America's worst traffic roads- and I have sat on 8 of the the top 10.

So I am sitting in dead stop traffic the other day on I-35 North of  Austin, TX wondering to myself, "Wow, this road sucks.  I wonder how it compares o the CBX?"

Imagine my delight today to find out that Autoblog published a story (via  TheDailyBeast ) gathering GPS data to determine the worst roads for traffic in America. While I'll worry about the fact that anyone has access to my GPS data at another time, I found this story to be very interesting, and mostly because I have driven pretty much all of these roads, during rush hour at some point in my life.

Here is the top 10. While I haven't driven #2 and #10, I feel confident that these rating are pretty solid - but I feel as if something isn't quite right with the data, as it omits The 5 Freeway through LA and all of downtown Atlanta. Also I think #4 is a special case -  normally it flows alright, but when that drawbridge opens up, you have to add two hours to your trip time.

And shouldn't it raise a red flag somewhere that 3 of the top 10 are all I-95 within  few hours of eachother?

1. Riverside Freeway/Calif. Highway 91 eastbound, Los Angeles

2. Lunalilo Freeway/I-1 eastbound, Honolulu
3. California Delta Highway/Calif. Highway 4 westbound, San Francisco
4. I-95 southbound, Washington, D.C.
5. Bruckner/Cross Bronx Expressways (I-95 southbound), New York
6. I-35 southbound, Austin-Round Rock
7. Connecticut Turnpike (I-95 northbound), Bridgeport8. I-405 southbound, Seattle
9. Bayshore Freeway (U.S. 101 southbound), San Jose, Calif.
10. Kennedy/Dan Ryan Expressways (I-90/I-94 eastbound), Chicago

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/25/gps-data-gives-us-the-top-20-worst-commutes/

In Austin

Why is it, every city I visit i still sit in traffic. I'm down in Austin for SXSW, and I have spent probably 3 hours here sitting on I-35. But at least Enterprise gave me a sweet loaded Pathfinder.

Autoblog tests the Nissan Cross Cabriolet

Nissan sent Autoblog a Murano Cross Cabriolet to test out, and the results are...A fully loaded Murano minus the roof, but still more questions than answers. Good luck to you, Nissan.


http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/08/2011-nissan-murano-crosscabriolet-first-drive-review/[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1280" caption="image from Autoblogs review"][/caption]

No Matter how fast you drive....

There is an important lesson here that a cop buddy once told me. He said

"NO MATTER HOW FAST YOU DRIVE, RADIOS GO FASTER."

Guess no one told that to these guys out in Holbrook, when they were clocked by a unit and intercepted (after crashing). At any rate, thankfully no one was seriously hurt, so thats another dangerous SRT4 and Evo off the road that I don't have to worry about.  At any rate, street brakes typically can't handle a 140 mph slow down off an on ramp, as these two inevitably found out.

Hit the link for the Daily News story

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2011/03/03/2011-03-03_photo_drag_racers_speeding_over_140_mph_crash_on_lie__and_miraculously_everyone_.html

 

Cop in the rearview - what do you do?

We all know the feeling – seeing a white Charger in our rearview, and then realize that he might be running your plate as you contemplate your next move. Am I going to fast? Did he see that erratic lane change? You mind fills with questions, but mostly, you wonder what to do next. Usually the best answer is to slide to the right and let them go by, but the people over at Kelly Blue Book actually went and did a survey on this. ( See below)

I think they must have polled in California, where all the high speed chases happen, because 4% of respondants actually said that their initial reaction was to speed up to put distance between them and the officer.

I once spoke to a NY State Trooper about this - He said specifically it really pisses him off when he is doing the speed limit, and someone passes him. That’s a really good way to get pulled over.

Actually, KBB is full of amazing surveys, which can all be found here:  http://mediaroom.kbb.com/driver-input



I love me a good pie chart – courtesy KBB.com

Great article - Why you Should not run into the back of a semi

Jalopnik has an excellent article today about the dangers of the rear guards on semis / tractor trailers, and how they are basically worthless. Check it out here.

http://jalopnik.com/#!5772889/insurers-warn-truck-guards-failing-to-stop-fatal-wrecks-demand-tougher-rules

But heres the reality - most cars have a stopping distance that shames even an empty tractor trailer, so be aware, and you shouldn't have a problem with hitting them.