Not disagreeing, but adding depth.
West of Big Muddy with a car capable of high speed cruise (Hemi Charger; not pickup or SUV) I’d give it a maybe.
Nowhere in Ohio (any Midwestern state) can one “super-cruise” for any appreciable distance.
What’s missing from the American Road: Co-operation.
If there’s one feature made travel a pleasure it was that drivers (American men, not women and colored children) kept an eye peeled. Made room. Passes on two lane highways were coordinated. From both directions.
The days of high-compression big blocks are sadly gone. With them, the peak of travel at high average speed. There was no substitute on the two lanes for that torque.
That disquisition above was outline. The skill level is today so degraded for natives (what TV & Divorce hath wrought), and then millions too incompetent to operate above 40-mph that one level down is to understand that THEY DON’T pay any attention to what’s coming up from behind.
And haven’t the skills or training to do anything except hit the brakes.
In 10-12,000 miles/month, there’s not a week goes by I don’t see multi-car crashes. Too close for conditions. Always. Everywhere. Everyone. No exceptions.
Attendant to that is that some WILL swerve to avoid. No awareness of what’s about to fill that spot. That’s another predictable outcome.
Had I anytime to bet with I could double my weekly income.
Sigint worsens the SNR.
Success is in using The Clock.
Ignoring the Odometer.
Traffic Flow is a DAILY inescapable problem. It appears, peaks, tapers.
Lemmings. Virtually no difference Coast to Coast (except areas of high minority demographic).
I don’t need to see the driver to be able to tell you race & sex. Pattern-recognition is vital as big trucks are so unstable. Those combinations function as markers. KNOWING what they’ll do (mainly, as a group)
Conditions (bad driving) have been deteriorating for decades now. If one proposed that radio frequency is being used as brainwave manipulation, I’d concur. The RATE of degradation is also increasing. Not a five year set of markers, but down to six months.
Trying to get out ahead will mean one will CONSTANTLY have sucker fish attached.
In the years of the double-nickle, skill could get one along. Never appearing to speed. Can’t do that with a-wipes attached.
An Escort was just that. A helper, at best. Marginal utility (most drivers relied on them, which shows what one NEEDS to know). Most states shut down the speed traps. That severed the cost-benefit ratio.
Want to get there early?
Leave earlier.
The cruise control set speed isn’t a Top Five planning tool any more.
If it’s a full day on the Interstate, add an hour. Figure Average MPH will will be 60. (Please) Never allow vehicle-spacing to degrade.
Away from metro areas (see and copy USA MegaRegions map) one can move up until 1100. But not after.
Were I on the road from Columbus, OH to Fort Worth, TX, there’s an alternative in using the Western Kentucky Parkway thru to Dyersburg, TN to avoid heavier traffic. A pretty ride. Few services. Preparation matters.
But I’m fucked all the way from near Cincinnati, OH, and through Louisville, KY. Only thing works is to take IH Loop around far eastern Cincy, and the outer 264 Loop around Louisville.
Those, with avoiding Nashville and Memphis reduce stress despite they add miles. Fatigue was ALWAYS the enemy. Slow cars were WORK to maintain an average.
Today’s cars are better. But the drivers, worse.
Be self-contained. Use rest areas. Watch the clock at stops. Mandatory stops at two hours to shake off the dust.
Fatigue arrives eventually. The point is to set that farther back into the day.
It’s easy to run stupid. It’s hard to run under discipline. But the latter means I’ll be out ahead of the new guy before day three is half thru. He’s worn down.
And not ready for the trap the stupids have for him just out ahead.
So, a second test to go with the one in the first post:
In 100k miles annually, I’ll have to really nail the brakes HARD once or twice. You?
Here’s another take, then:
Brakes on my pickup last far over 100k miles. Same for tires. 50/50 City/Country. Clutch original at 240k. 9,000-lb pickup. Etc.
The other guy doesn’t get there faster enough to matter.
My fuel consumption plus lifetime average mph on the Cummins is better than what those engineers calculated. Most diesel pickup owners wear out the engine well before design parameter. Too much idle time, too much fuel burned per mile. Go thru tires like ass paper. I’ve had two sets in a quarter million. Never come close to the margin of wear.
It’s an emotional problem. Kick the 16-yr old out of the drivers seat.
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