It has been awhile since I made a cross country road trip. The last time I did this the speed limit was still the nationally mandated 55 everywhere.
I am now faced with a drive from Chicago to Phoenix and am wondering what states I can zip through and which will force a more leisurely pace on me? I’ve done the scenic routes on this trip a few times already (ableit a decade or more ago) and am more interested in speed than beauty on my trip.
Are there any places that have no speed limit today? I recall seeing those as a kid (the speed limit signs said “Drive At Your Own Risk”). Are there any places with limits faster than 75 as I’ve seen in a few places?
Finally, is there anything to the tollroads that issue an entrance ticket and then you pay upon exit and they also hand you a speeding ticket since they can tell by the timestamp versus distance travelled that you HAD to be speeding? Does that really occur and if so where?
Sorry, Whack I’ve done the Chicago to Phoenix many times, when I was in Grad school at ASU. When coming down 44 the limite in Missouri is 70 I believe. but when you hit 40, it’s 75 and wide open from Texas to New Mexico. From Tucumcari NM, to Albuquerque it’s wide open I do 80 to 90. No one on the road. The Albuquerque to Gallup NM same thing, then Gallup to Flagstaff AZ, same thing, then 17 south from Flag is 75 as well.
That is of course if you are going 44 south from Illinois to 40 west?
I should be more specific. When coming down US. ROUTE 44 through Missouri to Oklahoma to US ROUTE 40 it is 70 miles an hour. then on I-40 west it’s 75 mostly.
I believe Montana may have changed their speed limit from “Reasonable and Prudent” to 75 MPH, based on a documentary I watched on the History Channel a couple of weeks ago. It’d be best to find some reference material on that before accepting anyone’s statement as gospel.
Thanks to the I-25/I-40 rebuild in Albuquerque, with any luck you can legally go through the entire state on I-40 at at least 65. 75 once you get out of the city.
Briefly, the speed limit in Montana was, indeed, “reasonable and prudent”, which effectively means “no limit”. A few years ago, though, they changed it to 75. Of course, there’s still some margin on top of that where they won’t enforce it, but since I don’t drive, I’m not sure just how much leeway the Montana cops give you.
[ul]:dubious: [sup]I haven’t received my PhD in Geography, yet, but Montana is definitely out of your way![/sup][sub]What can I say about Pennsylvania?[/sub][/ul]
I often wondered about the time stamp on the toll tickets. I know I’ve blown away the time on those on the turnpike and it never was mentioned - since when have they been writting tickets based on the time stamp?
Yeah, I’m curious about that. I saw a scene in Arthur where Dudley Moore’s character sped around an empty race track for a length of time; obviously he paid to rent it.
Will race tracks in America rent themselves to anyone willing to write a big enough check? Can I just drive on down to the Gateway International Raceway in Collinsville, IL with my Porsche 944, whip out the Amex, and whirl around the track for a while?
See if they are still running the BluBlocker Nevada 100, an unlimited speed race on public roads (closed to the public for the race) in Nevada. Not sure if it running anymore.
While I was more interested in regular roads for a regular drive I too have wondered if anyone could drive out to the Bonneville Salt Flats and have at it. Is the place in any way restricted or closed to the public? Seems like a big place to fence off to keep people out but Mr. Cellophane’s dad did it. On the flip side it would seem like it’d be a crazy place with what I would expect would be tons of people tearing ass around the place with no restrictions at all.
As for US speedways my guess would have been that no, they won’t let just anyone drive around their tracks regardless of fees. However, Blown & Injected’s experience says that you can. I’d just figure that track insurance policies would forbid such things but maybe if you’re willing to sign some kind of iron clad document promising not to sue under any circumstances and pay a fee then you are free to have at it.
If you are in Germany I believe the Nuremberg Ring will allow anyone to tear about their track in just about any vehicle. Just drive up, pay your fee and have some fun!
As to the bit about getting a ticket on a timestamped tollway I’m still curious if they do this. I won’t be anywhere near Pennsylvania but I seem to remember at least one of these types of tollways on a previous drive from Phoenix to Chicago. Maybe in Kansas but I really don’t remember. Assuming I come across one of these will they issue speeding tickets based on your travel time between two points? So far it looks as if the jury is out on this issue.
I think it’s probably somewhat common for racetracks to allow lapping on some days when there aren’t events. I’ve driven on Seattle International Raceway in my car. My driving was part of a racing course, but there were other people out there who just paid to drive around the track. I fully recommend it to anyone who likes to drive fast.
I mistakingly got on the New York Thruway heading south when I had meant to go north. I did an illegal U-turn well before the next exit that I could have used legally. When I got my EZ pass bill for that month, I was charged for the entire trip south where the thruway ends and also charged for the entire trip north to where I got off during my illegal turn. No sence fighting it…they KNEW what I did.