INTERSTATE HWY TRAFIC

[skipll]

I just made a trip from North Carolina to Nova Scotia---I found the traffic very heavy on most interstates.
So I wonder bout Interstates in the middle of USA-----Are they as heavenly traveled as the ones near the east coast???

[JimFromJersey]

skipll wrote:
I just made a trip from North Carolina to Nova Scotia---I found the traffic very heavy on most interstates.
So I wonder bout Interstates in the middle of USA-----Are they as heavenly traveled as the ones near the east coast???

As a generalization, and we all know how dangerous they are, I've found that the big difference between eastern Interstates and those say, west of the Ohio River, is that the latter are only 'busy' around the major cities, and once you get out of town, there's a lot less congestion. Interstates in the east, however, are busy along their entire lengths, more or less. It has to do with population density, more than anything. Everybody talked about how bad I-15 south of Salt Lake City would be back in 2012 on our vacation, but it was deserted compared to I-95 between Baltimore and Philly. Even I-70 through Denver at 4:30 PM in the rain was child's play compared to what we normally see here along the East Coast.

[john_bet]

I-65 between Indy and Louisville is pretty heavy all the time. I endure it till I get to I-74 and head west. Big difference.

[ryegatevt]

If you are in the East and want to see low Interstate Traffic just drive I-91 between Lyndonville VT and the Canadian Border...

[bukhrn]

Bumpyroad wrote:

Matt_Colie wrote:
Want to know Why?

Look Here - where there are lights there are people.

Light show

Matt

interesting photos. Australia puzzled me however.
bumpy

As well as the Island of Puerto Rico, looks like the entire island is one big city.

[Bumpyroad]

Matt_Colie wrote:
Want to know Why?

Look Here - where there are lights there are people.

Light show

Matt

interesting photos. Australia puzzled me however.
bumpy

[Crowe]

In our experience, we've noticed once you get past Ohio it drops as well, with the exceptions of the heavily populated areas like Chicago, etc. It's mindboggling to us to be able to drive on an interstate with NO TRAFFIC!

[Matt_Colie]

Want to know Why?

Look Here - where there are lights there are people.

Light show

Matt

[Bumpyroad]

going back to the midwest, I notice the traffic intensity dropping as I went across Ohio.
bumpy

[Jim_Shoe]

When you get away from either coast, the traffic lightens up a lot. Even the eastern portion of California has a lot of agricultural operations. The insurance company I worked for did a pretty extensive study on population density by county within state, because that's where most of the cars are. Turned out that more than half the people live east of Cincinnati, OH. while the geographic center is somewhere in Kansas.
More people means more cars, and that means more traffic on more expressways.

[Johno02]

Except on I-40. Nothing on the Interstate in ND is normal. In ND, normal is nothing. All the traffic is on the East and the West. All the traffic is those that think they are in the wrong place, and trying to get to the other.

[artguys]

You'll find much relief the further west you go.

[HappyKayakers]

In ND they have a billboard that shows what your commute would look like - lots of farmland and no cars on the road. That's usually accurate.