Helpful Information If You Drive

[Rob.Singer]

I know most of the regulars here rarely get away and would rather sit in a musty easy chair picking their nasty toes like EvenBob. But for those who actually know how to live their lives and like to get away from their problem-gambling online casino play or those over-crowded Indian casinos once in a while, listen up.

If you live anywhere in Arizona and want to take a road trip to Laughlin, Las Vegas, or the Reno/Tahoe area, RENT A CAR. DO NOT DRIVE ANYTHING YOU OWN.

Why? Because the road from Phx. to Kingman has miles of chopped up and pothole-littered road. And if you want to continue onto LV, the 1st 20 miles after Kingman has even worse conditions. You'll see a number of experienced truckers drive only in the passing lane and for good reason. This causes a lot of anxiety for drivers who have issues with those who don't/won't pull over so they can pass. But that's just the way it is these days in this state.

These roads are an embarrassment to the state. I make this drive multiple times a year, and in fact, we're headed up to Tahoe the week before Christmas. And in order to get back by Christmas we have to drive the southbound lanes, which are AT LEAST AS BAD.

We're also going back to LV for a Fountainbleau visit between Christmas & New Years. This means I had to rent a car for 2 weeks, because NO WAY am I putting any of my well-cared for vehicles thru that trip. And have you seen the prices of rental cars since Biden showed up?

These roads have been in this condition for the past 2 years, and the state's patchwork fixes isn't cutting it. It makes the roads worse, and puts windshields at risk with all the loose tar and gravel these potholes yield as cars and especially trucks drive over them. Our last trip thru, I had to get the windshield replaced on the rental before I turned it in.

[accountinquestion]

Oddly enough my only real helpful bit of driving info is centered around this same drive.. When you are headed to LV around dusk MAKE SURE you have sunglasses. On the otherside of Phoenix towards LV there are these steep hills/mountains. Driving with the sun straight into your eyes going up a mountain is the worst driving situation without precipitation. First off you are angled up so the sun is still quite bright when it is dead ahead. This is because as the sun is lower it typically is filtered through more atmosphere but if you are is aimed upwards 10 degrees or so.. the sun can still be quite bright yet too low to hide behind the visor.

Trees would hide the sun.. but wtih these barren hills you can wind up having it right on the center of the road...

Then the other horrible part is not only are you near blind - you have to navigate the roads Rob talks about. Mountains on 2 way roads that you can barely see. I tell everyone this if they're driving to LV. It would be much like driving in the dark.

And that means you can't really just pull over. It is painful to look because of the sun.. fuck. awful. It might have only been for a few minutes.. but it stuck with me as a quite dangerous/awful situation.

[accountinquestion]

Of course Singer looks through the sun with glee because he is of a different generation. Dumber but tougher.

Yea. Sure thing, Singer. Sure thing.

[mickeycrimm]

Hwy 93 north of Wickenburg has more white crosses than any road I’ve ever been on.

[Rob.Singer]

There's an Interstate planned (I 11) going from Phx. to LV, but the sun problem will remain. It's why I've almost always done the drive overnight--and still usually do. I did the drive nearly every week for 10 years. I brought a telescope to view that unrestricted night sky, and even caught redietz one night re-entering earth's atmosphere as he was returning from his home base on the Red Planet.

You regularly read about the deadly accidents, many near Wikieup, and I've seen lots of them myself. Long long holdups. Usually someone trying to pass trucks or RV's in no passing spots. Others fall asleep. Nervous idiots just can't wait or obey traffic laws. And many times it ends up car vs. truck. Guess who wins.

[MisterV]

Yes, sun glasses help, but vehicles come equipped with a very helpful aid: sun visors.

Use 'em with sun glasses.

Or move to Oregon: today I'm motoring to one of those "over-crowded Indian casinos" (not) Robert rails against and true to form, it's rainy and cloudy: no worries about the sun.

I-5, Hwy 22 and Hwy 18 to Lincoln City are pretty well maintained, except for areas prone to land slides where there are often cracks that need to be addressed.

Hey, no place is perfect, but the roads here aren't as bad as Robert says they are in Az. so I need not rent a car.

Final thought...why is it that some states (like New Hampshire) have freeways which are in great shape, very few pot holes or problems, whereas other states have roadways like the face of an acne-prone teen?

Note: the scene pictured below just happened north of stumptown

[accountinquestion]

Yes, sun glasses help, but vehicles come equipped with a very helpful aid: sun visors.

Use 'em with sun glasses.

Or move to Oregon: today I'm motoring to one of those "over-crowded Indian casinos" (not) Robert rails against and true to form, it's rainy and cloudy: no worries about the sun.

I-5, Hwy 22 and Hwy 18 to Lincoln City are pretty well maintained, except for areas prone to land slides where there are often cracks that need to be addressed.

Hey, no place is perfect, but the roads here aren't as bad as Robert says they are in Az. so I need not rent a car.

Final thought...why is it that some states (like New Hampshire) have freeways which are in great shape, very few pot holes or problems, whereas other states have roadways like the face of an acne-prone teen?

The problem for me was specifically when I was going uphill. At that point the sun can still be relatively high in the sky and right in your line of sight. You can use a visor but you can't block the road with it as you need to see that to drive. It is a weird thing you wouldn't get in most places.. trees or anything in the background can obscure the sun to some degree. Desert barren mountains are different. With the right geometry you can't use the sun visors.. kinda obvious to use them if you can, yanno?

I would think that the potholes are a matter of the budget however it could very well be the base on which the road had to be built. Or what the construction people put under it. I know of some relatively new roads and they're almost rutted because the dirt under htem shifts so much.

[MisterV]

Yes, there are fairly brief periods in time where NOTHING works to block the sun from effectively blinding a driver.

I am reminded of a case I once had where the road was laid out in such a manner that near sunset the orb of the sun was positioned seemingly atop of the roadway, directly ahead of the driver making it essentially impossible to see through the ball of fire.

[SLaPiNFuNK]

Owning a vehicle that could not handle roads is pretty -ev

[Dan Druff]

When I used to drive between Phoenix and LV, the bug problem was TERRIBLE, at least when I made this drive in the spring. Maybe during other seasons it's not as bad. But in April... boy was it terrible. I actually had to pull over twice or so during the drive to clean the windshield -- something I've never had to stop and do when driving between LA and Vegas.

[Rob.Singer]

When I used to drive between Phoenix and LV, the bug problem was TERRIBLE, at least when I made this drive in the spring. Maybe during other seasons it's not as bad. But in April... boy was it terrible. I actually had to pull over twice or so during the drive to clean the windshield -- something I've never had to stop and do when driving between LA and Vegas.

That's also an issue, but not a bad one.

[Rob.Singer]

Owning a vehicle that could not handle roads is pretty -ev

That's not the issue. These are not normal roads anymore. I've seen lots of cars pulled over with flats, wheels come off cars and trucks, and even several rear axels in the road and on the sides with older looking vehicles sitting on their tanks. There are plenty of signs warning drivers, but no one pays attention when all they care about is getting to the tables or their favorite machines ASAP.

My particular issue is I keep our 4 vehicles in top shape, and one of them is a specialty sedan. There's absolutely no reason to knowingly put them thru such abuse, when all you're doing is asking for faster breakdowns, a bunch of rattles, and other irritants and reasons for devaluation.

Sure there's lots of people who plow thru the chopped up roads with their newer vehicles who just don't care. These are the same folks who ignore the speed limits, pass in no-passing zones, pretend nobody's on the road or even belongs on the road but them, and generally need a good life-altering accident or ticket from the highway patrol (which I always cheer on and thank the cops for doing) in order for them to start caring about others.

[mickeycrimm]

Yes, sun glasses help, but vehicles come equipped with a very helpful aid: sun visors.

Use 'em with sun glasses.

Or move to Oregon: today I'm motoring to one of those "over-crowded Indian casinos" (not) Robert rails against and true to form, it's rainy and cloudy: no worries about the sun.

I-5, Hwy 22 and Hwy 18 to Lincoln City are pretty well maintained, except for areas prone to land slides where there are often cracks that need to be addressed.

Hey, no place is perfect, but the roads here aren't as bad as Robert says they are in Az. so I need not rent a car.

Final thought...why is it that some states (like New Hampshire) have freeways which are in great shape, very few pot holes or problems, whereas other states have roadways like the face of an acne-prone teen?

Note: the scene pictured below just happened north of stumptown

Hwy 18 is a winding two lane road that is packed with traffic during the day. The constant rain doesn't help the situation either.