Hi everybody. I am new here and I need Your help. I just bought a car in LA,CA and I need to be in Niagara Falls by noon on Friday.I am planing to start my trip on Tueday around 3:00PM. So almost 2500 miles in 70 hours. Any advice? Thank you.
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Hi everybody. I am new here and I need Your help. I just bought a car in LA,CA and I need to be in Niagara Falls by noon on Friday.I am planing to start my trip on Tueday around 3:00PM. So almost 2500 miles in 70 hours. Any advice? Thank you.
Welcome to the RTA Forum!
The biggest question for me is is this a solo trip? If that is the case, then I think you'd have push beyond a safe limit for driving in a day. You're basically going to have 3 full days to make this trip, and you'd need to be on the road for 800 miles a day (14+ hours on the road) each of those days.
That's really too much for one person to do and stay focused on being safe. If you had a co-driver, the drive would still be rather painful, but I would feel much better about the safety of you and everyone else on the road.
And even then you're pushing it. I hope you have another person traveling with you to do some driving. For safety, even on a speed run, we don't recommend a trip this long in such a short time. You're looking at 16-18 hours in the car. It's virtually impossible to stay attentive for that long. For one day, maybe. But for more than that....oh vey!
If it's a must and there's no way to squeeze out more time, I suggest that you:
* Take food in a cooler that is healthy with no added sugars which can cause blood sugar swings even in healthy people which can lead to some drowsiness. Also eat numerous small meals each day instead of big meals that might also make you less alert.
* Stop and rest whenever you begin to realize that your not alert enough. While you'll need a full night's sleep each night to be safe, you will also benefit from some power naps. Even if you can't sleep, resting your eyes from the road by closing them or doing something close-up like reading for a bit will help rest your eyes.
* Don't even think about trying to squeeze in any side-trips for sight-seeing. But take advantage of numerous opportunities for short stops. During these stops, try to run to vantage points for scenic views and back to the car. Hop. Skip. Jump. Anything to get the blood flowing.
* If you spend the night in a metro area, try to stay on the eastern edge of it to avoid as much morning rush-hour traffic as possible.
* When I've done a speed-run similar to what you're doing, I've always functioned best if I get up quite early and hit the road allowing for a longer mid-day break (or two). This helps break things up into several smaller segments which is more manageable and helps me recuperate.
While a trip like this can be exciting, it can also be very tiring. Keep that in mind and be sensitive to it. I would imagine that people would rather have you arrive a few hours late than not arrive at all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sergapower
Seriously? Don't..
You've got less than 3 days to do over 2500 miles -- that's over 800 miles per day. Not safe. Unadvisable, particularly with a single driver.
The typicaly rule of thumb is about 500-600 miles per day is pushing it for multiple days. You're well over this.
Another way to think about this, is figure you're not going to want to be in the car and driving (safely!) more than about 12 hours per day. Including bathroom stops, gas stops, food stops, etc. you'll be lucky to average maybe 55 mph. In 12 hours in the car, driving at 55 mph you'll make about 650 miles. At that rate its 4 solid days of driving to get there.
With 2 drivers, its more doable, but still a real push. With one, my advice would be to try to get an extra day at least.
I see that this is a new car to you. Whether it's a new car in general or just new to you I'd be afraid to take it out on such a speed run. You haven't had it long enough to learn if there are any kinks or to be comfortable driving it. Especially on a mad cap expedition such as this one.
Laura
Thank you guys for your reply. I will keep in mind your advices. I will not push the limits. I will drive new BMW plus I have trucking experience. My navigation shows that best way will be LA - Las Vegas - Salt Lake City- Denver - Chicago - Buffalo.
Glad you have trucking experience. At any rate you might want to check that "LA - Las Vegas - Salt Lake City- Denver - Chicago - Buffalo." seems a little zigzag.
Either it's 15 N to salt lake to 80 E to chicago or
15 N to 70 E to Denver to 76 to 80 E to Chicago.
Either way you're hitting some mountains. That tends to slow me up. If you're doing a speed run might i suggest to take 40 E to 44 N to 55 N to Chicago. We just did that and made great time.
Also it appears you plan to take 80 all the way east through Ohio and Pennsylvania to Buffalo.
It might be quicker to Chicago to Detroit cross the border there and take 401 E through Canada to 403. Niiiice and flat.
Take and be careful. I love Judy's suggestions!
If that's the route you plan on taking, I highly suggest you jump on I-80 somewhere east of Evanston, WY. Construction traffic on I-80 has the entire interstate through the city and Eastern Utah tied up during all hours of daylight.
I would certainly consider taking I-70 E through Denver, then I-76 to I-80 -- it's more direct but also much more mountainous along I-70.