We are now retired and I have our summer trip to Colorado planned. We share the driving.I want to travel the back roads and blue highways. I want to take our time. The Interstates make me nervous and they are boring.DH wants to travel the Interstates as much as possible because he feels they are safer. He doesn't like to have to slow down and stop for traffic lights in small towns when he drives. Feels that blue highways are more prone to head-on collisions.What do you think?

They both have pros and cons. I've done it both ways.

statistically speaking, Interstates are safer based upon percentages. More accidents on interstates but more people on them too. DH likes to drive on interstates too. I prefer the US highways. We do a bit of both and I try to make sure it is my turn to drive when we leave the interstates. DH likes to set the cruise and steer; I like to drive.

GizmosMom wrote:We are now retired and I have our summer trip to Colorado planned. We share the driving.I want to travel the back roads and blue highways. I want to take our time. The Interstates make me nervous and they are boring.DH wants to travel the Interstates as much as possible because he feels they are safer. He doesn't like to have to slow down and stop for traffic lights in small towns when he drives. Feels that blue highways are more prone to head-on collisions.What do you think?You are both right - Interstates when the population is high but once you reach the country the Blue roads will work fine.When we travel from the east coat to Colorado (Often) we will use the I's to Hannibal and once we cross the Mississippi we take Rt 36 - just as fast and a lot less stress.If going to Texas we tend to use Rt 287 - good road and a pleasant drive, then might switch depending on destination in Texas.Hope this is of some help.

We use a mix of both although on some occasions there are not many options and one must use whatever is available to get to their chosen designation. Both have their good and bad, and the type of RV may also play into the decision. Out in our neck of the woods there is usually significant interstate travel before one gets to utilize a blue highway to ultimately arrive to their campsite.

"In spite of high speeds, the interstate system is the safest of our highway system. Nearly two people die for every 100 million miles traveled on other highways, compared to less than one person for every 100 million miles traveled on the interstates. Everything on the Interstate System is intended to protect your life. Guide rails on hazardous stretches, berms or concrete dividers in the median, landscaping that screens oncoming lights, breakaway signs and lampposts all save lives."LinkLooking at those statistics Interstates are twice as safe, but we still do rural highways. For one thing driving a 9000 pound pickup is many times safer than a 2000 pound auto. Heavier is safer, it's just physics of collisions. Plus we have a heavy brush guard and a special rear collision cushion in back.

Interstates safer than "Blue Highways?"TRIP UPDATE

Bumpyroad
Explorer
Aug 11, 2016
what exactly did you consider to be "bad" about trucks passing you on the interstates? when in my RV on IS highways I most always just cruised along in the right lane at 55-60 mph and yep, lots of vehicles passed me.
bumpy
GizmosMom
Explorer
Aug 11, 2016
Trip Update:
Just returned from 3 week trip to Colorado. We found that the trucks using Interstates 20 and 40 drove us crazy. We wanted to drive at the slower speeds and they (of course) kept passing us. So we opted for the secondary highways and were very happy.

YES! We saw much more than on the Interstates. Of course we had to drive slower but were in no hurry to get home.

Thanks again to everyone who posted!
ppine
Explorer II
Jul 23, 2016
I think interstates are very safe, but not that interesting. Blue highways and turkey trails are very interesting, but can be challenging driving pulling a load. Some of the roads in Colorado in particular have giant drop offs and no guard rails. There can be hail and sleet even in summer. There is plenty of OTR truck traffic. Some of the roads are narrow. It takes a lot of focus to drive on those roads, especially if you are not used to them. Plan on fewer miles per day than usual.
paulj
Explorer II
Jul 23, 2016
Clearance is more likely to an issue on non-freeway roads, especially in 'older' parts of the country. Modern RVs are wider and taller than most trucks in the pre-interstate years.

I've seen questions about railway underpass clearance on US20 in upstate New York. I've even seen that kind of question for a town in west Texas.

So if your rig is big, and you want to travel off the main-grid, you want to invest in some sort of trucker's atlas or clearance database.
jnharley
Explorer
Jul 23, 2016
People drive crazy on all sorts of roads not just interstates. And the problems we encounter on secondary roads are places to pull off to take a bathroom break. You occasionally find rest areas on U.S routes. State and county roads are even worse. And we have to worry about low hanging trees on some of the local roads.
Roy_Lynne
Explorer
Jul 23, 2016
Personally, I am with you. I love the backroads and byways. I love driving thru little towns and stopping at quaint restaurants. We drove cross country two summers a go and on the way we were in a hurry so we did the interstates but on the way back we stayed off of them and enjoyed each day. I love rural American
paulj
Explorer II
Jul 22, 2016
On Verizon's Coverage Map, most of the white space is in the Western mountains - and deserts of Nevada. Idaho has the largest white space - and the largest contiguous Wilderness areas (where RVs can't drive).

In Washington state you will get better coverage on I90 where it crosses the Cascades, than on US2 or US12 (or WA20 or 410).

Cell coverage, especially the new digital, is line of sight. Older analog systems (1G) used high power (and maybe different frequencies), and could cover larger areas with fewer towers. But carriers were allowed to abandon those in 2008.
john_bet
Explorer II
Jul 22, 2016
2gypsies wrote:
2oldman wrote:

The problem with many is that there is no phone service, and passing can be a challenge for those behind you.

Nowadays there are cell towers all over the place. Phone service can be had.
Not really. I can drive down a state road in my area and within 5 miles of a tower and loose signal and a call is dropped.
4runnerguy
Explorer
Jul 22, 2016
On my first trip to the east coast, I used interstates for 20 miles of my nearly 3000 mile trip from Denver to Rhode Island (the long way). Saw so much more that way.

We use the interstate to get from point A to point B in some cases, but often our trips are on interstate for 10% to 20% of our trip.

No cell service??? Heck, we have to drive 15 miles from our cabin to get a signal. Our teenage nieces know that will happen and don't mind a bit, as there's so much more to do in the wilds than post and text.
2gypsies1
Explorer III
Jul 21, 2016
Well, guess we're the exception. We traveled secondary roads 90% of our time and boondocked 20 miles off a paved highway and got Verizon service. There are many ways of boosting your signal.

When we began full-timing we didn't even have a cell phone or internet. Somehow we got by even traveling across Saskatchewan Canada and having a spring break on our travel trailer at the time. Got it done by two teens jerry-rigging it until we got to a small town for a quick repair. They didn't even want to charge us but naturally, they got a nice tip. :) Amazing how folks along the secondary roads are much nicer than the interstates where they're in a hurry.