Driving the 10 through Texas (Houston, Dallas: transplants, transporting, construction)

[rikki_5]

Hi, I'm going to be driving the I-10 through Texas this summer and want to know the highway conditions..good roads? construction going on? areas to watch out for? I'm going through San Antonio then down through Houston. I've never been to Texas before and I have Washington plates, will I get harassed for that? I'm scared of Texas, but I hope everyone will be nice..do people get road rage there? thanks in advance, rikki_5

[atxcio]

Sounds like you should be taking I-10 for most of the trip through TX, if you are going through SA and Houston.

First off, don't say "the I-10" in Texas, it will immediately identify you as someone from out of state. It's just "I 10" or "I 40".

Second, don't be scared! This is still America, after all! (although there is a bit of I-10 that is pretty close to Mexico if you are going through El Paso). The only thing I would warn you about is speed traps in West Texas. The speed limit on I-10 there is 80 MPH in some places, but go 82 MPH and they'll stop you. Or, the limit will drop from 80 to 55 and if you aren't paying attention you'll get busted. The roads are in very good condition, which is part of the problem, cause you'll want to be doing 100 through the West Texas desert!

There is road rage in TX, but not as bad as you'll encounter elsewhere. It's only in the biggest cities. San Antonio shouldn't be a problem, and Houston is overall very good for how huge of a city it is. In my experience, people are generally friendly (although somewhat aggressive) on the highways in Houston. If you have to merge, you're likely to find someone to let you in. But, they are also likely to weave around you if you hesitate in the slightest bit. Don't drive slow in the left lane and you'll be fine.

Oh, and the out-of-state plates won't be given a second glance in the major cities or interstates. Houston, San Antonio, DFW, Austin... all will have tons of out of state plates.

[rikki_5]

Thank you so much for the information, very helpful !

Now this one person is telling me there are checkpoints in New Mexico and El Paso? Checkpoints? Please advise- last time I checked this was still America and you can move freely between states. hehe

[awecelot]

The checkpoints are run by the US Border Patrol, and you will have to go through one in West Texas (due to I-10 running so close to Mexico). Basically, you'll stop, and they will inspect your car and ask if you are a US Citizen, you say yes, and you're done. Nothing to stress about. The only people who need to stress about the checkpoints are those who are transporting illegal immigrants or drug paraphernalia.

[TexasHorseLady]

There were checkpoints when my family was driving to California from Texas when I was a tiny little girl - and I'm almost 60! They were actually checkpoints into Arizona and California to make sure we weren't bringing any forbidden fruit (likely to carry diseases and wipe out important crops) into those states from out of state. So this is nothing new, and nothing that you need to worry about as long as you're not carrying whatever kind of contraband (human or vegetative) that's being checked for this particular year.

And, yes, please drop the "the" before the highway designation. Like fingernails on a blackboard, it is, somewhat akin to people who say they're standing "on" line, not "in" line. I keep finding myself looking for this line painted on the ground they think they're standing on, rather than being in a line of people waiting for something. (Pet peeves rant over. )

[Trainwreck20]

The only worry with I-10 is that you will get road delirium from staring out at a straight ribbon of asphalt for hours . If you are going through Houston I-10, avoid arriving for the morning rush hour...I-10 (aka the Katy Freeway) is a bear .

[PanTerra]

Driving the ten what through Texas?

First off, don't say "the I-10" in Texas, it will immediately identify you as someone from out of state. It's just "I 10" or "I 40".

Exactly, that drives me nuts here in Dallas. It wasn't until I went to AZ that I first heard this verbiage. Then I come back to Dallas and I hear traffic reports saying how traffic is on "the" George Bush. Next thing youknow, I will start hear "the" LBJ, or "the" Central Expressway. Someone needs to train these transplants on the radio.

[TexasHorseLady]

Call the radio station up and rant at them every time they do it.

[case44]

Originally Posted by PanTerra

Driving the ten what through Texas?

Exactly, that drives me nuts here in Dallas. It wasn't until I went to AZ that I first heard this verbiage. Then I come back to Dallas and I hear traffic reports saying how traffic is on "the" George Bush. Next thing youknow, I will start hear "the" LBJ, or "the" Central Expressway. Someone needs to train these transplants on the radio.

The only time we use 'the' with freeway names in Dallas is just with the Bush Turnpike. We like to call it "The Bush". Everything else is just called pretty much like you hear most of the time on the radio: Stemmons, Central, Woodall Rodgers, C.F. Hawn, LBJ, and traffic reporters usually precede names with the numbers identified on the roadways. And the majority of D/FW's radio traffic reporters are not really that great, I'm sorry to say. They need to learn the side streets worse than anything. I'll save my other rants for another thread.

In Houston, you usually get the word "the" in front of freeway names there (i.e. the Katy Freeway, the Southwest Freeway, the North Freeway, the Gulf Freeway, et al). You'll hear the numbers, too, plus better traffic reporting.

In Austin and San Antonio, freeway names are rarely ever mentioned (the one exception being MoPac in Austin). You usually just get numbers.

Now, rikki, you must never 'Californize' (that's a word I made up) anything once you cross the Arizona border. You have to remember that different regions do things very differently. In Los Angeles, yes, it's 'The 10'. But in Texas, you can just simply say I-10, IH 10, or 10.

[case44]

Originally Posted by rikki_5

Hi, I'm going to be driving the I-10 through Texas this summer and want to know the highway conditions..good roads? construction going on? areas to watch out for? I'm going through San Antonio then down through Houston. I've never been to Texas before and I have Washington plates, will I get harassed for that? I'm scared of Texas, but I hope everyone will be nice..do people get road rage there? thanks in advance, rikki_5

Just come on over here. You will like it. San Antonio is loaded with history and great fun. Same with Houston. You'll also be seeing plenty of construction, both in San Antonio and in Houston. Heck, you'll be seeing it in El Paso. I just came back from a vacation in Houston, and there is much work on I-10 on the city's west side. When it's completed, it will be Texas' widest freeway. You'll be absolutely amazed.