Speed Test

Two weekends in a row I've driving to Northern California and back, spending about 16 hours on the road each trip. About half that time was spent on a 230 mile stretch of I-5 from the 5/99 junction in the south to the 580/5 split in the north. That section of road is almost chalkline straight and has a speed limit of 70, the fastest in the state.

If you drive 70 on that stretch you are a rolling roadblock.

I did a little experiment on the way home yesterday. Normally I keep the speed up along that stretch, especially if it's daylight, the road is dry, and conditions are as perfect as they were yesterday. Cruising at 80 is perfectly safe as long as you're not dodging in and out of traffic.

However, because the CHP uses radar out there you still have to be careful and it can be a little bit nervewracking to the passengers when you slam on the brakes every now and them when you spot a black-and-white. Because of the largely flat terrain I can generally spot the CHP cars a long way away, well before their radar would be of any use, but the nervous reaction is still the same.

I thought I'd try to make the trip a little calmer by slowing down a bit. I decided to try setting the cruise control at 75. They won't pinch you for 5 over the speed limit and if I saw a cop I wouldn't even bother slowing down.

Once I turned south onto the I-5 I set the cruise and stayed in the right lane. I did that for 20 miles. During that time I think I passed two trucks and was passed by probably 100 cars. It was like a parade with people flying by like I was tied to a tree. Besides watching everyone get where they were going quicker than me, we were getting our teeth rattled in the right lane. In California trucks are required to stay in the right lane unless they are passing, so consequently the right lane just gets beaten to death and is full of ruts, bumps, patches and holes. After 20 miles I had had enough.

After the first stop I kicked it back up to 80 and joined the parade in the fast lane. It's a little more hectic over there, but they can't stop us all.