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Due to work and financial constraints, I have to DRIVE from Florida to Frederick, MD on Christmas Eve. Me and GF will be driving straight through, leaving approximately 5:30pm from Central Florida up I-4 to I-95, then up to I-270. Under normal circumstances, this takes about 14 hours.
What will I expect on Christmas eve. I hope it will be less as I am driving overnight, but if I get a chance to leave earlier, what will I expect?
Well, it's going to be about a 16 hour drive. Traffic shouldn't be too bad, as most folks will already be where they want to be...If you can do it in 14, I'm impressed!
1) Make sure that you remain within the speed limit. Every state patrolman will be out in force on the roads that evening. It is especially bad in VA near the NC border.
2) MOST PLACES close early on Christmas Eve. Do not assume that there will be much open except for truck stops along the way after 9 pm.
3) Fatigue is a real killer. Sixteen hour drives after a full day of work is a recipe for disaster. I am surprised that I am still alive after all those monthly Richmond - Nashville drives over the years.
Having driven from Atlanta to Connecticut on Christmas Eve a couple of years ago, plan your stops ahead of time, especially as the evening wears on. What the poster said above about businesses closing early, except for some truck stops, is very true.
I used to do that drive but up to PA.
Jacksonville and DC I took the 295 drive-around. The construction deviations made the traffic insane, especially if you were relying on a GPS. Might be fixed by now?
I have found that chugging coffee actually makes things way worse, for me. Rest and rest again!
Good luck, be safe!
So if anyone cares, here's an update on how the trip left.
We left Tampa, FL at 5pm on the dot Christmas Eve, the drive up was absolutely uneventful. I was absolutely SHOCKED how LITTLE traffic there was. Zero traffic AT ALL. I literally set the cruise control and never had to take it off. We had an issue getting food, I was shocked to see that fast food closed so early. McDonalds closed at 8p, Taco Bell closed at 7, forget about anything else. We found a McDonalds open farther down the road than we wanted, but it was open. Stopped twice for gas, once in Hardeeville, South Carolina (1.65) and once in Petersburg, VA (1.63). Pulled into our rural MD destination right at 7:00am. 14 hours flat!
The drive back on 1/3 was a different story. LOTS of traffic, accidents. We left at 7:00a and got back at 10:15p. Still not too bad at 15.25 hours, but the drive was a lot more stressful. Stopped for gas at the exact same spots.
I have driven this route many times, and have NEVER had such a smooth drive as we had up on Christmas Eve.
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