Completed the first trip from Raleigh to Charlotte all by myself on I-85. Pretty nervous. I didn't recover till now.

2/21/2012 6:32:01 PM

smh

2/21/2012 6:43:45 PM

congrats bro. how did your new mazda3 sports car hold up?

2/21/2012 6:44:23 PM

^^ You guys are experienced drivers. I didn't start driving till 3.5 yrs ago.

2/21/2012 6:58:17 PM

just stay in the far right lane please.

2/21/2012 7:00:07 PM

^^It's good. It shows that the average mpg is 32.5. What do you think? All are local driving, no highway. I also found that those AI features like dialing numbers are useful.

2/21/2012 7:00:21 PM

^^ Of course. I kept driving along the side. I took rest for three times but still felt stressed out.

2/21/2012 7:01:48 PM

take long trips at night, if you can. no traffic, much less stressful, much more enjoyable ride.

2/21/2012 8:04:59 PM

It's dark, so it's more dangerous, right?

2/21/2012 8:11:03 PM

Only if you can't see in the dark or you're falling asleep. Less traffic = safer driving, and cars are more visible at night (head/taillights are much stronger visual cues than paint in the daytime).

Most importantly though is traffic is at a minimum and there are way fewer dumbasses on the road

2/21/2012 8:24:07 PM

A tired sleepy driver is just as bad as a drunk driver.

[Edited on February 21, 2012 at 10:59 PM. Reason : ]

2/21/2012 10:59:15 PM

WTF is the Garage coming to???

2/22/2012 12:12:42 AM

Quote :

"and cars are more visible at night"

I don't think most people would agree with that, or even if they did, it contributes pretty much nothing to the assertion "it is safer to drive at night".

2/22/2012 1:59:57 AM

well coming from someone who rides a motorcycle for a daily driver, vehicles (most especially me) are definitely more visible at night. I understand the counter-argument but in practice you can see headlights coming around a corner a lot sooner than you can see the car itself

[Edited on February 22, 2012 at 8:52 AM. Reason : asdf]

2/22/2012 8:43:28 AM

^^^agreed.

Is this a troll thread?

If not, kudos for you to stay in the right lane and not interfering with more experienced drivers. Still, I don't understand why you're so nervous about driving in the highway if you've been driving for 3 1/2 years. Less than a year after getting my license I was driving 2+ hrs straight on the interstate without giving it a second though. Less than 2 years after getting my license I drove from Boone to Charlotte in the middle of the night in a snowstorm on mostly unplowed roads. No biggie, just pay attention.

[Edited on February 22, 2012 at 8:47 AM. Reason : ^]

2/22/2012 8:46:59 AM

youre so cool.

2/22/2012 8:51:49 AM

^^ Probably because you are a native and your car is better than mine. Mine is 03 taurus.

2/22/2012 9:55:54 AM

Quote :

"WTF is the Garage coming to???"

i agree. what the fuck is this? he's been driving for 3.5 years and just now made a 2 hour trip? shit, i was 15 with a learner's permit driving to myrtle beach and back. fucking pussies these days.

:edit: i see you're asian. you're forgiven. you probably aren't accustomed to be spoiled rotten like most americans.

[Edited on February 22, 2012 at 10:28 AM. Reason : -]

2/22/2012 10:26:12 AM

Yes, I need to be more mentally tough.

2/22/2012 10:35:07 AM

i hate I-85 and i've been driving for quite some time

2/22/2012 11:23:34 AM

Yes, it's so speedy and lots of trucks.

2/22/2012 11:35:42 AM

It's a lot easier to drive if you OPEN YOUR EYES

[Edited on February 22, 2012 at 12:37 PM. Reason : .]

2/22/2012 12:37:01 PM

Quote :

"well coming from someone who rides a motorcycle for a daily driver, vehicles (most especially me) are definitely more visible at night. I understand the counter-argument but in practice you can see headlights coming around a corner a lot sooner than you can see the car itself"

+1

Driving on the highway is usually "mindless." It's the merging that gets most people, and it is a disaster when someone doesn't take advantage of the on ramp to get their vehicle to a safe speed (~65mph depending on traffic/weather/etc) and fails to merge, thus resulting in slowing down or stopping at the middle or end of the offramp. If you can't merge or are uncomfortable, go a different route. That shit is the dangerous part of highway driving IMO. Hell, I've been front-ended by a woman going reverse on a damn onramp. WTF.

2/22/2012 12:56:03 PM

^ I've done that before---reverse on an on-ramp. It's my first time trying to merge.

2/22/2012 1:47:51 PM

shoot, if you're uncomfortable driving (and especially on the interstate) I would recommend you pay money to attend a performance driving school. Or at the least just a defensive driving school.

[Edited on February 22, 2012 at 2:09 PM. Reason : there's nothing difficult about merging onto a highway]

2/22/2012 2:08:00 PM