Happiness is . . . (roads edition)

[kphoger]

. . . brand-new, perfectly black, freshly striped asphalt.

[kphoger]

To start with, I'll quote Scott:

. . . any time someone drives like a maniac to pass me and then I end up right behind them at the next light.

So, are we just assuming that a smug feeling of vindication = happiness ...?

I was assuming that about Scott, yes.

Happiness is a warm map?

Tomorrow never comes

You guys are really messing up your Beatles references.  It's "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" and "Tomorrow Never Knows".

[kphoger]

. . . passing three vehicles in a row on a two-lane highway, without having to duck in between them for oncoming traffic.

[ElishaGOtis]

Finding a speed limit that actually is the limit of what is reasonable and prudent for safe operation, rather than some random number that everyone ignores.

When a roadway perfectly matches with the way the song on the radio is playing. For instance, the beat drops the instant a curve starts. Music synchronization with roadways is epic imho... 

[mgk920]

Driving in a 'safe and sane' manner and beating the boughnhead to the next intersection or interchange.

Mike

[cockroachking]

2 lane roads with 8ft+ shoulders
Transverse grooved concrete pavements and bridge decks
Well designed, MUTCD-compliant signage (seems like an unpopular opinion 'round here)
Well-signed county routes
Mast arm traffic signals with reflective backplates
Roundabouts
Speed limits that actually feel like limits
<- Finding a route numbered 266 to drive on
Yield signs instead of stop signs
Synchronized traffic signals
Flashing yellow arrows/doghouses/permissive turns
Rectangular rapid flashing beacons at crosswalks (both as a driver and pedestrian)
States that sufficiently fund their DOTs (or equivalents)
Driving old, poorly engineered urban freeways early on Sunday morning
Driving anywhere early on a Sunday morning
Driving when it is dry, daylight, and overcast
Toll roads that feel like you are getting your money's worth (i.e. not the NYS Thruway)
Roadside scenery blanketed in a light coating of snow

[webny99]

Toll roads that feel like you are getting your money's worth (i.e. not the NYS Thruway)

I don't know about this one. The Thruway is a higher quality road than most other toll roads for a lower rate per mile. Unless you catch it at a busy time and can grumble about the need for widening, it's worth the money relative to pretty much any other toll road I can think of.

[pderocco]

Clinching the easternmost two miles of I-70 in Baltimore, about 25 years after I drove the rest of I-70.

[tmoore952]

Driving in a safe and sane manner, and not constantly being harassed by other drivers who aren't.

[vdeane]

Well designed, MUTCD-compliant signage (seems like an unpopular opinion 'round here)

Given the number of posts on this forum complaining about signage that isn't well designed or MUTCD-compliant, I'm not sure how that's unpopular.

[RM42]

A perfect merge onto a somewhat congested freeway. Especially on freeways not built to Interstate standards (ie Arroyo Seco Parkway - CA 110).

The bump from dirt/grooved pavement to new pavement.   

And this gem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKJQB2qOIV8&ab_channel=Quarius

[Rothman]

Toll roads that feel like you are getting your money's worth (i.e. not the NYS Thruway)

I don't know about this one. The Thruway is a higher quality road than most other toll roads for a lower rate per mile. Unless you catch it at a busy time and can grumble about the need for widening, it's worth the money relative to pretty much any other toll road I can think of.

Complete with triple-drop epoxy pavement markings, which I believe are even recessed.

[mgk920]

Toll roads that feel like you are getting your money's worth (i.e. not the NYS Thruway)

I don't know about this one. The Thruway is a higher quality road than most other toll roads for a lower rate per mile. Unless you catch it at a busy time and can grumble about the need for widening, it's worth the money relative to pretty much any other toll road I can think of.

Complete with triple-drop epoxy pavement markings, which I believe are even recessed.

The very best major highway that I have ever driven is the Lake County part of the Tri-State Tollway (I-94) in Illinois. The east-west part of the Northwest Tollway (I-90) is also pretty good, from what I hear.

In my east coast roadtrips from a couple of decades ago, I have always considered the New York State Truway to be a very good value among tollways.

Mike

[kphoger]

The bump from dirt/grooved pavement to new pavement.   

I also enjoy the bump from pavement to gravel.

[webny99]

My actual answer(s) would be:

• Driving on a long, straight, open stretch of freeway with light (but present) traffic
• Driving 75+ mph and getting passed by a whole string of faster traffic
• Driving on any non-freeway with a speed limit greater than 55 mph (due to nonexistence of such in NY)
• Passing on a two-lane road with cruise control set
• Skyline views on a clear day

Also:

• When you're in a left lane with someone coming up behind you and notice someone to your right merging right (either into the right lane on a 3+ lane carriageway or into an auxiliary or deceleration lane) and you merge right in perfect sync with them to clear the left lane for faster traffic 

[Max Rockatansky]

The bump from dirt/grooved pavement to new pavement.   

I also enjoy the bump from pavement to gravel.

Cattle grates have a satisfying sound when tires go over them.

[CtrlAltDel]

Driving old, poorly engineered urban freeways early on Sunday morning

Ooh, that's a good one. I like driving them late at night as well.

Driving when it is dry, daylight, and overcast

I definitely prefer driving when it's sunny to when it's overcast, though, as a general rule. Maybe I'd make an exception for sunrise and sunset.

[kphoger]

Driving old, poorly engineered urban freeways early on Sunday morning

Ooh, that's a good one. I like driving them late at night as well.

Oh, man, the last time I was in the Chicago area, I left the area on a Sunday morning, and I drove from southwestern Michigan all the way through Joliet without ever dropping below 75 mph.  Yeah, that was happiness.  Especially considering I had arrived on a Friday afternoon and endured the westbound during the thick of rush hour.

[Rick Powell]

Oh, man, the last time I was in the Chicago area, I left the area on a Sunday morning, and I drove from southwestern Michigan all the way through Joliet without ever dropping below 75 mph.  Yeah, that was happiness.  Especially considering I had arrived on a Friday afternoon and endured the westbound during the thick of rush hour.

Hmmm...isn't there a 45mph work zone still active thru central Joliet? I see a lot of 55mph traffic when I go through there but 75mph would really be a flyer...and an expensive one if caught :-)  Hopefully your trip was before the work zone was placed there, it's been in place since at least 2022.

[kphoger]

Oh, man, the last time I was in the Chicago area, I left the area on a Sunday morning, and I drove from southwestern Michigan all the way through Joliet without ever dropping below 75 mph.  Yeah, that was happiness.  Especially considering I had arrived on a Friday afternoon and endured the westbound during the thick of rush hour.

Hmmm...isn't there a 45mph work zone still active thru central Joliet? I see a lot of 55mph traffic when I go through there but 75mph would really be a flyer...and an expensive one if caught :-)  Hopefully your trip was before the work zone was placed there, it's been in place since at least 2022.

No clue.  I said "the last time I was in the Chicago area".  I think it was 14½ years ago.  For what it's worth, a lot of that stretch had a regular 55mph speed limit, so cruising at 78 would still have been an expensive ticket.  IIRC, there was road construction just west of the IN/IL state line, too.

But we had to get from Lakeside (MI) to Wichita (KS) in one day, and we had a one-year-old, so I was eager to make the trip as fast as possible.  From Joliet to Des Moines, I think I only dropped below 80 mph if it was necessary to avoid rear-ending a slower vehicle.

[CtrlAltDel]

Driving old, poorly engineered urban freeways early on Sunday morning

Ooh, that's a good one. I like driving them late at night as well.

Oh, man, the last time I was in the Chicago area, I left the area on a Sunday morning, and I drove from southwestern Michigan all the way through Joliet without ever dropping below 75 mph.  Yeah, that was happiness.  Especially considering I had arrived on a Friday afternoon and endured the westbound during the thick of rush hour.

One year, I was traveling north up the I-95 corridor over Labor Day weekend. The drive on the Friday before, between Washington and Baltimore in particular, was just awful, with stop-and-go traffic for hours and hours. That Monday, though, traveling north of Boston was an absolute dream. The same could not be said of the southbound traffic.

[Rick Powell]

No clue.  I said "the last time I was in the Chicago area".  I think it was 14½ years ago.  For what it's worth, a lot of that stretch had a regular 55mph speed limit, so cruising at 78 would still have been an expensive ticket.  IIRC, there was road construction just west of the IN/IL state line, too.

But we had to get from Lakeside (MI) to Wichita (KS) in one day, and we had a one-year-old, so I was eager to make the trip as fast as possible.  From Joliet to Des Moines, I think I only dropped below 80 mph if it was necessary to avoid rear-ending a slower vehicle.

OK that was quite a while ago. I-80 is fairly torn up now with a $1B reconstruction project from US 30 to Minooka thru Joliet, and several lane shifts with barrier and not too much shoulder room. 80 mph is fairly common west of I-55 and very few people pulled over at that speed, especially eastbound in the morning with commuter traffic mixed in with long-haul trucks. The trucks are about the only limiting factor when you have two semi's side by side with an excruciatingly incremental LL passer.

[kphoger]

80 mph is fairly common west of I-55 and very few people pulled over at that speed

Isn't the speed limit 70 mph these days, though?  Back in the 65 days, I remember 80 mph being the safe/ticket dividing line.

[webny99]

Driving old, poorly engineered urban freeways early on Sunday morning

Ooh, that's a good one. I like driving them late at night as well.

Driving when it is dry, daylight, and overcast

I definitely prefer driving when it's sunny to when it's overcast, though, as a general rule. Maybe I'd make an exception for sunrise and sunset.

If I'm understanding correctly, I am exactly the opposite. Some of the most beautiful drives, even including my regular commute, are right around sunrise and sunset on a clear day. Meanwhile, I enjoy the vibe of driving when it's overcast as long as it's not raining or snowing. Sunny days are good too, but they tend to be more tiring especially in the afternoon hours.

[kphoger]

Driving when it is dry, daylight, and overcast

I definitely prefer driving when it's sunny

If I'm understanding correctly, I am exactly the opposite. Some of the most beautiful drives, even including my regular commute, are right around sunrise and sunset on a clear day. Meanwhile, I enjoy the vibe of driving when it's overcast as long as it's not raining or snowing. Sunny days are good too, but they tend to be more tiring especially in the afternoon hours.

I created a poll on this topic a couple of years ago:  The best skies for long-distance driving?