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A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

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Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

FlagDUDE08 said:
So, Michigan wants to up their speed limit. http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/08/22/raising-the-speed-limit-to-80-mph-would-you-want-it/
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While I like the idea in theory, I tend to agree that many people already do 5-10 over the limit anyway. When it's 70, we do 75-80. So if you make it 80, we'll be doing 85-90, and the nutjobs will be weaving in and out of traffic at 100+.

Personally, I would only support I-75 being 80 MPH north of the US-23 junction at Standish. Anything south of that carries way too much traffic on Friday and Sunday evenings (weekenders going up north and coming home). And I-94 should not be 80 until you get out past Ann Arbor, towards Chelsea.
 
Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
While I like the idea in theory, I tend to agree that many people already do 5-10 over the limit anyway. When it's 70, we do 75-80. So if you make it 80, we'll be doing 85-90, and the nutjobs will be weaving in and out of traffic at 100+.

Personally, I would only support I-75 being 80 MPH north of the US-23 junction at Standish. Anything south of that carries way too much traffic on Friday and Sunday evenings (weekenders going up north and coming home). And I-94 should not be 80 until you get out past Ann Arbor, towards Chelsea.
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There is the theory that you raise the speedlimit to 80, but then enforce it... And I'm talking HARD enforcement to start out... Give 5mph, but that's it... Establish that there is a limit...

Yea, people will *****... But at the same time, there is NO reason to be doing 90mph on a public roadway...
 
Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
While I like the idea in theory, I tend to agree that many people already do 5-10 over the limit anyway. When it's 70, we do 75-80. So if you make it 80, we'll be doing 85-90, and the nutjobs will be weaving in and out of traffic at 100+.

Personally, I would only support I-75 being 80 MPH north of the US-23 junction at Standish. Anything south of that carries way too much traffic on Friday and Sunday evenings (weekenders going up north and coming home). And I-94 should not be 80 until you get out past Ann Arbor, towards Chelsea.
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This premise is completely untrue and unfounded. Along the 85 MPH corridor in Texas, the 85th percentile speed is around 75. When they raised the speed along the Thruway from 55 to 65, the 85th percentile went from 64 to 68, NOT 74.
 
Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
While I like the idea in theory, I tend to agree that many people already do 5-10 over the limit anyway. When it's 70, we do 75-80. So if you make it 80, we'll be doing 85-90, and the nutjobs will be weaving in and out of traffic at 100+.

Personally, I would only support I-75 being 80 MPH north of the US-23 junction at Standish. Anything south of that carries way too much traffic on Friday and Sunday evenings (weekenders going up north and coming home). And I-94 should not be 80 until you get out past Ann Arbor, towards Chelsea.
Click to expand...

I agree about the area for 75/23, but not I94- there is WAAAAY too much truck traffic that would make it reasonable to have cars doing 80 and trucks doing what they do. It's hard enough to do 70 with the truck traffic and not change speeds all the time- I can't imagine what it would be like at 80. Maybe 96 from Brighton west, since it seems as if they have a lot fewer trucks. But unless they move 70% of the trucks to the rail that runs along side, 94 would be a mess much faster than it is now. Remember, Michigan is one of the few states that allow higher axle limits on trucks, so it would be pretty hard for them to actually speed up and stay that way. And if the limits are lowered to speed them up, the number of trucks will double- which would make traffic much, much worse.

None the less, it's interesting to consider speed/time. It's ~275 miles to Mackinaw City from here in AA- at 70mph, it should take just under 4 hours, whereas at 80, it's just under 3:30. So you save all of a half an hour IF you can take the entire lenght 10 MPH faster- which, of course, is unrealsitic. Not much time saved. If you add the 45 miles to the border, it is the longest length of freeway not around Detroit (which would limit the speed), and you save all of 30-40 min IF the whole span could be done that fast. Kinda pointless. Better to soften the enforcement- let the impaitent waste their fuel.
 
Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
While I like the idea in theory, I tend to agree that many people already do 5-10 over the limit anyway. When it's 70, we do 75-80. So if you make it 80, we'll be doing 85-90, and the nutjobs will be weaving in and out of traffic at 100+.

Personally, I would only support I-75 being 80 MPH north of the US-23 junction at Standish. Anything south of that carries way too much traffic on Friday and Sunday evenings (weekenders going up north and coming home). And I-94 should not be 80 until you get out past Ann Arbor, towards Chelsea.
Click to expand...
Let's not forget the other part of Michigan. 80 across the Seney Stretch and other long, boring stretches of road? Okay! And I would like to think (dangerous, I know) that most people would be smart enough to watch their speeds in the snow up there.
 
Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

alfablue said:
I agree about the area for 75/23, but not I94- there is WAAAAY too much truck traffic that would make it reasonable to have cars doing 80 and trucks doing what they do. It's hard enough to do 70 with the truck traffic and not change speeds all the time- I can't imagine what it would be like at 80. Maybe 96 from Brighton west, since it seems as if they have a lot fewer trucks. But unless they move 70% of the trucks to the rail that runs along side, 94 would be a mess much faster than it is now. Remember, Michigan is one of the few states that allow higher axle limits on trucks, so it would be pretty hard for them to actually speed up and stay that way. And if the limits are lowered to speed them up, the number of trucks will double- which would make traffic much, much worse.

None the less, it's interesting to consider speed/time. It's ~275 miles to Mackinaw City from here in AA- at 70mph, it should take just under 4 hours, whereas at 80, it's just under 3:30. So you save all of a half an hour IF you can take the entire lenght 10 MPH faster- which, of course, is unrealsitic. Not much time saved. If you add the 45 miles to the border, it is the longest length of freeway not around Detroit (which would limit the speed), and you save all of 30-40 min IF the whole span could be done that fast. Kinda pointless. Better to soften the enforcement- let the impaitent waste their fuel.
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One little thing that people ALWAYS forget that I believe you touched upon: A speed limit does NOT mean the speed at which people need to drive, but rather the road-design-based safe speed. Many of us have misguided our minds to thinking it means the former simply because of the politically motivated limits we have seen (e.g. NMSL, toll vs. free expressway, speed traps). During my trip to St. Cloud this past year, I took a side trip to Lincoln for a junior game (also to get some states under my belt), and took I-29 through South Dakota. I was driving the speed limit of 75 MPH. Hey, my first time seeing such a speed limit; of course I'm going to drive it! Not to mention, the quality of the road was safe enough to do so. I found that I was passing pretty much everyone on the road, as most of them were going about 70 MPH. The moral of the story is that once a speed limit is set, sure in the short-term you may see people try it out for curiosity's sake, but in the long run, people are going to go a speed at which they feel comfortable driving. If the speed limit is 80 and you want to go 70, by all means, go 70. Although Massachusetts' general speed law has this fact clearly written, many roads are still with illegal speed because of the after-effects of the NMSL.

If there's ANYTHING that really needs to start being utilized and enforced in this country, it's Rechtsfahrgebot. For those that do not understand German, that means keeping your vehicle to the right with only the exception of passing. I understand that in heavy traffic that this isn't exactly possible, but as traffic becomes lighter, it'd be a good idea. I know I practice it, and I also increase speed when passing before returning to original speed when the lane is clear. This would also greatly help the issue that you mentioned of not being able to do a speed with truck traffic. Of course, for the same reason, speed governors should be either outlawed or equipped with a "push to pass" feature that allows 20-30 seconds of higher speed to get around traffic before returning to the governed speed.
 
melmac said:
Let's not forget the other part of Michigan. 80 across the Seney Stretch and other long, boring stretches of road? Okay! And I would like to think (dangerous, I know) that most people would be smart enough to watch their speeds in the snow up there.
Click to expand...

There are several parts of Da Yoop where I would support 65 MPH rural speed limits.
 
Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

Well first the traffic load is not light anywhere in this state that has a freeway. Second traffic at times on 75/ 23/ 94/ 96/127 is very heavy with a lot of trucks. Third, we have very poor driver training and in order for the limit to be raised without a significant increase in fatalities, we would need to vastly improve training. Not happening. I'm sure the road has been engineered for a much higher speed than 70, but population density here is much higher than west of the Mississippi. In other words, there's too many idiots.
I'm in favor of raising it in the upe. Especially on the seney stretch. it could be 100 there with no problem.
 
Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

Paris from 12/25 - 12/29
London from 12/29 - 1/5

First time for me in each city for me (wife went 25+ years ago) - any suggestions beyond the obvious? :)
 
Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

Greyeagle said:
London from 12/29 - 1/5... any suggestions beyond the obvious? :)
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If lodging is still an open question, we had a great experience at Durrants Hotel on George Street. The West End location was important to us. The goal was something local and upscale, but not prohibitively expensive. It delivered.

Regardless of what you choose, your specific location will structure your stay. The closest Tube Station to Durrants is Bond Street. It's walking distance from the British Museum and Hyde Park; and a short ride to Buckingham Palace and the West End Theaters. Not a bad list. But if your wish list is different, use a travel guide to find a hotel close to your preferred tourist sites.

With regard to the theaters, I hope and assume that the Half Price Ticket Booth at Leicester Square still exists. Just like its Broadway counterpart, you often can bag great seats among the tickets released at the last minute. And the benefit of going at half price is obvious.

Among the historic sites, we really enjoyed being in Buckingham Palace. Can't exactly say why; I'm not a huge fan of the royal family or anything like that. But I recall the tour as being well done. All of the history, especially the artwork, was fascinating. In contrast, at the White House in DC, I remember being hustled through the tour and thinking that the few brief glimpses weren't really worth the wait. FWIW.

Oh, in case you're a Sherlock Holmes fan, resist the temptation to make a pilgrimage to 221-B Baker Street. The site is now occupied by a small office building. A single plaque marks the location. It's a nice enough plaque, just not worth a special trip.

Disclaimer: My information is 15 years old and things do change. But given that Durrants has been in business since 1790, I'm guessing that standards have been maintained. Buckingham Palace has been around a while too.;)

Have a great trip!
 
Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

Greyeagle said:
Paris from 12/25 - 12/29
London from 12/29 - 1/5

First time for me in each city for me (wife went 25+ years ago) - any suggestions beyond the obvious? :)
Click to expand...

For Paris, some of the departments stores on the Champs Elysees, sell Louve tickets at a discount. ask around for where the ticket office is, and it saves you tons of time waiting in line because the line at the louve is really long.

If you are coming in from the airport, catch the RER into the city and get off near your hotel. The road out to the airport is under construction so do not drive out there when you leave. You can get as good a view as the eiffel tower provides without the line by going to the top of the Montparnasse tower at sunset. and it's cheaper. It's across the street from the Gare du Montparnasse. The ticket machines at the subway/train stations only take ccards with chips. Get a navigo pass at one of the bigger subway stations. free rides for a week. If you have to buy a ticket, you will have to go to the ticket office and wait in a long line during business hours. A big pain.

There are a tons of things to do of course. We had a great romantic evening on one of the dinner cruises that leaves from the base of the Eiffel tower. make reservations ahead if you do this. you can do it on line.
I would also say, plan this out carefully ahead of time. oh also, the guillotine during the revolution, I believe was located on the traffic island at the end of the Champs Elysees near the ferris wheel.
Don't believe the BS that Frenchmen are anti American. it's not true. Most of them speak good english too, they just are looking for you to be polite.

Have a blast. it's safe most everywhere to walk around btw, and the food is to die for.
 
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