DC to El Paso - fastest route?

[MGump]

Hi There,
Making a trip by car from DC to El Paso and I'd like to do it in the quickest time possible. Which of these routes would you say is the more favorable for speeding i.e. avoiding cops?
1) Highways 66/81/40/30/20/10 or MD, WV, KY, IL, IN, MO, OK, North TX, NM
2) Highways 70/68/79/64/44/40/54 or VA, TN, AR, Middle TX
Thanks!

[DonnaR57]

Welcome to RTA!

While we do not suggest speeding, the first one is slightly faster. Make sure you get plenty of sleep - this is about a 1960 mile trip which is best done in 4 days, 3-1/2 if absolutely pressed for time. Professional drivers can only drive 11 hours per day legally and are often governed for speed. Don't believe any program that tells you that you can drive this in 29 hours. Add at least 20% to that for traffic, eating, potty stops, and SLEEP.


Donna

[glc]

The first route is all Interstate and has higher speed limits. Just try not to hit the DFW area in rush hour.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I think you have your routes/descriptions reversed, but the first list of highways (I-81/I-40, etc), that would take you through VA and TN, is about 100 miles shorter and doesn't involve any time on 2 lane highways, so that's almost certainly going to be faster - barring things like weather or a severe traffic incident.

This is still a 2,000 mile trip and the fastest it can be done safely is with 3 overnight stops, and yes that is even with multiple drivers.

While there certainly speed patrols, there's really no such thing as a speed trip on the interstates because speed limits are almost always nearly constant - unlike some 2 lane roads where you can have speed limits unexpectedly reduced for no apparent reason except to generate revenue.

Speeding to any significant degree on a trip like this if often counter productive, as anything over 5-10 mph is pretty much an invitation to get pulled over. Get stopped once and any time you "saved" by speeding pretty much gets thrown out the window. Driving much beyond that also requires more work, effort, and attention as a driver so when do stop, you usually end up needing longer rest breaks anyway.

[NowthatIamretired]

If you going from DC then you may already know this. In Virginia, anything about 80 mph is considered RECKLESS driving. The counties, and the lawyers in these counties, along I-81 and I-95 make their money off of speeding drivers. Be careful, not foolish.