Nope.
1). Traffic volume determines travel speed.
2). Lowest risk travel is to maintain vehicle separation distance.
3). Total stopping distance is the space-determinant.
Several hundred feet.
The roads are filled with the congenitally-stupid. Believe a traffic wreck at 75-mph no worse than one at 40-mph for the bumper-to-bumper distances maintained.
Ever heard the phrase:
Can’t fix stupid (?)
That’s “you” (whomever) when surrounded by other vehicles. Ahead, athwart & astern.
Anything goes wrong, you’re f'ed.
I’ve been crossing the country since the 1960s. Up into the late 1990s, traffic volume was reasonably low once outside of a major metro area (75-miles from city center).
Then we saw pack formation that morphed into the norm. Smart phones after 2007 allowed the born-stupid to travel by car (can’t read a map on a dare).
Now it’s round-the-clock car traffic far, far from metro areas
Who is paying them? As you won’t find a reasonable explanation for their presence in the middle of the work day.
The days of fast travel by car disappeared. Same for enjoyment. Ask any of the brain-dead to describe what’s around them. Trees, grasses, crops; other physical features. Ha!
“Oh, oh, I am in a hurry”. It’s cartoon-land with every stereotype confirmed.
The cops do nothing. Left lane travel on the Interstate is forbidden (except to make a pass) and the cretins think they have right of way in so doing.
It’s illegal to block the left lane. Period.
Kinda funny to watch them as I start to come over on top of them when I reach that 350’ barrier from the next vehicle ahead of me.
Overtaking isn’t passing. A slower vehicle out ahead undertaking a pass confers no right to tail-gate (under 100’) or to enter, much less crowd the left lane.
More simply said, the health of the road is the free-flowing travel lane.
Left lane traffic doesn’t exist.
No one knows how to enter the road anymore, either. Too slow and too close.
500’ ahead of a big truck down the get-on ramp? Is barely acceptable, legally (the other driver cannot be forced to slow, much less brake).
“How to Travel” isn’t about the highest speed. It’s about understanding average mph versus traffic volume. (Clock time versus odometer miles).
Running 73? You won’t average 65.
It isn’t the point, anyway. On a trip of 300-miles or less there’s no time savings running the top limit (given that you actually could).
I spend my days on a maximum amount of cruise-control which means staying below the flow to remain alone.
The cretins travel in packs. Can’t do it otherwise as they’re born incapable of the visuo-spatial skills necessary to travel above 40-mph. The stress keeps them in a near-panic their whole trip.
Ever watched a flock of birds maneuver instantly? Same forces at work in them AND YOU unless you prevent it. (Feelings overridden).
And you thought it was your country.
Ha!
The game has now shifted to average mph.
1). Highest possible is outside the window the morons pack the roads
2). Control of stops and their location (advance planning) is the time-saver. Know EVERY stop in advance. No changes.
OP, you may not have wished to have heard all the above, and it’s only skins the surface.
The best trip is the one forgotten right as it ends.
It’s an emergency-room truth that, to live a long life, one may smoke, drink, and eat anything desired.
But do not get gun-shot or be in a high speed wreck.
Avoid those and the rest is easy. Literally.
There’s no replay. Done is done.
Would you (whomever) give beer and automatic weapons to 13-yr olds?
That’s the equivalent of staying in proximity of who’s on the road.
Stay out of the bad part of town? Then why run to catch up to and be amongst them once on the highway?
Only stupid people get speeding tickets. Not bright enough to adapt to the conditions around them.
A). The roads are packed 1100-2300. (Leave early and stop early for the day)
B). Control your day
(Plan fuel stop in advance. Break every two hours for 15’ using a rest area. Zero use of C-stores. Bring your own).
C). While en-route, slow to get others around you fastest. Stay alone
D). Big trucks will crowd you running 65-66. Cars will crowd you above that.
Unless on a near-deserted road (or three lane rural Interstate) running 64-mph is king.
E). Use of mirrors to manage traffic around is new for most. W
Definition of best trip? (The Test)
— No lane changes
— No use of brakes
— No use of throttle.
— No surprises
A radar detector would be a waste of money. Useless.
Separate yourself mentally, physically and spiritually.
