashville can be a 'bear' to get through. I've been stuck near the Franklin exit on I-24 and it has taken close to to two hours to get to downtown Nashville (Music Row area).
The problem with most cities is that the highways are designed to accomodate less than HALF the number of cars that use them every day! Cities like Nashville and Atlanta, where two or more major interstates intersect, also stay clogged because so many pass-thru drivers are mixed in with the already excessive number of local drivers.
Avoid the rush hour. I have driven through there numerous times and never had a white knuckle event, but driving for four decades in the Chicago area has conditioned my quite well in dealing with bad traffic and kooky drivers.
Try the "Waze" android app - shows the progress of everyone in the entire area with the app. You can check it out in your own city (obviously the larger the city the more folks will have it to be "tracked").
Thank you all for the advice. My extreme reaction is pulling a 16ft U Haul with a 1500 Dodge Ram quad cab big a-- truck and if you don't know ahead of time what lane you need to be in you kiss the lane switch goodbye because they see you are from out of town and they torture you....So there Escort Rider
FWIW - the drivers in the Los Angeles metro area - where Escort Rider lives - are extremely polite IMO . Especially given how bad the traffic is. It's slow going - but the drivers are nice. Perhaps because they know they won't get anywhere faster by not being nice . I have never encountered anything remotely similar to what IGoZoom has encountered there. To the contrary - it seems to me that most drivers are on Prozac or similar . Compare it (or Atlanta for that matter) with a place like Miami. I'd rank them 1-2-3 in terms of being agreeable places to drive.
Can't you get rid of the U-Haul? Ditch the stuff you're moving in it? Buy some new things after the move? A lot of stuff that seniors move isn't worth moving. Or - if the stuff is worth moving - why not hire a mover? Robyn
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. I have never encountered anything remotely similar to what IGoZoom has encountered there. To the contrary - it seems to me that most drivers are on Prozac or similar 
. Compare it (or Atlanta for that matter) with a place like Miami. I'd rank them 1-2-3 in terms of being agreeable places to drive.
