Anyone notice that driving habits in SR 99 through San Joaquin Valley are quite different than rest of the state? (San Francisco: 2015, living)

[citizensadvocate]

Having driven all over California I find driving on SR99 is a totally different experience from driving anywhere else in California. Drivers on SR99 often leisurely drive well below the speed limit often in the middle and left lanes and leave the right lane empty. Its funny when even large trucks sometimes overtake them on the right. This is a sharp contrast compared to traveling on i5 which runs parallel just to the west or anywhere else in California for that matter.

Any possible explanation on why driving habits in SR99 so different than the rest of the state? I almost haven't seen driving behavior like this on any other freeway in California where most drivers move much quicker and usually leave trucks in the dust.

[Flovis]

99 isn't used for commuting as much as other highways are and A large portion of people using it are families doing short trips. Hence, the slow speeds.
Ex. The 180 and the 41 are the busy commute highways in fresno.
The ppl on the i5 are making long distant trips from socal to the bay area and will do whatever it will take to save time.

[citizensadvocate]

Good observation and explaination. I am surprised not much attention has been made on Internet forums regarding driving on SR99 or the towns in San Joaquin valley as a whole except for just some ranting on how Bakersfield or Fresno for that matter is bad.
The driving habits on that route is not just different from i5 it parallels but very different compared with most other freeways around the state including 101 which has many local towns in between as well.

Based on your post I believe people living on that route immigrated from Central America and sort of live in their own world bubble and rarely drive beyond their local area? Thus they drive differently from people who live and or travel through in other parts of the state.

[BeauCharles]

Been driving in the San Joaquin Valley between Modesto and Fresno on 99 for decades. That and the Sacramento Valley, Bay Area and Central Coast. I see the behavior your commenting on everywhere. It never struck me as any worse on 99.

[payutenyodagimas]

Originally Posted by citizensadvocate

often leisurely drive well below the speed limit often in the middle and left lanes and leave the right lane empty.

you might have mistaken "leisurely drive" with slow traffic. you are passing urban areas where commuters enter and exit the freeway so naturally all traffic wants to avoid those entering and exiting so they stay as far left as possible


compare that with I5 where you pass farms, and with the stink coming from poop and urine, you don't wan to savor the smell do you?

[Moddedintegra56]

ive driven all over california. i dont see 99 being any different. i5 is definitely faster, but other than that i dont see much of a difference that sticks out to really talk about it to compare and contrast.

there is nothing down the 5 so people really go faster. 99 you pass by some of the biggest cities in california. fresno, bakersfield, sac, and others in between--merced stockson etc

the big semis passing other semis ive seen on both i5 and 99. which really sucks.

oh and the speed limit on the 5 is faster so in general gives more of a green light for drivers to naturally go faster than the 99

[citizensadvocate]

Good explaination though they drive that slow in between the urban areas as well or through those middle of nowhere farmland sections. They often do about 60 miles per hour even though the posted limit is 65-70mph. The good thing is that 99 often has six lanes compared to the four lanes all the way between grapevine and Manteca i5 has. So it's easier to pass the cluster of leisure drivers and semis. Whereas in i5 everyone suddenly have to slow down from 80 something to 60 whenever a cluster of semis tries to get past each other particularly when their are rolling hills.

I am guessing there are many drivers are farm workers who go now where else and are in no hurry to get anywhere? Even the semi trucks pass these groups of old pickups.

I am surprised those are biggest cities in California. Those cities seem very small compared to cities in the Bay Area or Socal.

[WizardOfRadical]

Slow poke country bumpkins with no where to go and nothing to do (no job)

[Count David]

I purposely drive CA-99 when I go through the San Joaquin, because I-5 is so mind-numbingly boring, and because I'd rather see some of California's "finest" cities.

For example, in June 2015, we left San Francisco in the morning, got to Tracy, went north on I-5 for a few miles, took CA-120 E past Manteca, and on down CA-99 all the way to CA-58 in Bakersfield (we were going to Ridgecrest). We had lunch in Fresno. I'd rather see cities than (only) farms, and I couldn't even tell you the last time I took I-5 between Stockton and the split in Kern County.

The only thing about CA-99 for me is that I sketch out more about cops on it. That's it.

[payutenyodagimas]

in both freeways, I tend to fall sleep when I don't speed up