# Man I hate traffic jams



## legalskier (Mar 1, 2015)

Nothing like a nasty jam to mar a fun weekend on the mountain. 
SUVs with 4WD/AWD doing 15 mph?  *smh*


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## mriceyman (Mar 2, 2015)

At least it happened leaving the mountain


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone


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## twinplanx (Mar 2, 2015)

95 south(Stamford-.GW) was The WORST I've ever seen an interstate last night.


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## gmcunni (Mar 2, 2015)

Mt Snow to home - usually 2:45 door to door.  last night  = 4:30 

i thought MA roads were bad until i hit CT. seemed like our roads were not treated nor being plowed.


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## legalskier (Mar 2, 2015)

Took me an extra hour and a half to get to NJ from the 'Cats. Once I got into the open my Suby had no problem at all. The problem was, there weren't many open areas.


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## twinplanx (Mar 2, 2015)

Yeah my F'in  2001 fwd Taurus did all right. Just too many assholes on the road...


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## Glenn (Mar 2, 2015)

gmcunni said:


> Mt Snow to home - usually 2:45 door to door.  last night  = 4:30
> 
> i thought MA roads were bad until i hit CT. seemed like our roads were not treated nor being plowed.



Our normal just under two hours was closer to 3.5 hours last night. What a mess! I thought we were in the clear when Waze had us going rt 5 down to Bernardston to avoid the accident on 91...it just got worse the further south we got. People still need to understand the two lane concept of the highway. I'm all for driving at speeds relating to conditions. But the people going 35mph in the left lane screwed things up. I mean, really?


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## ALLSKIING (Mar 2, 2015)

91 below Hartford was a mess and 15 was even worse. Definitely long drive last night.


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## drjeff (Mar 2, 2015)

I was at Willard Mtn in NY (maybe 20 miles NE of Albany) I left there about 2 - down to Albany and then over on The NY State Thruway/Mass Pike to Worcester and down 395) Google maps had it at 185 miles and 3 hours and 5 minutes - made it in 3:30 with one stop on the Pike - roads not too bad until I got into CT where it seems like the DOT didn't believe in salting the roads!! NY + MA did a decent job of salting things and keeping the pavement more wet than white!!

My wife said the drive home from Mount Snow "really f#&%+@g SUCKED!!" and immediately asked for a drink upon getting home!! :lol: 

Fortunately for me, until I crossed into CT about the only times I dropped below 60 was when their was either a DOT brigade salting/plowing ahead of me or when some rubbernecking for incidents in the Westbound lanes slowed things briefly

Having been doing the weekly weekend drives home from VT for years, I just learned to mentally add 50% to my usual drive time before I start and then expect a high level of idiots going 20 to 30 in the left lane (not unlike most Friday evenings between about 4:30 and 6 on 91 Northbound from Springfield, MA up to Northampton as the caravan of Prius's with rainbow stickers on their bumpers get out of work and head home :Uzi:  :lol:


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## SkiFanE (Mar 2, 2015)

legalskier said:


> Nothing like a nasty jam to mar a fun weekend on the mountain.
> SUVs with 4WD/AWD doing 15 mph?  *smh*



Yeah..big honking SUVs are the worst.  People that buy them would never dare go off-road, and then on the snow they are too afraid of hurting their big expensive hulk of metal.  Worst was an Infiniti SUV going 15mph on Rt. 26 on way to SR last winter...took 20 miles til I could finally pass the thing....had to be 50 people behind it.  At least they should pull over and let the people by, since the are obviously in no rush.


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## hammer (Mar 2, 2015)

OK...how fast do you go on the roads when the weather's bad?  If the roads are just wet then I'm fine with highway speed, but if there's a coating on the ground my max is about 40, and even then I'm not all that comfortable.  I actually like to go a bit slower in an SUV because with the additional mass it's harder to stop.

I know I go slower than some when the roads get bad but I do my best to stay in the right hand lane.  If you want to blaze past me on the left, go 65+ on snow-covered roads, and lose it up the road from me be my guest.


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## gmcunni (Mar 2, 2015)

i don't have a set speed for bad weather. i adjust based on the conditions and probably drive on the faster side of the scale.   if people want to drive slow because they want to be cautious that's cool with me. I just wish they'd stick to the right lane.  can't count the number of people i had to pass on the right last night.


side note - subi outback handled the weather great last night.  even managed 29 MPG on the ride home.


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## twinplanx (Mar 2, 2015)

Yeah the Cloggers were out in force last night. I screamed out loud to a Mercedes to get out of the left lane, loud enough for both passenger & driver to turn there heads( personal victory) Here's a clue, if your so terrified that you have your hazard lights on, maybe you don't belong in the left lane... just sayin'


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## legalskier (Mar 2, 2015)

hammer said:


> OK...how fast do you go on the roads when the weather's bad?  If the roads are just wet then I'm fine with highway speed, but if there's a coating on the ground my max is about 40, and even then I'm not all that comfortable.



I maxed out at 40-45 in the slop. No problem, just keep them wheels spinning.


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## Scruffy (Mar 2, 2015)

hammer said:


> OK...how fast do you go on the roads when the weather's bad?  If the roads are just wet then I'm fine with highway speed, but if there's a coating on the ground my max is about 40, and even then I'm not all that comfortable.  I actually like to go a bit slower in an SUV because with the additional mass it's harder to stop.



Depends on the road conditions, but usually faster than most, I have a good feel for my car's "presence" on the road, and how glued I am to the road. I drive a front wheel drive car with 4 really good snow tires and usually pass skidding and spinning SUVs with all season tires.


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## ScottySkis (Mar 3, 2015)

87 I from Kingston Sunday night was a mess and skow going to Newburg and 17 k was inches of snow all way home no cars wasn't easy trip back close to Same point roads curve and hills here Honda crappy snow tires no front wheel drive non fun drive at all


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## billski (Mar 3, 2015)

I hate limited access highways.  I also hate immobility.   I'd rather go 5mph on a side road than wait for a highway obstruction to clear.  It gives you more options, and probably doesn't take any longer.


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## billski (Mar 3, 2015)

Coming back from VT on Sunday night, there were many people who should not have been on the road.  Maybe 2-3" on the road, one jack@$$ who thought he could do anything in his AWD car ended up doing a nice 180.  On the other end are the freaked out people who go 20mph for 50miles and are too scared or brain dead to occasionally pull over and let traffic pass (ahem, the "me first" crowd?) 

 I'm not obnoxious or generally impatient, but just my observation that some people should NOT be on the road, they are simply unskilled.


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## Harvey (Mar 4, 2015)

Anyone else on 87 Sunday night? 6 1/2 hours to get home from Windham, should take 3 1/4 "normally." Tons of accidents.


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## ScottySkis (Mar 4, 2015)

Harvey said:


> Anyone else on 87 Sunday night? 6 1/2 hours to get home from Windham, should take 3 1/4 "normally." Tons of accidents.



It was bad from Kingston to Newburg took forever at 330?


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## Abominable (Mar 4, 2015)

billski said:


> On the other end are the freaked out people who go 20mph for 50miles and are too scared or brain dead to occasionally pull over and let traffic pass (ahem, the "me first" crowd?).



This is the worst.  People are so conditioned to the rules they can't think logically outside of the box, so to speak.  I drive slowly a lot of times, looking for a fishing spot, looking at wildlife, just unfamiliar with a place, and I will always throw a blinker on at a straightaway and let someone with local plates fly on by.  Most people just have no situational awareness... and when I flash my lights to let them know I'm coming by all of a sudden I'm the asshole.

If you've ever driven in a less developed country (or more rural parts of our own?), you know that things are much more relaxed (regulation wise), and therefore somehow communication and understanding is so much better.  Somehow some places can get keep traffic flowing just fine with farm machinery and old decrepit trucks sharing a one lane road with high performance sedans, but here people are just stupidly attached to the "rules".

(Having said that I'm well aware that accident rates are probably much higher in, say, Mexico.)

Billski, glad you had a good day at Bromley Sunday.  We stuck around Magic for the flags but had to hit the road before you got there.  Ended up overnighting in Brattleboro and hitting a half day at the mighty Sundown Monday.  Sounds like a good call with all these traffic reports, although it wasn't quite the pow-fest I was expecting.


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## SkiFanE (Mar 4, 2015)

Abominable said:


> This is the worst.  People are so conditioned to the rules they can't think logically outside of the box, so to speak.  I drive slowly a lot of times, looking for a fishing spot, looking at wildlife, just unfamiliar with a place, and I will always throw a blinker on at a straightaway and let someone with local plates fly on by.  Most people just have no situational awareness... and when I flash my lights to let them know I'm coming by all of a sudden I'm the asshole.
> 
> If you've ever driven in a less developed country (or more rural parts of our own?), you know that things are much more relaxed (regulation wise), and therefore somehow communication and understanding is so much better.  Somehow some places can get keep traffic flowing just fine with farm machinery and old decrepit trucks sharing a one lane road with high performance sedans, but here people are just stupidly attached to the "rules".
> 
> ...



I've taken a few trips to Colombia, SA - and us civilized folks would at first go "wtf"?  There maybe street signs, but they are not enforced.  it's almost like anarchy.  But after a few trips...I realized they are much more civilized \.  Because there are few "rules" - everyone is much more relaxed about things.  Here, you "cut someone off", and you'll get a finger and a beep.  There...well...yeah...there was an open spot in front of me, you took it and that's just fine.  When there's a spot in front of you, I'll take it.  There is no perceived "ownership" of your place on the road like there is in the US, so there is no anger and fuming.  They also have lots of traffic (in Bogota you can only be on the road odd/even days depending on your license #)...but the calmness of the people made it so much more bearable...even while they are buzzing in/out of traffic lanes lol.


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## Geoff (Mar 4, 2015)

SkiFanE said:


> I've taken a few trips to Colombia, SA - and us civilized folks would at first go "wtf"?  There maybe street signs, but they are not enforced.  it's almost like anarchy.  But after a few trips...I realized they are much more civilized \.  Because there are few "rules" - everyone is much more relaxed about things.  Here, you "cut someone off", and you'll get a finger and a beep.  There...well...yeah...there was an open spot in front of me, you took it and that's just fine.  When there's a spot in front of you, I'll take it.  There is no perceived "ownership" of your place on the road like there is in the US, so there is no anger and fuming.  They also have lots of traffic (in Bogota you can only be on the road odd/even days depending on your license #)...but the calmness of the people made it so much more bearable...even while they are buzzing in/out of traffic lanes lol.



I've driven in southern Malaysia when I was working in Singapore.  The roads in that part of the country are narrow and quite primitive.  Their driving rules are basically the laws of physics.  Small cars yield to big trucks & buses.  Expensive cars yield to beaters.  It was just like Boston so I felt quite at home.  

<----- Telecommuter:  I don't miss those Friday night and Sunday night drives from hell.   Now, if I have a business trip, I change the dates because I know my flights won't go.   My snow driving is pretty much limited to the town of Killington.

The worst I ever remember was a Friday night where Vermont Route 4 was completely stopped for a couple of hours because the Sherburne Pass was closed with freezing rain.  I was stopped on the speed trap section between Bridgewater and the Long Trail Brewery.  From what I heard later from others stuck ahead of me, the traffic was backed up 8 miles all the way to the church at the bottom of the hill in Killington.  I got out of the car and slid down to the guardrail on the Ottaquechee River side of the road.   I had to crawl back to the car on hands & knees.  It wasn't possible to walk on it.  After an hour or so, a salt truck came by in the eastbound lane and the traffic started moving again.  Like everybody else, I've had lots of long, slow drives but that's the only time I remember being completely stopped for more than an hour.


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## 4aprice (Mar 4, 2015)

Harvey said:


> Anyone else on 87 Sunday night? 6 1/2 hours to get home from Windham, should take 3 1/4 "normally." Tons of accidents.



Took us about 3 1/2 from exit 24(Albany, Northway) to 15 (287 NJ).  

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## twinplanx (Mar 4, 2015)

There is one simple "rule" that would greatly reduce my frustration if enforced. STAY RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS. MoFo cloggers are a greater obstruction then a snow/slush covered roadway!


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## billski (Mar 4, 2015)

twinplanx said:


> There is one simple "rule" that would greatly reduce my frustration if enforced. STAY RIGHT EXPECT TO PASS. MoFo cloggers are a greater obstruction then snow/slush a covered roadway!


That is culturally incompatible around here.  I come from away and feel your PO-ness.  Remember the mantra, "me first".  
On three lane highways, there is a protocol:  right lane is for exits and entrances only.  left lane is for those who drive like hell and want to be at least 20mph over the limit.  Middle lane is for everyone else.


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## hammer (Mar 4, 2015)

twinplanx said:


> There is one simple "rule" that would greatly reduce my frustration if enforced. STAY RIGHT EXPECT TO PASS. MoFo cloggers are a greater obstruction then snow/slush a covered roadway!


Don't people in NJ get ticketed for not staying right except to pass?  That's one thing I try to be careful about when going south to visit family.


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## gmcunni (Mar 4, 2015)

hammer said:


> Don't people in NJ get ticketed for not staying right except to pass?  That's one thing I try to be careful about when going south to visit family.



mass has been cracking down on this but in a snow storm all bets are off


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## ctenidae (Mar 4, 2015)

It took me an hour to drive 7.5 miles home last night. 4 of it was on 95, between Greenwich and Stamford. That sucked. Lots of slow driving. Granted, it was icy, but come on. I have a rear wheel drive twin turbo V-8, and I wa getting annoyed at how slow  people were going.

Speed isn't so much the issue I  concern myself with so much. Instead, I pay attention to gaps- obviously, when it's slick you need to leave a bigger gap. Unfortunately, when it snows I assume people's brains are turned off, because they'll wing into spaces they wouldn't when it's dry. So, I leave a bigger gap.


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## bluebird (Mar 4, 2015)

ctenidae said:


> It took me an hour to drive 7.5 miles home last night.
> 
> That sounds like traffic in Maryland/ Virginia when they get snow. Had the misfortune to have our flight out of BWI cancelled during one of the storms last month and it took 1.5 hrs to drive the 8-9 miles to a hotel (airport hotels were full).
> 
> 93 from Concord to Manchester was slow going Sunday night.


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## legalskier (Mar 5, 2015)

twinplanx said:


> There is one simple "rule" that would greatly reduce my frustration if enforced. STAY RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS. MoFo cloggers are a greater obstruction then a snow/slush covered roadway!



+1
That thought kept looping through my head Sunday evening.


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## Glenn (Mar 9, 2015)

Long rides up to VT and back...even without weather. Guess there's one small downside to having all this snow....


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## legalskier (Mar 11, 2015)




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## Edd (Mar 11, 2015)

legalskier said:


>



Wow, that's horrifying.


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## hammer (Mar 11, 2015)

legalskier said:


>


Is there one that's played at normal speed?


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## legalskier (Mar 11, 2015)

hammer said:


> Is there one that's played at normal speed?



That's what I thought, until I saw this-
http://www.jrn.com/tmj4/news/Multiple-crash-scenes-reported-on-area-freeways-234963351.html


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