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Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,750,914 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by littleman123456
people always say that getting to your destination is half the fun but does anyone really believe that? I know a don't enjoy long drives or plane rides.
There are very few plane trips anymore that I enjoy. I see sitting in a plane as the torture/trade off for being able to get just about anywhere in the world in 24-48 hours.
I've always been in coach class, but a few years ago on a work trip a fellow worker with some kind of super premium status got me an upgrade into first class. World of difference. Ever since I have been able to get an upgrade a few times by forking over 50 or 150 bucks. On a long flight across country, worth every penny.
I'm big on road driving and anytime in the past with any clients that require work in New England or the mid Atlantic I insist on driving and getting reimbursed for mileage as it's much simpler.
One thing I wouldn't mind trying is a decent train journey with a cabin and all that.
We used to love road trips. We've driven across country as well as more local state to state trips. Lately, the cops are out in full force. Doesn't matter how fast you're going, they'll tell you that you were going 20mph over that. Can't fight an out of state cop, so you end up paying $500 in "fees" so that it doesn't get reported to your insurance company.
Yes, road trips have lost its appeal and we fly whenever possible from now on.
Everytime I do a Search on CD.com for moving violation forums throughout the country, it stops me dead in my tracks from even considering a long road trip, particularly during this recession where unsuspecting motorists are targeted as a revenue source.
You work your stressful 40 hour a week job, you think of a stress-free vacation, and do you want to spend a good portion of your vacation time stressed-out with your eyes glued to your car's speedometer and missing the scenery along the way, and then return from your stressful car trip more stressed out than when you left?
And with the potential horror of getting a DUI, getting caught up in an unsuspecting sobriety checkpoint, you can just kiss away all those nice country pubs you see en route. Why add more stress to your trip, stop for a cold beer or two, and worry whether or not you'll make it safely to a motel?
You'll learn all kinds of interesting things on those forums, like people getting stopped for even going 4 miles over the speed limit, or be subjected to faulty radar.
The only time I've ever driven long distances, stress free, have been in rental cars around Mexico, where I kept some $20's in the glove compartment, just in case. Oooh! If it could only be as stress-free here to drive around this country I'd be in a rental car tomorrow on a 3,000 mile cross-country trip!
We used to love road trips. We've driven across country as well as more local state to state trips. Lately, the cops are out in full force.
We've done a number of very long road trips all over the US over many years and, where possible, avoid the Interstate highways, More often than not, there's a perfectly good road heading in the same direction as the Interstate, which offers the advantages of much less traffic, more interesting little towns to pass through, and cheaper eating places and motels. Another key advantage is fewer cops ... they're all too busy patrolling the Interstate!
To answer the OP, YES, getting there really is half (or more) of the fun on a road trip, and on a train trip. But not on a plane trip... especially not for me, who has to fly 14 hours to get to LAX, and 24 hours to fly to the UK!!! That's no fun at all.
I've driven about 900,000 miles here and around the world and (knock on wood) have never gotten a ticket for anything. I'm only in my 30's as well, probably 2/3 of those miles for work.
The only time I have been stopped specifically for speeding was doing 67 in a 45 and I talked my way out of it. That was 15 years ago. I've also been pulled over many times for other things and always walked away. Mostly I find being courteous and honest is the way to go. Last time I got pulled over was for an expired inspection sticker and I said my apologies that it had slipped my mind completely as I had always lived in 2 states that didn't do inspections and it wasn't something I was used to. He gave me a week to go get it done and the next day I came back with proof and that was that.
I've trained police a number of times and mostly what I have gotten from them is they look for people "working" traffic. In other words, people tailgating, doing fast lane changes, cutting people off or any other shifty behavior. Other things they look for is driving too fast for conditions whether that involves weather or traffic.
Generally in urban or semi rural areas I always stick exactly to the speed limit and on interstates or other four lane highways might push it 5-7 mph, depending on the traffic and what the flow is.
I did some work with the Colorado State Patrol years ago and they told me that 5-7 over on a clear, dry, light trafficked interstate was fine, but once you started getting over that your chance of getting pulled over was strong.
Being involved in driver training, most people when driving these days are in the car doing anything but focusing on driving. Diddling with cell phones, arguing with the girlfriend, eating a burger or worse yet like a couple of fools I have seen, dancing and gyrating around in their seats while driving. I can bet this lack of focus results in a lot of tickets. Even when on a race track, I'll never forget the fool that tried to dig his cell phone out of his pocket at over 100 mph and nearly lost control of the vehicle and wrote us off. Fortunately I was able to grab the wheel to keep control while barking at him and his stupidity.
Everytime I do a Search on CD.com for moving violation forums throughout the country, it stops me dead in my tracks from even considering a long road trip, particularly during this recession where unsuspecting motorists are targeted as a revenue source.
You work your stressful 40 hour a week job, you think of a stress-free vacation, and do you want to spend a good portion of your vacation time stressed-out with your eyes glued to your car's speedometer and missing the scenery along the way, and then return from your stressful car trip more stressed out than when you left?
And with the potential horror of getting a DUI, getting caught up in an unsuspecting sobriety checkpoint, you can just kiss away all those nice country pubs you see en route. Why add more stress to your trip, stop for a cold beer or two, and worry whether or not you'll make it safely to a motel?
You'll learn all kinds of interesting things on those forums, like people getting stopped for even going 4 miles over the speed limit, or be subjected to faulty radar.
The only time I've ever driven long distances, stress free, have been in rental cars around Mexico, where I kept some $20's in the glove compartment, just in case. Oooh! If it could only be as stress-free here to drive around this country I'd be in a rental car tomorrow on a 3,000 mile cross-country trip!
With my family having been victim a number of times to alcohol impaired drivers, it's something I have zero tolerance on. To me driving is something that requires your total commitment, but as I said for a lot of people when in the car, it's the last on their list of priorities, hence you have all the fatalities and accidents that happen out there. Unfortunately so many times I have seen people say they are "having a beer or two" and it ends up much more than that.
"Faulty Radar" from what I have heard from police(experts feel free to weigh in) is not a very common issue and many police are using laser now anyways.
"Faulty Radar" from what I have heard from police(experts feel free to weigh in) is not a very common issue and many police are using laser now anyways.
They don't use radar in CA, laser or otherwise. They use what's called pace. It's your word against the officer, basically. Makes for an exciting drive! There's a well-known spot on I-8, heading towards AZ, where you'll see several cars pulled over at the same time.
people always say that getting to your destination is half the fun but does anyone really believe that? I know a don't enjoy long drives or plane rides.
Totally depends on who you're going with or the passenger next to you... or if you experience the mile high club.
We used to love road trips. We've driven across country as well as more local state to state trips. Lately, the cops are out in full force. Doesn't matter how fast you're going, they'll tell you that you were going 20mph over that. Can't fight an out of state cop, so you end up paying $500 in "fees" so that it doesn't get reported to your insurance company.
I was very stupidly caught in one of the most well-known speed traps on the way from Miami to Key West and a simple internet search would have alerted me to it. I was going 54mph (both my GPS and odometer display speed very visibly) and he told me it was 92. If you've driven that route, you know it's not possible on a one lane road, with tons of cars in front of you. The 2 cops had 11, yes 11, cars pulled over. $500 later, it was never even reported to my state or insurance company. The locals say it's their way to generate revenue and they just want their money. Yes, road trips have lost its appeal and we fly whenever possible from now on.
My daughter got nailed in Georgia. They said she was doing 90mph It costs too much to fight it so she just paid up the $420 and we hope it doesn't go to the insurance.
Georgia is notorious for targeting out of state drivers.
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