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Do not go in the last two lanes - left and second left. Leave the right for those who want to exit. If you are maintaining speed limit, this should be a good approach.. I see idiots doing 80 90 even within Houston freeways, so best way is to avoid them as much as possible.
Take a break for 5-10 mins every hour in the interests of your safety.
I like the back roads because they're more interesting; I find the interstates mind-numbingly boring. And I've tried books on "tape," but they tend to put me to sleep too.
When my husband and I lived in Tallahassee FL we often drove to visit his family in Savannah GA and also to visit my family in Orlando FL. Each drive is about 4 1/2 hours, but in different directions, of course.
On each trip we had the option of interstate highways or back roads, which were usually four-lane, practically empty, and went through a few interesting little towns on the way. Although the interstate trips were a little shorter, we generally opted for the back roads. Added bonus: each trip on the back roads had good barbecue restaurants to stop at for lunch along the way. No fast food crapola at interstate exits!
Try interstate 70 from Denver to the Utah border. It's some of the most beautiful country in the world! Plus, it's pretty much the only way across.
I'll be taking a long trip here on Monday for Christmas and I'm trying to plan my route. I'm actually a bit defensive when I get onto the Interstates going 80+ miles per hour. The speed limit is usually 70 here, but people go much faster (especially around the Holidays - closer to 90mph). It puts me on edge.
All in all, which do you think is safer for driving long distances? Options please.. which do you think is best and why?
Where, specifically, do people go 90mph on the Interstate? I'd like to drive there more often.
LOL: Someone I know allegedly put the cruise control on a buck-oh-five (ahem!) down there on a two lane, and didn't have trouble with the Man driving for ten-fifteen minutes that way, covering a lot of distance in a short time. Northern central Oregon two-lane, to be clear. Not the Interstates, those primarily being I-5 and I-84 in that particular area.
Try that on the interstate, I-5 in-particular, you'll be picked off by WSP, Oregon, or CHP. That's as close as "guaranteed" as anything in life.
I put the cruise control at a reasonable traffic speed on the Interstates when I "need" to be somewhere, fast. If it's more a trip for the adventure, I'm all about two-lane out in the boonies.
Buddy of mine's daughter was popped on I-5 or Hwy 99 near Bakersfield, CA not long ago: not surprised, they're starved for revenue and best to pull over people with jobs, nice cars, and money vs. bums driving junk illegally. One generates revenue, the other nothing but more problems. To be sure, said-daughter shouldn't have been doing 93mph in the 70-zone, either.
If YOU are uncomfortable or feel unsafe at the higher speed of an interstate
I'll suggest that you are unsafe at the lower speeds as well.
iow... the issue isn't the road choice.
Huh, what, why???, yr nutz and I SO disagree!
I hate interstate driving because of the trucks. Smaller roads have much less megatruck traffic. I also hate interstate driving because of the "weavers" - usually young men who assume that everyone else will stay at a constant speed so that they can weave in and out of traffic. But durrr, dear testosteronis, when someone slows down or speeds up for whatever reason your weaving causes everyone else to have to watch out for you, and will get you (or me) smooshed! I really, really hate weavers.
I almost always take 2 lane roads. I can watch the road better, drive at my own pace (within the speed limit range), and am calmer and happier while driving. Also, I can stop at interesting places, and actually SEE America.
So to the OP, I say it all depends on where you are located and how fast you need to get there.
Interstates are SLIGHTLY safer, because your chances of a head-on collision are nearly-nil. Going through decaying metropolises like Birmingham is getting scary. People drive like they've been smoking blunts dipped in formaldehyde (and probably have been https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0uN8mak7Rk ). Still... that's better than what you may encounter on country roads.
Today, this is what you're likely to encounter on a country road, sooner or later: Four dead, one critically injured in Holmes Co. wreck I've driven that road and ones like it, and recently have narrowly avoided SEVERAL head-on collisions with cars that look just exactly like that silver Chrysler with the blacked-out windows. Sometimes the cars are black, though. The one in the story had to have been going well in excess of 100MPH to have sailed across that river-sized "creek", and bounced a hundred yards into the woods.
I've had cars like that suddenly pull out from a line of oncoming cars, into my lane on a 2-lane road, and basically run me off the road. Had I been doing 110, instead of 55, then it would have been ME, flipping-over a dozen times.
Sadly, the countryside is now full of meth addicts and neer-do-wells, who have no business behind the wheel. Kindly, responsible farmer types are fewer and fewer.
I would stick with interstates. Back roads and highways sometimes tend to run through sketchy areas of a town or city. This wouldn't be a good idea if you were to break down.
I will be moving back home to California from Texas in about a month and plan on taking I 10 the whole way. I will also be driving a uhaul with my car on a tow dolly. This would not go well on a back road.
If there are deer in the area, you can see them on either type of road.
I love to drive and find the backroads more interesting, but depends on how long each route is sometimes.
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