What are your criteria for clinching a highway?

[oscar]

Then, like it was pointed out earlier, you cannot really drive a whole interstate in one shot either, unless you have a trip especially between two sides of the country.  If we did cover them in sections, like that is the only way I will be able to clinch Texas interstates, and made it to see all of its mileage, then it counts.

Heck, even the short I-66, I never did in a single trip, since I live along the route, and had no occasion to go directly from downtown DC at its east end to Strasburg VA at its west end, or vice versa. 

The longest Interstate I might've clinched in a single (multi-day) trip is I-44.  Longer Interstates were clinched in two or more overlapping trips. 

[NE2]

In my youth, I distinctly remember a lot of US routes being signed as both Business and By-Pass (most banners include the hyphen, although I don't know why), especially in North Carolina.

It's still that way in NC, with more than 15 such splits.

[Alps]

Yeah I consider the business route and the mainline to be two distinct routes, so I don't say "US 30 Business is US 30," but I also don't say "I haven't clinched x U.S. Route until I've clinched all bannered routes."

In situations where the mainline divides into banner routes (e.g. business/bypass) or suffixed routes, I follow whichever one the mileposts for the mainline follow - for instance, I set out to clinch Oklahoma 3 last July and took 3E to count the clinch, considering 3W to be a separate route. I guess some could argue that I can't clinch Oklahoma 3 without clinching 3E and 3W, but whatever.

I can't clinch I-10 by following Business I-10 in Texas, so why can I clinch US 11 by following Business US 11 in Virginia? I follow Bypass and unbannered routes only. Business routes are clinched separately. As for the case of OK 3, you have clinched both OK 3 and OK 3E, but not yet OK 3W.

[1995hoo]

I think to me the difference is that in the case of US or state routes, often the business route WAS the mainline and the bypass was added later, whereas in most places with the Interstates that wasn't the case (with some exceptions like Winston-Salem or Spartanburg). I remember quite well when the current US-29 Business through Warrenton, VA, was the main line, for example (the bypass opened in the mid-1980s). So for obvious reasons I'd have counted that as a clinch had I travelled all of US-29 when that was the thru route. I would not then consider it "unclinched" when they built the bypass later (in that case it doesn't matter, of course, since I've driven both routes hundreds of times). So if I don't consider it "unclinched," by extension I view other business routes as counting as a part of US-29 as well. Sometimes it makes little difference if I've used both routes on a regular basis (Charlottesville being the prime example for me).

[Duke87]

It's tough to set forth a set of rules because often I exercise situation-specific judgment in whether something counts.

With regards to some of AJ's comments, though, I have no restrictions as to what kind of vehicle must be used or who must be driving. Hell, I will even count a segment of road as clinched if I ride a train line along it where there is a shared ROW. I consider MA 3 across Longfellow Bridge clinched because I rode the red line "T" over it, and I consider most of Allen Rd in Toronto clinched because I rode the subway through the median.

As for gaps due to permanent legal restriction (military gate, international border, etc.), I will accept a fudging of things so long as the actual end of the road is clearly visible from where I turned off or turned around. With regards to detours, I usually don't count them for fudging unless the detour is fairly short. In the event of a "bridge out" sort of scenario, I will drive as far as I can past the "local traffic only" sign and turn around at the actual point of closure on both sides and call it good. If for whatever reason I did not do that then it is not good.


I also set forth no age restrictions. When I was 2 years old, my parents took me on a trip to Annapolis. I do not remember this trip at all. But I can looking at a map logically assume that they must have taken I-97 to get there, so I consider I-97 clinched even though I have not been on it since.

[Henry]

To me, it doesn't matter if you're the driver or passenger; you just have to be on the entire length of highway to clinch it. And yes, hotel/gas stops do count.

Which is why I consider the Route 66 road trip a clinch, even though I was only five years old at the time, and almost half of the road was completely gone by the time I graduated high school!

[briantroutman]

I also set forth no age restrictions. When I was 2 years old, my parents took me on a trip to Annapolis. I do not remember this trip at all. But I can looking at a map logically assume that they must have taken I-97 to get there, so I consider I-97 clinched even though I have not been on it since.

I don't think I-97 was complete until, coincidentally enough, about '97. But you can take a quick trip to Baltimore and have it clinched northbound, southbound, and every other conceivable way within an hour or so.

There were some previous comments about daylight–I'd almost always rather drive at night. There are some highways, like the Pennsylvania Turnpike, that take on a completely different character at night. The traffic volume is a fraction of the daytime amount, the tunnels are more mysterious, reflectorized signs slowly creep up on you... It was even better when there was more button copy standing.

[1995hoo]

Funny, I used to prefer driving at night, but I've found that my desire to drive longer distances at night seems to decline every year. 20 years ago I wouldn't hesitate to get in the car at 11:30 PM and drive two hours from Charlottesville to Fairfax. Nowadays I won't even consider it–due in no small part to my disastrous attempt to drive home from Charlottesville after a 2003 night football game. I left Charlottesville at 12:30 AM and nearly fell asleep at the wheel multiple times on I-95. I made it home without crashing, though I'm still not sure how.

[AsphaltPlanet]

I really like night driving on urban and suburban freeways.  Traffic is usually fairly light, and I love passing through the city lights, but otherwise I try to avoid driving at night when traveling in unfamiliar areas.

[hbelkins]

In the event of a "bridge out" sort of scenario, I will drive as far as I can past the "local traffic only" sign and turn around at the actual point of closure on both sides and call it good.

That's what I did with US 131 a few years ago. There was a bridge out for replacement. I drove all the way to the spot where I could go no farther, lest I plunge into a river, then used some local roads to detour. When I got back to US 131, I drove back to the other end of the missing bridge. Therefore I consider it a clinch.

I'd almost always rather drive at night.

Not me, for three reasons. You can see more scenery in the daylight, it's easier to take sign and road photos in the daylight, and there's less chance of hitting a deer.

[briantroutman]

Funny, I used to prefer driving at night, but I've found that my desire to drive longer distances at night seems to decline every year.

Maybe this is somewhat age related. I've had some other people tell me that they liked night driving less as years went on.

I left Charlottesville at 12:30 AM and nearly fell asleep at the wheel multiple times on I-95. I made it home without crashing, though I'm still not sure how.

But definitely, by "night driving", I don't mean drowsy driving. I've been in that position of needing to get somewhere in a hurry and pressing on through sleepiness, and it's one of the most loathsome experiences I've had behind the wheel.

And as to clinching, my main interest is experiencing the variety of landscapes, control cities on signs, DOT peculiarities, etc. that a highway offers. So I'm probably less stringent than others. I consider I-80 clinched from the GWB to San Francisco, although I've never not stopped at Iowa 80, so I've never the 3/10 mile from off-ramp to on-ramp at Exit 284.

[corco]

Maybe this is somewhat age related. I've had some other people tell me that they liked night driving less as years went on.

I'm 24 and I already hate driving at night- probably have since I was 21 or so. I've had enough close calls with deer at night (and witnessed a couple bad collisions) that it's just not worth it. And then if I'm in a city I've never been in before or am unfamiliar with it's a lot harder to navigate. I was driving in a poorly lit part of Salt Lake a couple weekends ago with no idea where I was going and a couple of times if a cop would have seen me I'm sure I would have been pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving (I was stone sober). I'm kind of a night person too- I'm substantially more alert when I'm driving at 1:00 AM than at 1:00 PM.

I guess I don't mind freeway driving at night if it's not a wildlife situation because the lack of traffic is nice and as I said I'm more focused and can crank on the tunes and drive but off the freeway or in deer prone freeway areas (like eastern Colorado/western Kansas)...fuck that.

[golden eagle]

I count clinching as having been on all of a highway, whether it's the entire highway or through a certain jurisdiction, regardless of being a driver or passenger.

[1995hoo]

Age may well have something to do with night driving. Headlight glare bothers me a lot more than it did when I was in my 20s. That's especially true if I've already driven all day. If we drive down I-95 to Florida, for example, we'll reach Jacksonville in early evening and the headlight glare becomes particularly fatiguing because Florida has a narrow median on I-95 that doesn't shield you from the oncoming lights.

I also find it harder to find the energy to stay up very late at night even when I'm not driving. I used to go to bed at 2:00 AM when I was in my 20s. Nowadays I seldom make it to midnight. Of course, I get up earlier in the morning as well and that's surely no small factor.

Deer are a major issue in my mind on rural two-lane roads. Indeed if we do come back from Charlottesville or the mountains after sunset I'll take a different route sometimes out of concern about deer.

Incidentally, in local DC-area night driving the thing that bugs me most is the cars being driven without headlights. When we go to a hockey game I usually see at least one car, often more, being driven with no headlights (often no parking lights either) on I-395 on our way home around 10 PM. That can be some scary stuff. Nearly saw a massive wreck caused by such a driver last Thursday night.

Anyway, to return to the topic of clinching.....if you're driving the car, then arguably night driving requires more attention than daytime driving, so I can't imagine why one wouldn't count it. I can understand why a stickler wouldn't count a clinch if you spend the time asleep as a passenger, though.

[corco]

Anyway, to return to the topic of clinching.....if you're driving the car, then arguably night driving requires more attention than daytime driving, so I can't imagine why one wouldn't count it. I can understand why a stickler wouldn't count a clinch if you spend the time asleep as a passenger, though.

Because for me clinching a highway is about the experience of having travelled through the surrounding area- it's about seeing the scenery and the little towns and quirky architecture and weird looking people on the side of the road, not just being in a vehicle with some number of wheels on its surface. It's a lot harder to absorb all that at night when you can't see more than 8 feet off the road and driving simply involves constantly scanning the shoulders for deer.

[1995hoo]

Anyway, to return to the topic of clinching.....if you're driving the car, then arguably night driving requires more attention than daytime driving, so I can't imagine why one wouldn't count it. I can understand why a stickler wouldn't count a clinch if you spend the time asleep as a passenger, though.

Because for me clinching a highway is about the experience of having travelled through the surrounding area- it's about seeing the scenery and the little towns and quirky architecture and weird looking people on the side of the road, not just being in a vehicle with some number of wheels on its surface. It's a lot harder to absorb all that at night when you can't see more than 8 feet off the road and driving simply involves constantly scanning the shoulders for deer.

Fair enough, and no doubt part of that is also a function of where one lives. If you live in the East Coast Megalopolis you can see a lot more along the road at night than you can in Montana.

[vdeane]

I also set forth no age restrictions. When I was 2 years old, my parents took me on a trip to Annapolis. I do not remember this trip at all. But I can looking at a map logically assume that they must have taken I-97 to get there, so I consider I-97 clinched even though I have not been on it since.

I don't think I-97 was complete until, coincidentally enough, about '97. But you can take a quick trip to Baltimore and have it clinched northbound, southbound, and every other conceivable way within an hour or so.

There were some previous comments about daylight–I'd almost always rather drive at night. There are some highways, like the Pennsylvania Turnpike, that take on a completely different character at night. The traffic volume is a fraction of the daytime amount, the tunnels are more mysterious, reflectorized signs slowly creep up on you... It was even better when there was more button copy standing.

Some boring highways become more interesting at night because the lack of scenery becomes irrelevant.  It's interesting on I-81 - the reflective signs on bridges are visible long before the bridge, so they look like they're hovering.  Cars crossing bridges often look like they're crossing the interstate.

[A.J. Bertin]

That's what I did with US 131 a few years ago. There was a bridge out for replacement. I drove all the way to the spot where I could go no farther, lest I plunge into a river, then used some local roads to detour. When I got back to US 131, I drove back to the other end of the missing bridge. Therefore I consider it a clinch.

H.B. - was that the section of U.S. 131 that's near Cadillac (northern Michigan)? My guess is probably yes, but I was just curious. I remember when that bridge was out for several months while MDOT was reconstructing it.

[A.J. Bertin]

Regarding nighttime driving, I strongly dislike it - especially when it's a relatively long distance after dark (and by "relatively long distance", I mean "anything beyond local driving").

I started disliking nighttime driving when I was only 20 years old. I had an occasion when I fell asleep at the wheel at night and was involved in a minor accident due to that (just the vehicle I was driving - no injuries or worse). I had no idea how tired I was. For a week weeks/months thereafter, I was actually afraid of driving at night. Since then, I have obviously gotten past my fear of driving at night. Right now it's just a dislike due to not being able to see the scenery and a slight concern about hitting deer.

[hbelkins]

H.B. - was that the section of U.S. 131 that's near Cadillac (northern Michigan)? My guess is probably yes, but I was just curious. I remember when that bridge was out for several months while MDOT was reconstructing it.

Yep. That was it.

[agentsteel53]

I like night driving for a road I've done dozens of times before - especially to leave Southern California.  about the only time you can pass through LA unimpeded is if you leave San Diego at midnight.

[oscar]

Regarding nighttime driving, I strongly dislike it - especially when it's a relatively long distance after dark (and by "relatively long distance", I mean "anything beyond local driving").

I started disliking nighttime driving when I was only 20 years old. I had an occasion when I fell asleep at the wheel at night and was involved in a minor accident due to that (just the vehicle I was driving - no injuries or worse). I had no idea how tired I was. For a week weeks/months thereafter, I was actually afraid of driving at night. Since then, I have obviously gotten past my fear of driving at night. Right now it's just a dislike due to not being able to see the scenery and a slight concern about hitting deer.

My dislike of night driving is unrelated to fatigue -- it applies in the winter when it gets dark at 5 or 6pm, well before my normal bedtime.  It's more due to weak night vision.  While I'm relatively comfortable driving an Interstate at night, or any other road I'm really familiar with, others I try hard to do only in the daytime, and sometimes for that reason have pulled over for the night in a place I hadn't planned for an overnight stop.

I worry less about nighttime wildlife collisions than perhaps I should.  FWIW, my most serious wildlife collisions ($1000 in front-end damage from a ph**king pheasant walking across a Nebraska highway, and a $600 dent in my hood from a disoriented old crow in Idaho) were both in broad daylight.

[corco]

FWIW, my most serious wildlife collisions ($1000 in front-end damage from a ph**king pheasant walking across a Nebraska highway, and a $600 dent in my hood from a disoriented old crow in Idaho) were both in broad daylight.

Pheasants are absurd and I hate those things. I very nearly caused a ton of damage to a rental car in South Dakota a couple years back by almost hitting one- I was able to swerve mostly out of the way in time and just kind of grazed it, leaving a mark on the car but it was small enough that nobody noticed- if I'd have hit one head on that would've been really bad.

[Duke87]

I also set forth no age restrictions. When I was 2 years old, my parents took me on a trip to Annapolis. I do not remember this trip at all. But I can looking at a map logically assume that they must have taken I-97 to get there, so I consider I-97 clinched even though I have not been on it since.

I don't think I-97 was complete until, coincidentally enough, about '97. But you can take a quick trip to Baltimore and have it clinched northbound, southbound, and every other conceivable way within an hour or so.

Huh. You're right. Well, so much for that assumption. My parents must have taken MD 2 instead. Recalibrating clinch log...

I had no idea I-97 was so new! But then, in my neck of the woods, every freeway of significance was around for many years before I was, so naturally I tend to assume...

[empirestate]

Age may well have something to do with night driving. Headlight glare bothers me a lot more than it did when I was in my 20s. That's especially true if I've already driven all day.

I agree, as I've also found night driving to be be more visually straining as I've gotten older, and particularly so if my trip began in daylight. However, I like to tell myself (and perhaps accurately so) that it's not due to my age, but rather the fact that there is simply more glaring light these days than there used to be. Headlights have certainly gotten brighter, most traffic signals are LED now, and there are those ghastly LED billboards around now too. I'm convinced that if you had a time machine and jumped back a mere 15 years into the past, you'd immediately be struck by how much darker the nighttime was, even in populated areas.

It's also possible that I'm just getting old.

Deer are a major issue in my mind on rural two-lane roads. Indeed if we do come back from Charlottesville or the mountains after sunset I'll take a different route sometimes out of concern about deer.

Although I strive to always be aware and cautious of deer, I've never found them to approach any greatly hazardous level, and there certainly are no shortage of them in the areas I've lived.