I hope this is not already covered in another thread, I did a search and found nothing like this on the forums.
Describe the wrong turn that is most memorable in your driving history. While I have many, here is mine...
I was 17, and on a drive from NJ to Gallatin, TN. My passenger was a female from Gallatin, and it was my first drive on this route, which was pretty much I-78, I-81, and I-40. Everything was going well as we were southbound on 81, and left PA for WV. I knew that we were only on 81 until it hit 40, and the exit for 40 seemed to come quicker than I expected, but I headed down the ramp onto 40 Westbound. The only problem was that it was US40 West, and I turned about 400 miles too early. Back in the day (about 1976,) of course, 40 had not not become I-68, and we kept right on track (we thought) with the '66 VW Beetle for much of the afternoon completely unaware. At Grantsville, MD the highway became noticeably less modern, and I was still oblivious until I saw the most unwelcome, "Welcome to Pennsylvania!" sign. That prompted a glance at the Rand McNally, which of course was quite disturbing. We drove almost to Uniontown, PA, and headed South to WV. We ended up the days drive in Beckley, WV. The WV Turnpike was almost all 2 lane road in those days, and we had little money so we slept in the car that night. The ride down to 81 was pretty, we finally found the correct 40, and away we went...
PS Using Google maps, I now see that the total out of route for this wrong turn was only 108 miles. I am sure this was not a personal best, but the wrong turn cost also pretty much added the better part of a full day in overall travel time.
Well, in my short life as a driver (I have the driver license since November 2011) I haven't made any epic fail yet. But once coming out from Zaragoza I intentionally headed to Madrid only to clinch the Z-40/A-2 superhighway before getting on the good route back to Huesca. Widening works were about to finish, only one lane remained to open.
My dumbass stepbrother was driving from Hot Springs, AR to Posey Hollow. He was born in Hot Springs and grew up in Posey Hollow, so he has been in the area his entire life. The route is US 270 to CR 70. He ended up using his GPS and ended up on a 4 wheeler trail out in the middle of the mountains and got stuck. GPS is the devil.
I've never gone far out of the way before realizing my directions had led me astray, maybe 5 miles at most. The most memorable was when I was 18, on vacation with my family in Hudson, WI, and visiting a friend in Eau Claire. I'd never visited a friend while on a family vacation before, and this one was quite cute. So I get my family onto I-94, and a few miles later, I say, "wait, no, no, how are we entering Minnesota??" I was a little too excited to see her...
My only real epic 'wrong turn' was going from Vegas to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. And it wasn't so much a wrong turn, but me trying to avoid another National Park.
We got to a National Park I wasn't expecting along the route I had chosen. I didn't want to pay an additional fee, so I told the attendent, who said just go back to the 1st traffic light, make a left, and we could go that way.
A half-hour later, no traffic light. Not knowing how how much further I would have to double back, I decided to make another u-turn and go thru the National Park. I was not happy losing an hour of North Rim park time that day, as it was our only night at the North Rim, before spending a half-day there then heading to the South Rim.
At the time, the National Park Service's Annual Pass was $50. They did allow you to accumulate receipts, and you could pay the difference if you wanted an annual pass if you could receipts for the other parks. Eventually, at the 3rd National Park, we asked about this, was told what I just mentioned above, and we got the annual pass. We may have made use of it one other time in that year.
No epic wrong turns, but on the Honors trip to Ottawa last summer, I was part of a three car caravan heading from the science museum to a parking garage downtown. I was the last car to leave the science museum. I was also the first to arrive at the parking garage, one of two to make it to the correct parking garage, and the only one to make it there without the aid of GPS. I guess I was also the only person to verify that the driving directions we got from Google were actually accurate (they weren't; King Edward Ave is now a divided highway north of York St, which is not reflected on Google).
Had a minor one going to the Ottawa road meet, partly because the city had closed part of York St, and partly because the only reason I was over there was because my trip up took 20 minutes less than my allotted time for it.
I also seem to make a wrong turn every time I'm in Pittsburgh for some reason. I blame poor signage for US 9. These days I try to memorize street names whenever I'm going through there because the signage for the numbered routes is sparse, and in at least one case, completely wrong.
Quote from: deanej on February 17, 2013, 12:19:47 PM
I also seem to make a wrong turn every time I'm in Pittsburgh for some reason. I blame poor signage for US 9.
I suppose that's fair blame. If you're trying to follow US 9 in Pittsburgh, every turn is a wrong one. :-D
I missed a turn in Colorado back in 2007 on the way back from a football game in Laramie. Wound up going 125 miles out of the way through Rand, Granby, and Winter Park to approach Denver from the west. (I had wanted to go to Estes Park and take the scenic route, just missed a turn.)
Ms1995hoo was decidedly displeased about the whole thing..... At least the Hotel Monaco in Denver turned out to be quite nice.
Quote from: empirestate on February 17, 2013, 12:22:35 PM
Quote from: deanej on February 17, 2013, 12:19:47 PM
I also seem to make a wrong turn every time I'm in Pittsburgh for some reason. I blame poor signage for US 9.
I suppose that's fair blame. If you're trying to follow US 9 in Pittsburgh, every turn is a wrong one. :-D
And boy are there a lot of them...
US 9? It doesn't go anywhere near Pittsburg, KS! Also, learn to spell...
Damn you Chrome! That's what I get for using spell check and not really paying attention to what the suggestions are. I meant Plattsburgh.
I thought you were talking about Pittsburgh, PA and meant Route 19... :-D
QuoteMy dumbass stepbrother was driving from Hot Springs, AR to Posey Hollow. He was born in Hot Springs and grew up in Posey Hollow, so he has been in the area his entire life. The route is US 270 to CR 70. He ended up using his GPS and ended up on a 4 wheeler trail out in the middle of the mountains and got stuck. GPS is the devil.
This reminds me of an episode of the Kardashians where they supposedly got off I-75 (Alligator Alley), and drove down a dirt path because the GPS told them to do so. I immediatly thought that it was fake, and that this was done to make the show more interesting. During this senario, they supposedly ran out of gas, and had to catch a ride with local hunters and spend the night in a cabin. It seemed to be planned, but the GPS error part seems kinda plausibe after haring this and other stories.
Can't really remember making a really bad wrong turn, but I did intentionally cause my mom to make a wrong turn when we were on a family vacation when I was a kid. I wanted to go across the Okracoke-Cedar Island ferry on our way to the Outer Banks. My dad had gone to sleep and mom was doing the driving, so I had my chance. At the time, I-40 ended at Greensboro and you had to take I-85 to the Raleigh-Durham area and then either US 64 or US 70. I was a crackshot navigator even back then so I steered my mom onto US 70. Dad didn't get too mad when he woke up; he had a big of roadgeek in him and I think that's where I got some of my interest from. (This is the man who, when we vacationed in Florida one year, opted to come home up US 25 from SE Georgia just for the heck of it).\
In a similar vein to hbelkins, when I was 17 we were in the car en route to New Hampshire for a family vacation. Somewhere in Connecticut my dad got tired and asked me to drive; both he and my mom then dozed off. My brother and I promptly decided we wanted to go to LL Bean, so instead of driving to New Hampshire I drove to Freeport, Maine.
Unless your car is also a boat, you probably still went through NH to get to ME.
Quote from: deanej on February 18, 2013, 11:14:15 AM
Unless your car is also a goat, you probably didn't go through Alanland to get to ME.
Quote from: deanej on February 18, 2013, 11:14:15 AM
Unless your car is also a boat, you probably still went through NH to get to ME.
Smartarse! You know what I meant.
There was one occasion, two or three years ago, when Google Maps routed us through what ended up being a small low-maintenance road through Parc des Monts-Valin instead of Route Martel, in the middle of the winter while heading up to Le Valinouët, a ski area north of Saint-David-de-Falardeau. On many occasions, we thought we'd get stuck. And there was no cellphone reception whatsoever. Thankfully, we made it.
The worst wrong turn I remember making isn't all that epic. It involved the Baltimore Beltway. It was shortly after I had gotten my driver's license, and my dad let me drive. Before we left, we printed directions to the place in Baltimore we were going to (it was near the Inner Harbor). As it turned out, the directions said to take the Outer Loop... but when you approach I-695 from I-70, the directions on the signs read North and South. Not knowing at short notice which direction was outer, I ended up going north. We got to I-795 before realizing what had gone wrong. So we flagged down a local and asked her how to get where we were going. She decided to lead us there, running red lights (luckily this was before Baltimore installed red light cameras) and blaring her horn the whole way. That was an interesting experience...
As for wrong turns made by people I was traveling with, there was the time I was going to Canada with my dad and some other relatives. Dad was driving the car I was in, and my cousin was driving another car. My cousin was annoyed that my dad was (in his opinion) driving too slow, so he went ahead of my dad. We were on the QEW near Toronto when the cousin says over the CB radio that he thinks he's lost. Just then we see him passing by, going the other direction. We never did figure out how he got turned around. That same trip, he also got a ticket for going 100 mph in a 100 km/h zone...
Not exactly a wrong TURN per se, but:
Our college chamber choir was on tour in England, and we left Heathrow in a caravan of two rental cars and a small bus. Our car was in the rear, and when we got to the first roundabout, we were blocked from view by a truck, so we took a second trip around the roundabout until we caught sight of the bus having already exited. We followed along for another hour or so until the bus stopped near Swindon...and it was the wrong bus.
This was before cell phones were commonplace, let alone GPS, Google maps, etc. All we had was the address of our first concert in Cambridge the next day - no lodging info or meet-up point. We procured a fold-out map and made our way to Cambridge, where we managed to run into several of our group that evening in a pub.
Quote from: algorerhythms on February 18, 2013, 08:22:25 PMAs for wrong turns made by people I was traveling with, there was the time I was going to Canada with my dad and some other relatives. Dad was driving the car I was in, and my cousin was driving another car. My cousin was annoyed that my dad was (in his opinion) driving too slow, so he went ahead of my dad. We were on the QEW near Toronto when the cousin says over the CB radio that he thinks he's lost. Just then we see him passing by, going the other direction. We never did figure out how he got turned around. That same trip, he also got a ticket for going 100 mph in a 100 km/h zone...
Only someone who doesn't know about metric would do 161 km/h in a 63 mph zone, and I knew it would happen :-D.
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on February 19, 2013, 03:22:46 PM
Quote from: algorerhythms on February 18, 2013, 08:22:25 PMAs for wrong turns made by people I was traveling with, there was the time I was going to Canada with my dad and some other relatives. Dad was driving the car I was in, and my cousin was driving another car. My cousin was annoyed that my dad was (in his opinion) driving too slow, so he went ahead of my dad. We were on the QEW near Toronto when the cousin says over the CB radio that he thinks he's lost. Just then we see him passing by, going the other direction. We never did figure out how he got turned around. That same trip, he also got a ticket for going 100 mph in a 100 km/h zone...
Only someone who doesn't know about metric would do 161 km/h in a 63 mph zone, and I knew it would happen :-D.
He never said the guy was speeding by
mistake... :)
But, seriously, you don't have to know about metric to know not to drive 30+ mph faster than everyone else.
In my experience, in most of the provinces of Eastern Canada (where most of the citizens live,) I believe 100MPH (160KPH) would likely result in a bit more than a ticket...
Quote from: djsinco on February 19, 2013, 03:41:17 PM
In my experience, in most of Canada, I believe 100MPH (160KPH) would likely result in a bit more than a ticket...
Acutally, most of Canada is "northern" Canada, where 100 mph doesn't seem totally unreasonable...
Quote from: kphoger on February 19, 2013, 03:43:26 PM
Quote from: djsinco on February 19, 2013, 03:41:17 PM
In my experience, in most of Canada, I believe 100MPH (160KPH) would likely result in a bit more than a ticket...
Acutally, most of Canada is "northern" Canada, where 100 mph doesn't seem totally unreasonable...
Corrected, point taken! Cheers!
Quote from: kphoger on February 19, 2013, 03:43:26 PM
Quote from: djsinco on February 19, 2013, 03:41:17 PM
In my experience, in most of Canada, I believe 100MPH (160KPH) would likely result in a bit more than a ticket...
Acutally, most of Canada is "northern" Canada, where 100 mph doesn't seem totally unreasonable...
... nor is there anyone to drive faster than!
Deliberate by me, but after a holiday in France when I was about 11, my parents asked me for directions here (http://goo.gl/maps/Z1PyG) (note that the signage was better, though still had the misleading M27 (E) that carried over onto this - if it said A27, my parent's wouldn't have needed it). I said that "we want London, don't we", knowing full well that that would take us on the A3, not the faster (though not by much if it wasn't the case that Hindhead snarled up something rotten) M3. They didn't realize until they said "that was quick to get on the M3" when I owned up. They weren't happy. Liss Roundabout cued up some more rants and Hindhead (then unbypassed) drew a long telling off - "you assured us a few minutes ago that there were no more roundabouts - you didn't tell us about the bit through a village!".
Still, I clinched the A3 between M25 and M27 - I would (still) only have the A3(M) and a tiny little bit north of there otherwise!
Quote from: english si on February 19, 2013, 04:09:12 PM
Deliberate by me, but after a holiday in France when I was about 11, my parents asked me for directions here (http://goo.gl/maps/Z1PyG) (note that the signage was better, though still had the misleading M27 (E) that carried over onto this - if it said A27, my parent's wouldn't have needed it). I said that "we want London, don't we", knowing full well that that would take us on the A3, not the faster (though not by much if it wasn't the case that Hindhead snarled up something rotten) M3. They didn't realize until they said "that was quick to get on the M3" when I owned up. They weren't happy. Liss Roundabout cued up some more rants and Hindhead (then unbypassed) drew a long telling off - "you assured us a few minutes ago that there were no more roundabouts - you didn't tell us about the bit through a village!".
Still, I clinched the A3 between M25 and M27 - I would (still) only have the A3(M) and a tiny little bit north of there otherwise!
I love how your parents were upset about directions they had solicited from an eleven-year-old. I guess, if you don't like the answer, don't ask the question.
Quote from: djsinco on February 19, 2013, 03:41:17 PM
In my experience, in most of the provinces of Eastern Canada (where most of the citizens live,) I believe 100MPH (160KPH) would likely result in a bit more than a ticket...
In Ontario, $2,000 and you'll lose your car for at least a week, and your license for much longer than that, I think.
Quote from: Dr Frankenstein on February 19, 2013, 05:12:27 PM
Quote from: djsinco on February 19, 2013, 03:41:17 PM
In my experience, in most of the provinces of Eastern Canada (where most of the citizens live,) I believe 100MPH (160KPH) would likely result in a bit more than a ticket...
In Ontario, $2,000 and you'll lose your car for at least a week, and your license for much longer than that, I think.
All of which I consider a reasonable response to an unreasonable action.
Quote from: djsinco on February 19, 2013, 06:39:21 PM
All of which I consider a reasonable response to an unreasonable action.
"unreasonable" is a matter of context. on the 401 in downtown Toronto, 100mph is silly. out in the open without another car for miles, if one has good visibility and conditions, 100 is fine.
Quote from: djsinco on February 19, 2013, 06:39:21 PM
Quote from: Dr Frankenstein on February 19, 2013, 05:12:27 PM
Quote from: djsinco on February 19, 2013, 03:41:17 PM
In my experience, in most of the provinces of Eastern Canada (where most of the citizens live,) I believe 100MPH (160KPH) would likely result in a bit more than a ticket...
In Ontario, $2,000 and you'll lose your car for at least a week, and your license for much longer than that, I think.
All of which I consider a reasonable response to an unreasonable action.
Define "unreasonable". There is, no point, IMHO to enforcing a speed limit on a freeway. Who the heck should really care about the guy going 100 mph? That's his business as long as he doesn't hit anyone/anything. I find the slowpokes to be more of a bother on the freeway than the speed demons. The slowpokes are usually not paying attention to the road and busy with their phones, newspapers, cosmetics, food, drink, etc.
Define "unreasonable". There is, no point, IMHO to enforcing a speed limit on a freeway. Who the heck should really care about the guy going 100 mph? That's his business as long as he doesn't hit anyone/anything. I find the slowpokes to be more of a bother on the freeway than the speed demons. The slowpokes are usually not paying attention to the road and busy with their phones, newspapers, cosmetics, food, drink, etc.
[/quote]
Unreasonable speed could have many components. Heavy traffic, poor pavement condition, poor weather, less experienced drivers, not to mention lots of the "speed demons" I see on the urban freeways in Denver are driving poorly customized junkers that often likely have poor tires and/or brakes.
Do not make the mistake of thinking I am above or against driving 100+ MPH when the vehicle, driver, and road are all good. I do it all the time on I-76 between Brighton and the NE state line. I have driven the Autobahns in Germany, and found that despite what I had always heard, people didn't drive much better on average over there, just faster. Plenty of slowpokes in the fast lane, turn signals being employed DURING, but not before, the lane change. I feel safe as can be as long as I am the only one on the road. In about 3 million miles of driving I have seen way too many idiots driving too fast, when they likely shouldn't even have a license.
there are speed demons who are idiots too. had someone in a Mustang buzz past me doing 130 in fairly heavy traffic, and immediately change three lanes over, taking the exit and nearly hitting the gore sign. no idea if he successfully came to a stop at the end of the off-ramp or not, but he came within about four feet of me as he changed lanes.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 19, 2013, 08:29:01 PM
there are speed demons who are idiots too. had someone in a Mustang buzz past me doing 130 in fairly heavy traffic, and immediately change three lanes over, taking the exit and nearly hitting the gore sign. no idea if he successfully came to a stop at the end of the off-ramp or not, but he came within about four feet of me as he changed lanes.
The Darwin principle at work, population control, survival of the fittest. The problem is the collateral damage they cause...
Getting back to wrong turns...
Probably the worst I've made was getting off the PA Turnpike in Carlisle on US11 toward I-81. I was heading to the Allentown area, and wound up getting on SB by mistake late at night. I didn't realize it until I passed an exit down near Chambersburg and had to turn around.
I do go purposefully out of route many many times just to see a new road. So, sometimes with the Wife I 'pretend' to go the wrong way. Although now she just knows I'm going to go whatever way I feel like taking and it's never 'the wrong way'. Just the 'long way'.
In my 35+ years of driving, I can honestly say I've made a wrong turn that I couldn't immediately correct (I define "immediately correct" as being able to either go around the block or take an adjacent street or streets to get back on course) exactly twice. While neither would qualify as epic, it's interesting that both errors involved toll roads.
The first time was in 1999, when I was coming back from a trip to Altoona, PA (one of my favorite places to railfan). Had gotten off I-84 in Newburgh, NY at the NY 17K exit to get something to eat. After discovering the local restaurant I had dined at for several years (can't recall the name right now) had closed, I took 17K east down to the Thruway/I-84 interchange instead of backtracking west to I-84. Ended up entering the Thruway ramp instead of I-84. Realized my mistake instantly with "(Expletive)!!! I'm entering the Thruway."
Well, I immediately had my backup plan ready (Thruway north to Berkshire Extension east), but decided to play "Mickey the Dunce". As the toll collector (an attractive mid-20s-ish female) handed me the ticket, I said to her "Excuse me. How do I get to Interstate 84?"
The collector replied "Well sir, you have two options here. You can get on the Thruway south and take it to 684, and then take 684 north back and join 84 in Brewster. Or, you see those cones 200 feet ahead with the gap between them? I can stamp your ticket "U Turn Approved", you can turn around there, and 84 will be your first right after exiting the booth on the other side."
Obviously, my choice was for the latter option. As the collector handed me the ticket, she stated "Be careful turning around, and have a nice day."
The second time was in 2002, when on the first day of a trip to Greensboro, North Carolina, I was going from the GSP south to the New Jersey Turnpike south. Entered the toll plaza from the exact opposite end of where I needed to be to line up with the southbound ramp (without crossing all umpteem lanes on the exit side of the plaza to do so), and didn't realize my mistake until I was passing under the BGS for the northbound ramp (I can still remember my reaction as "(expletive)!! That sign said North, didn't it!"). Got off at the next exit north, turned around in a parking lot across from the exit ramp, and got on southbound.
edited by RM 3/11 to correct timeline - blame it on STSF (shouldn't type so fast)
Quote from: roadman on March 11, 2013, 07:12:16 PM
In my 35+ years of driving, I can honestly say I've made a wrong turn that I couldn't immediately correct (I define "immediately correct" as being able to either go around the block or take an adjacent street or streets to get back on course) exactly twice. While neither would qualify as epic, it's interesting that both errors involved toll roads.
The first time was in 1999, when I was coming back from a trip to Altoona, PA (one of my favorite places to railfan). Had gotten off I-84 in Newburgh, NY at the NY 17K exit to get something to eat. After discovering the local restaurant I had dined at for several years (can't recall the name right now) had closed, I took 17K east down to the Thruway/I-84 interchange instead of backtracking west to I-84. Ended up entering the Thruway ramp instead of I-84. Realized my mistake instantly with "(Expletive)!!! I'm entering the Thruway."
Well, I immediately had my backup plan ready (Thruway north to Berkshire Extension east), but decided to play "Mickey the Dunce". As the toll collector (an attractive mid-20s-ish female) handed me the ticket, I said to her "Excuse me. How do I get to Interstate 84?"
The collector replied "Well sir, you have two options here. You can get on the Thruway south and take it to 687, and then take 687 north back and join 84 in Brewster. Or, you see those cones 200 feet ahead with the gap between them? I can stamp your ticket "U Turn Approved", you can turn around there, and 84 will be your first right after exiting the booth on the other side."
Obviously, my choice was for the latter option. As the collector handed me the ticket, she stated "Be careful turning around, and have a nice day."
The second time was in 2002, when on the first day of a trip to Greensboro, North Carolina, I was going from the GSP south to the New Jersey Turnpike south. Entered the toll plaza from the exact opposite end of where I needed to be to line up with the southbound ramp (without crossing all umpteem lanes on the exit side of the plaza to do so), and didn't realize my mistake until I was passing under the BGS for the northbound ramp (I can still remember my reaction as "(expletive)!! That sign said North, didn't it!"). Got off at the next exit north, turned around in a parking lot across from the exit ramp, and got on southbound.
edited by RM 3/11 to correct timeline - blame it on STSF (shouldn't type so fast)
Sounds like you are referring to the Stewart Airport Diner. Moon craters in the parking lot and a well-run Greek family diner inside.
@ djsinco
Good guess, but not correct. I've eaten at the Stewart Airport Diner, but not on that particular trip. The restaurant in question (still can't remember the name) had been converted into a Chinese place that was only open in the evenings. As it was about 1:30 pm when I rolled through that Sunday, that didn't do me much good.
Quote from: roadman on March 15, 2013, 02:34:38 PM
@ djsinco
Good guess, but not correct. I've eaten at the Stewart Airport Diner, but not on that particular trip. The restaurant in question (still can't remember the name) had been converted into a Chinese place that was only open in the evenings. As it was about 1:30 pm when I rolled through that Sunday, that didn't do me much good.
So, this eatery was on 17K south of 84 and west of 87?
My worst so far was when I was getting onto Florida's Turnpike from FL 70. I drove through the ramp's toll plaza, paid with SunPass, but could not get over to access the northbound on-ramp, so I was forced onto the southbound on-ramp. Luckily the service plaza was only about 8 or 9 miles away, so I made a U-turn there and got back on going north. It wasn't that bad, but when you're driving 70+ in the completely opposite direction than where your destination is, it can make it seem like forever.
I was talking to my father this weekend and he reminded me of a wrong turn on a Boy Scout trip back in the 1980s. (I wondered how he remembered this; he said he was going through an old photo album and saw some pictures from the trip.) I wasn't driving; even if I'd had my license yet, the adult leaders in our troop wouldn't allow the Scouts to drive. We were headed up to Pennsylvania for a weekend camping trip somewhere off the Northeast Extension. This was well before I-476 connected through and so we went up to Wilmington and then took US-202. The person leading the way was another kid's mother who had grown up in that part of Pennsylvania and claimed she knew the way.....well, when we entered the Pennsylvania Turnpike system at the interchange near King of Prussia and Valley Forge where I-76 joins/leaves the Turnpike, for whatever reason she led us all WEST. The next exit was at least 20 miles to the west. I quickly realized this couldn't be right and so, in those days prior to widespread use of mobile phones, my father had to find a way to get everyone else's attention to get them to take the next exit, regroup, turn around, and drive back.
In the end it was only about 40 or so miles out of the way, but it becomes much more of a chore to deal with that sort of thing when you have a caravan of eight or ten cars and the drivers are distracted between the road and yelling at the misbehaving (and bored) Boy Scouts trying to get them to stop horsing around.
Quote from: Ace10 on March 19, 2013, 11:06:03 PM
My worst so far was when I was getting onto Florida's Turnpike from FL 70. I drove through the ramp's toll plaza, paid with SunPass, but could not get over to access the northbound on-ramp, so I was forced onto the southbound on-ramp. Luckily the service plaza was only about 8 or 9 miles away, so I made a U-turn there and got back on going north. It wasn't that bad, but when you're driving 70+ in the completely opposite direction than where your destination is, it can make it seem like forever.
I do this whenever entering the Palisades Pkwy. from US 6.
I don't think I've ever been that lost before where I've taken a wrong turn and not realized it immediately after.
But when I was about 9 years old, my dad was driving up NH 16 from the Seacoast towards Mount Washington. He took the turn to stay on NH 16 north of North Conway, despite insisting that there was no way he would ever drive up the mountain and wanted to take the Cog Railway. Well, we get to the Auto Road and he looks at a map and realizes he's on the wrong side of the mountain, doh! So he goes inside to ask for directions, and of course they convince him not to spend "hours" driving all the way around, but instead to ride up in one of their "stagecoaches" (basically a van). So we did. Then 22 years later, I finally got to ride up the Cog Railway on my own!
Quote from: Ace10 on March 19, 2013, 11:06:03 PM
My worst so far was when I was getting onto Florida's Turnpike from FL 70. I drove through the ramp's toll plaza, paid with SunPass, but could not get over to access the northbound on-ramp, so I was forced onto the southbound on-ramp. Luckily the service plaza was only about 8 or 9 miles away, so I made a U-turn there and got back on going north. It wasn't that bad, but when you're driving 70+ in the completely opposite direction than where your destination is, it can make it seem like forever.
You used to not be able to do U-turns at service plazas on Florida's Turnpike, unless you drove through a service bay door. With the lack of exits, some U-turns or sort of intermediate exit are sorely needed though.
When I was in middle school, we took a family trip to Virginia Beach. On the way home, we decided to take the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. All morning I was excited about going to the gift shop that's there on one of the islands. My older brother was driving, and because he didn't want to stop, he passed the gift shop...and I started crying. My parents asked him to turn around, but then we all realized that there was nowhere to turn around...I cried the entire 20 miles...and my parents made him turn around and drive all the way back. I still have the postcards, but the t-shirt stopped fitting a long time ago.
So that's 40 miles out of the way. And yes, I admit that I was being a total crybaby over the whole gift shop thing, lol.
My personal most epic getting lost was going the wrong way on I-295 in Richmond. I drove the entire length to Petersburg before I realized my mistake. Again, not super far out of the way.
Quote from: Laura Bianca on October 03, 2013, 08:34:58 PMgoing the wrong way on I-295 in Richmond.
upon first reading, this actually sounds a lot more epic - and harrowing - than a rereading clarifies.
I've taken an incorrect carriageway once in my life. it was at 2am on an near-abandoned split arterial with a landscaped median, in an industrial quarter of San Francisco. I made a shallow left turn instead of the correct wide left onto the road. realized my mistake within ~200 feet, and got into the correct lanes at a crossover.
so that's a very non-epic wrong turn that got me on the wrong side of the road.
In 2006, some colleagues from work and I went to Phoenix for a convention. We had a road atlas, but no GPS or smartphones - not that we thought we needed them. A mutual friend had recently moved to Phoenix, so we arranged to meet for dinner one night. The directions began with getting on AZ 202. We had seen a sign for 202 on I-10 as we drove in, so - great. Well, we drove forever and none of the subsequent landmarks ever came up. It took forever to figure out that the friend's directions were for the northern loop (also called the Red Mountain freeway), but that we travelers were on the newly opened southern loop (also called the Santan freeway). (Our friend - not a road geek - had no idea that the southern freeway was open.) So, our plans for dinner at 6pm became dinner at about 9pm. Somehow, it was all my fault....
Quote from: Road Hog on March 25, 2013, 05:23:48 PM
You used to not be able to do U-turns at service plazas on Florida's Turnpike, unless you drove through a service bay door. With the lack of exits, some U-turns or sort of intermediate exit are sorely needed though.
Ugh, Florida's Turnpike. My mom had the opposite problem when I was too young to remember many of the details - she couldn't find a way to
enter it.
I went on a band trip to Cedar Point as a high school freshman, coming from the west, when our charter bus exited the Ohio Turnpike at OH 51 (exit 81) instead of OH 53 (exit 91). So, back to Toledo we went before heading east again! It was only a 25 mile detour, but of course it felt longer, and it's really baffling that a professional company would make that mistake.
Then there was my willful act of ignorance. In 2007, I drove from college to Mt. Arvon, Michigan's highest point, by myself. Mt. Arvon is in the Huron Mountains, an area about the size of Rhode Island without a single through paved road. The official marked route involves swinging far to the north on the paved part of Skanee Road, then heading due south on logging roads to the summit. That was the route I took to get there.
However, I noticed that part of the route followed a posted snowmobile trail, one that I'd seen signs for in L'Anse and would have been much more direct. Without a map or GPS, in an area with weak phone reception, I decided to take it west. It went okay until I got to a 4-way intersection (unmarked, absolutely no roads are marked once you leave the pavement) and saw that ahead, the trail was too overgrown to take a sedan through. I arbitrarily took a left and tried to follow the most traveled road at each fork. Some of them were pure guesses. I worried about how if the road forced me east, I'd be in 4x4 only territory, and if it forced me south, it was a long way to Michigamme with no guarantee of being passable. Finally, after 45 minutes, I reached pavement by sheer dumb luck... and came within inches of hitting a deer about a mile later. I was never happier to reach US 41 after that.
That could have easily resulted in a really bad situation. Crazy thing to do.
Quote from: getemngo on October 04, 2013, 04:02:20 AM
Quote from: Road Hog on March 25, 2013, 05:23:48 PM
You used to not be able to do U-turns at service plazas on Florida's Turnpike, unless you drove through a service bay door. With the lack of exits, some U-turns or sort of intermediate exit are sorely needed though.
Ugh, Florida's Turnpike. My mom had the opposite problem when I was too young to remember many of the details - she couldn't find a way to enter it.
I went on a band trip to Cedar Point as a high school freshman, coming from the west, when our charter bus exited the Ohio Turnpike at OH 51 (exit 81) instead of OH 53 (exit 91). So, back to Toledo we went before heading east again! It was only a 25 mile detour, but of course it felt longer, and it's really baffling that a professional company would make that mistake.
I'm surprised they wanted to use O-53. We usually go over to US-250 (Exit 118, Old Exit 7) to get to CP.
QuoteThen there was my willful act of ignorance. In 2007, I drove from college to Mt. Arvon, Michigan's highest point, by myself. Mt. Arvon is in the Huron Mountains, an area about the size of Rhode Island without a single through paved road. The official marked route involves swinging far to the north on the paved part of Skanee Road, then heading due south on logging roads to the summit. That was the route I took to get there.
However, I noticed that part of the route followed a posted snowmobile trail, one that I'd seen signs for in L'Anse and would have been much more direct. Without a map or GPS, in an area with weak phone reception, I decided to take it west. It went okay until I got to a 4-way intersection (unmarked, absolutely no roads are marked once you leave the pavement) and saw that ahead, the trail was too overgrown to take a sedan through. I arbitrarily took a left and tried to follow the most traveled road at each fork. Some of them were pure guesses. I worried about how if the road forced me east, I'd be in 4x4 only territory, and if it forced me south, it was a long way to Michigamme with no guarantee of being passable. Finally, after 45 minutes, I reached pavement by sheer dumb luck... and came within inches of hitting a deer about a mile later. I was never happier to reach US 41 after that.
Heh. We've taken university (MTU) 15-passenger vans back there. There's no signage once one leaves Skanee Road, even at the end of Skanee Road before Big Eric's Crossing. Although, Big Eric's Crossing is a nice place to visit if you can remember how to get back there. We even went east of there along logging trails to a few of the mountain tops for geology field trips.
If you don't know the back roads of the UP well or have a detailed map, it can be a right royal pain in the ass to figure out how to get around. Shoot, even in 1997 H-58 was dirt and barely signed. It took careful map reading to find the road to the Miner's Castle in Picture Rocks NL.
Quote from: Scott5114 on October 04, 2013, 05:15:22 AM
That could have easily resulted in a really bad situation. Crazy thing to do.
Yes. Yes it was. Here's a story (http://blog.jacobemerick.com/hiking/lost-in-the-herman-nestoria-swamp/) about getting lost hiking about 10 miles from where I was. But now I always know where I'm going beforehand, and the worst that ever happens is I get stuck in snow on a seasonal road. (And that
has happened more than once.)
Quote from: Brandon on October 04, 2013, 11:12:00 AM
I'm surprised they wanted to use O-53. We usually go over to US-250 (Exit 118, Old Exit 7) to get to CP.
Yeah, the bus company was weird. I can remember in a later year exiting the turnpike at OH 4, then going east on OH 2 to US 250.
QuoteHeh. We've taken university (MTU) 15-passenger vans back there. There's no signage once one leaves Skanee Road, even at the end of Skanee Road before Big Eric's Crossing. Although, Big Eric's Crossing is a nice place to visit if you can remember how to get back there. We even went east of there along logging trails to a few of the mountain tops for geology field trips.
If you don't know the back roads of the UP well or have a detailed map, it can be a right royal pain in the ass to figure out how to get around. Shoot, even in 1997 H-58 was dirt and barely signed. It took careful map reading to find the road to the Miner's Castle in Picture Rocks NL.
From what little I've seen past the end of Skanee Road, there's a few handmade signs pointing the way to Big Bay. :-D Dunno if you've ever been to Mt. Arvon, but there's now blue blazers and the occasional sign taking you the whole way. There's even a 3-way stop a couple miles from the top, and since my last visit, they've cleared some trees to provide a view.
If I host a meet exploring old (proposed) M-35, we'll drive across all this. I already have turn-by-turn directions across the whole thing.
I've made a few minor wrong turns due to poor signage, but nothing major that I couldn't correct quickly.
Most recently was when I was traveling north on I-95 in Delaware and wanted to exit so I could take US 301 south to clinch it in Maryland. I figured that there would be a sign directing travelers to US 301 despite the fact that it ends at US 40 and doesn't go all the way to I-95. And I had forgotten that it was DE 296 that led to US 301. Not until I started seeing mileage signs for DE 1 & 7, I-295 & 495 and the Del Mem Br did I realize I'd passed by the exit because there was no signage for US 301. I turned around at the mall and headed back south, noting that unlike on the northbound side of I-95, there is a "To US 301" sign on the southbound side.
As part of my trip to my accommodations for the night after a certain wedding in Bel Air, MD, in August, I found myself driving north into PA on PA 74, with the intention that I would then make a right on PA 372 to head east towards Chester County. I of course had never driven this route before (or else, why would I be driving it then? :P), and I didn't really have a good concept of how far into PA I had to go before I hit PA 372.
Well, it was after dark, the junction is in a rural area with no lights, and is poorly signed - there is no "JCT" assembly, just a "EAST PA 372 -->" sign at the intersection itself. Blink and you'll miss it. Yep, I missed it.
I made it all the way to Red Lion before I said to myself "hold on, just how far is it to this turn I'm supposed to make?". I then pulled over, fired up the maps app on my phone, and discovered that I had passed the turn I wanted 16 miles ago. Oops! That mistake cost me a good half hour between overshooting and then backtracking.
My EPIC wrong turn actually happened on a bike (as in bicycle) while in New Brunswick (Canada) back in the summer of 1981 (I was 15 at the time).
On Day Two of the week-long bike trip through New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island near Moncton; one of the bikers had relatives (aunt & uncle) that lived nearby that invited us to stop by for lunch since it was raining off-and-on.
Somehow another biker & I got separted from rest of the group and turn NORTH on NB 126 and went nearly 15 to 20 miles looking for the other biker's relative's house (he stated that it was on NB 126) in the rain.
Realizing that we may have made a mistake, both of us turned back. Along the way, we saw one of the supervisors of the trip approached us and directed us back. It turned out that the house was only about a mile SOUTH of NB 126 intersection/interchange with TC 2.
Quote from: getemngo on October 04, 2013, 04:02:20 AMit's really baffling that a professional company would make that mistake.
I was on a Greyhound from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh once, and the driver just took I-376 around to I-279 and was full steam towards Erie, at which point I felt it would be prudent to ask him what exactly he was doing. He had no idea where he was going. Literally none. I directed him to the Greyhound station in Pittsburgh, and have ever since avoided riding Greyhound except for in desperate circumstances.
And of course, one of the only times I have traveled with Greyhound since then, from Washington to Pittsburgh, the bus was supposed to stop in Baltimore but the driver inexplicably went to.....Silver Spring, instead, at which point we had to turn around and cut back over to Baltimore, adding about an hour to the length of the trip.
I can't even fathom how a professional bus driver would blatantly not even know his or her own route.
Those Greyhound bus drivers don't seem to understand that buses are prohibited from the left lane of NJ Highways as well. They don't know the route, nor do they know the laws of the states they drive in either.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on October 08, 2013, 12:11:12 PM
Those Greyhound bus drivers don't seem to understand that buses are prohibited from the left lane of NJ Highways as well. They don't know the route, nor do they know the laws of the states they drive in either.
Professional bus drivers not knowing the route? That would be like a computer repairman not knowing how to use a mouse or a carpenter not knowing how to use a hammer! :pan:
Quote from: hm insulators on October 08, 2013, 02:22:48 PMa computer repairman not knowing how to use a mouse
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mfauscette.com%2Fstar_trek_4_apple_mac_plus1.jpg&hash=aed1099bc3a5db1ee2adbf4d3298f8f731755457)
Driving from Columbus to Bellevue for work once, I was on I-71 north, intending to take US 36 west to meet US 23 at Delaware. Well, I also go to Mansfield for work frequently, so I zoned out and missed the exit. 10 miles later is the exit for OH 61. I decided to try a new route to Bellevue from there, and it turned out not to take any extra time. That's now my preferred route, if I'm not starting on the west side of Columbus.
Another time I was driving to Bellevue, I missed the OH 61 exit, again because I was used to staying on I-71 for Mansfield. 9 more miles down the road, and I caught OH 95 back to OH 61 at Mt Gilead. Again, it turned out not to delay me noticeably.
One day going to Bellevue, I was particularly distracted from navigation by the construction projects that have started to widen I-71. I missed OH 61, and then I missed OH 95. Of course I realized my mistake shortly thereafter, but it's another 15 miles to the next exit. After a quick consultation of the map, I figured out how to make OH 97 work for me, arriving at Bellevue with only minimal delay.
Trying to drive home from a city park 2 blocks from his grandchildren's house in Dallas, William Gomez and his grandchildren ended up in Wisconsin.
http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/denton/Carrollton-police-issue-alert-for-missing-man-grandchildren-225748551.html
It reminds me of that Belgian woman who wanted to go to a railway station not far from her house and ended in Croatia.
Quote from: HandsomeRob on October 10, 2013, 12:44:05 PM
Trying to drive home from a city park 2 blocks from his grandchildren's house in Dallas, William Gomez and his grandchildren ended up in Wisconsin.
http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/denton/Carrollton-police-issue-alert-for-missing-man-grandchildren-225748551.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_%28Fastball_song%29
I don't think I've taken any wrong turns that could be considered "epic". On my ill-fated trip from Norfolk to West Monroe last month, I was forced onto I-285 in the wrong direction, getting stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic until I could get off at an exit and make a turnaround. I think that's pretty much it.
Quote from: HandsomeRob on October 10, 2013, 12:44:05 PM
Trying to drive home from a city park 2 blocks from his grandchildren's house in Dallas, William Gomez and his grandchildren ended up in Wisconsin.
http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/denton/Carrollton-police-issue-alert-for-missing-man-grandchildren-225748551.html
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on October 12, 2013, 12:01:47 PM
It reminds me of that Belgian woman who wanted to go to a railway station not far from her house and ended in Croatia.
How the hell can you get so ludicrously lost? Wouldn't the simple fact that the trip is taking a hell of a lot longer than it should be a major fucking tip off?
On a similar note, when I first moved to the Washington area, I dropped off my family at 14th just south of Independence near the Holocaust Musuem.
I wanted to then circle the block and look for some street parking, so I stayed in the right lane. Unfortunately, 14th Street becomes an expressway at the next block and leads to the bridge to Virginia. I had to go all the way into Virginia to turn around.
I got utterly turned around in Edinburgh trying to find the car park the hotel's website said to use. Problem was, the website didn't say where the car park was and there were no signs. I found the hotel easily enough, but I must have gone around the block, and around associated other roads in the area, at least six times, including driving down a "buses-only" portion of Princes Street at one point. I finally came to my senses and parked in the short-stay car park at Waverly Station (located across the street from the hotel) and then walked over to the hotel, checked in, and asked for directions to the car park; I then retrieved the car and went and parked it in the recommended place. When I think of that I still wonder why it took me so long to realize I should do it that way. DUH!!!! :pan:
Quote from: Brandon on October 15, 2013, 09:49:12 AM
How the hell can you get so ludicrously lost? Wouldn't the simple fact that the trip is taking a hell of a lot longer than it should be a major fucking tip off?
Often, it's because they know they are lost and are trying to correct themselves...unsuccessfully.
I had a roommate who made a pretty epic wrong turn once. She was from Northern VA and was taking the GRE at a high school in a neighboring suburb while she was home on break. She was pretty terrible at directions, so her father tried to simplify it for her by giving her easy directions that would only require her to make three turns. The key was that she needed to go out of the back entrance of the school.
That day, she went out the side entrance instead. What should have been a 30 minute drive turned into 5 hours because she was too embarrassed to admit that she screwed up, so she kept trying to correct herself, thinking that she would eventually get home...she kept driving in circles. She eventually stumbled upon a road she knew and did get herself home.
I have missed getting off at my exit on the Interstate (going home!!) twice.
Both times it was after dark, and I was also listening to Raw Dog on Sirius.
Now I listen to 70s, LOL!
I once had an afternoon in Las Vegas with nothing to do so I thought I'd explore a little. I turned down a rural road about fifty miles past Hoover Dam on US 93. I thought the road might cross the Colorado River into Nevada, since the name of the road referenced the town on the Nevada side. That wasn't the only mistake - I'd also seriously misjudged the scale on the Rand McNally.
After about twenty miles I wound up crossing into Lake Mead NRA (for Lake Mohave, the lake below Hoover Dam) right when it got dark. The sign said "Stay on the roads" and at that point the road I was on went from semi-paved to dirt. I got stuck at one point, and then went in circles trying to find the way back out. The smart thing to do then would have been to turn off the ignition and wait the night to see my way back out. Instead I kept going in circles and mistook a path for a wash, plowing my car into it, with one wheel in the air. I got out of the car (without leaving the headlights on)figuring I'd entered a national park on a public road and there ought to be a pay phone close by. I wound up spending a night and a day going in a big circle on foot. I was dressed for the day in Las Vegas, and in February in the Southwest it does get cold at night. I had no food, and didn't have my knife on me, and didn't think to take the tire iron out of the car to cut open one of the many barrel cacti in the area.
Around sunset on the second day I found the road I'd come in on, and started walking the twenty miles east back to US 93 and (relative) civilization. Not long after sunrise I found a trailer a few miles west of 93 that was inhabited. The Good Samaritans there took me in. ("Sip the Gatorade! Don't try to gulp or you'll throw up!") They found my car and towed it in (I'd put a piston through a valve). I spent that day there resting, and they washed my clothes (giving me a T-shirt to replace the one I'd shredded), fed me, and let me sleep on the couch that night. When I couldn't get a rental car they even gave me a ride back to Las Vegas.
Quote from: Laura Bianca on November 02, 2013, 10:03:43 PM
...The key was that she needed to go out of the back entrance of the school.
That day, she went out the side entrance instead....
I had a friend from Delaware that did something similiar - he needed to get from my house back to my then girlfriend's/future wife's house to pick up his then girlfriend/future wife (both our houses were in NJ). I wrote down step by step instructions. He followed the step by step instructions. Except - I expected him to go one direction from my house...instead, he went the other direction. He at least knew the area a little bit, and after seeing a diner that he knew wasn't on the correct route, he turned back the other way.
Fortunately for him (as it turned out), he was going 53 in a 35 when passing by a cop. Cop went after him, pulled him over. Cop approached him, and my friend exclaimed that he was lost and needed to get to my gf's house (which happened to be in the next town over) and gave him the instructions I wrote. Since these are all small towns and the cops are frequently in other nearby towns, he was familiar with the destination. The cop gave him new step by step instructions and sent him on his way. So, not a 5 hour detour, but probably a good 1 hour detour...for what should've been a 15 minute trip!
Quote from: elsmere241 on November 06, 2013, 11:41:24 AM
I once had an afternoon in Las Vegas with nothing to do so I thought I'd explore a little...When I couldn't get a rental car they even gave me a ride back to Las Vegas.
Not that what happened was great, but great story. Glad those random people looked out for you and took care of you!