How open are you about your road geeking in your social life?

[codyg1985]

Those that know me really well know I am a human GPS and that I love bridges, but they don't really get the other aspects of roadgeeking that I enjoy. I can be quite open about it on Facebook, and most of my non-roadgeek friends probably either don't notice, or think I am just plain weird for noticing this stuff. 

[english si]

Virgin America (as well as Virgin Atlantic,) rocks! I wish they flew everywhere.

Good ol' Beardy Branson!

[djsinco]

Some of my most memorable flights were on Virgin. Take that however you wish...

[A.J. Bertin]

This has been an interesting thread to read.

For me, my openness about my roadgeeking hobby depends on the person I'm talking to. With all my friends and some of my family members, they generally know about it. On Facebook I'm pretty open about it. Once in a while I'll post a roadgeeky Facebook status and will usually include some road or sign photos as part of albums from trips I take. With my coworkers I generally talk about enjoying taking road trips in general, but with one close coworker, I'll tell her more about seeing the infrastructure, noticing strange signs, reading maps, and so on.

I recently had dinner with one of my former college professors (I now consider her to be a friend/mentor) and was explaining the roadgeeking hobby to her. She kinda thought it was odd and made a slightly condescending remark about it, but oh well.

With most people, I don't go into too much detail because I figure they don't care at all. But my better friends understand that this is something that's important to me and they will express their happiness that I have a hobby like this I enjoy and an opportunity to discuss it with other roadgeeks.

[Ian]

I normally try and keep me and the fact that I'm a road geek between me, family, and my close friends. The only time I really ever talk about roads, is if I'm out on the road with my mom or dad, or with other road enthusiasts. That being said, when people ask me what I want to major in college, and I reply civil engineering, that's when I usually tell them about my hobby and why I want to major in that.

[BigMattFromTexas]

I'm quiet about it.. I will however show my knowledge to some people, on a band trip in San Antonio I was explaining pretty much everything about which way we should have taken, and the construction projects and such. I've only shown about three people the maps I've drawn, and not very many have seen my room with all the maps. I do have people ask me how to get places though. So it's more of people know I'm smart and road smart, but they don't know I pay attention to the fonts on road signs and get fascinated when I see lots of Highway gothic here in Texas..

[kphoger]

So a bunch of us were at a dinner party at our pastor's house the other evening, including our friend who is a bridge engineer.  He had invited a coworker, and introduced me to him as a roadgeek.  The fact that there are "amateur" highway enthusiasts out there still blows his mind (didn't seem to phase his friend quite so much), and he posed this question:  How many non-engineer roadgeeks are there across America?  Does anyone have a good guess at the answer to that question?

[Alps]

So a bunch of us were at a dinner party at our pastor's house the other evening, including our friend who is a bridge engineer.  He had invited a coworker, and introduced me to him as a roadgeek.  The fact that there are "amateur" highway enthusiasts out there still blows his mind (didn't seem to phase his friend quite so much), and he posed this question:  How many non-engineer roadgeeks are there across America?  Does anyone have a good guess at the answer to that question?

There are thousands of members here, but most don't post. I'd say at least 2,000, possibly 3 times that amount. The longer we're out here, the more people discover the forum and "out" themselves. Order of magnitude (within a factor of 10), 5,000 seems like a good starting point. Keep in mind that only 1% of us, at MOST, are engineers.

[Duke87]

Keep in mind that only 1% of us, at MOST, are engineers.

But there are different kinds. I am an engineer, but my job has pretty much nothing to do with roads or any form of transportation (I make buildings more energy efficient). Do I count?

[Alps]

Do I count?

[Duke87]

The interesting thing is that when I was in college I had envisioned myself becoming a traffic engineer. Then life happened.

All things considered, though, it's probably best that I'm not. I'd be too opinionated about the projects I'd be working on as a traffic engineer and I want no part of designing a road the way some other entity wants it in direct contradiction to the way I want it.

[mtantillo]

The interesting thing is that when I was in college I had envisioned myself becoming a traffic engineer. Then life happened.

All things considered, though, it's probably best that I'm not. I'd be too opinionated about the projects I'd be working on as a traffic engineer and I want no part of designing a road the way some other entity wants it in direct contradiction to the way I want it.

It is tough having to keep the personal feelings separate from work sometimes.  I still remember the moment I typed the sentence about state-name Interstate shields "shall not be used" in Virginia into the Virginia Supplement to the MUTCD.  VDOT has their reasons for not wanting to do this, and part of being a good roadgeek/engineer is realizing that sometimes the engineering decisions don't make roadgeeks happy, but the public agencies are catering to the mobility needs and safety needs of the public, under extreme fiscal and political pressure, and "making roadgeeks happy" takes a back seat to effective/safe/cost-effective. 

But there are definite advantages to being a roadgeek engineer.  I happen to be very lucky that my co-workers and clients view my knowledge as a good source of information, as opposed to "something weird". 

[mtantillo]

As for me, I used to not be open about it at all...but my friends always spilled the beans.  Word got out in high school...and I could never walk down the hall without, "Mike, how do you get to Alaska?"  In college, freshman year, no one knew.  Then, one of my high school friends came to Duke and he would typically introduce me like, "This kid knows every exit on I-95 and can tell you how to get from just about anywhere to just about anywhere in North America without a map".  And guess what? I was a lot happier when I could show off a little and act myself instead of trying to hide my interest. 

Then I ended up making a career out of it.  I think that makes it a lot easier for me to share with others in social situations.  I think the key is talking to people about it at their level.  The average person doesn't care about button copy vs. Clearview, but everyone can relate to transportation because everyone does it.  I think people are impressed that there is some logic to how everything works in the transportation world, and typically walk away with a positive impression.  Then once people realize I know a lot about it, I'm interested in it, and I obviously know quite a bit more about it than I'm talking about, then they aren't as surprised when some really geeky thing comes up in conversation.  But the key is not to chew people's ears off if they really aren't interested...keep the conversation to the basics...I like traveling, I like exploring different places, taking the road less traveled, etc.

I think I honestly have more trouble with co-workers than with non-transportation engineers.  Some can't understand why I'm so into the work I do, why I'm always on the road to random places...because they are comparing me to other transportation engineers.  "I'm a transportation engineer too and I don't know all this!"  Key is to sell it as a valuable resource, and they'll be on board quickly!

[hbelkins]

It is tough having to keep the personal feelings separate from work sometimes.  I still remember the moment I typed the sentence about state-name Interstate shields "shall not be used" in Virginia into the Virginia Supplement to the MUTCD.  VDOT has their reasons for not wanting to do this, and part of being a good roadgeek/engineer is realizing that sometimes the engineering decisions don't make roadgeeks happy, but the public agencies are catering to the mobility needs and safety needs of the public, under extreme fiscal and political pressure, and "making roadgeeks happy" takes a back seat to effective/safe/cost-effective. 

What logic was used in the decision to exclude the state name? How do they rationalize that as improving safety or mobility?

[J N Winkler]

What logic was used in the decision to exclude the state name? How do they rationalize that as improving safety or mobility?

I suspect it had to do with the 18" height requirement for digits in guide-sign shields used on freeway guide signs.  For a motorist the critical information in the Interstate shield is the number, not the state name.  If the latter is omitted, the shield easily meets the 18" requirement and legibility distance is typically 20% greater than if the state name is used.

Take Kansas' Interstate shield design, which is fairly typical among states that use the state name.  At the 36" size, the designer has an 18" vertical slot available, which can be used to accommodate either 18" digits only, or 2 1/4" state name plus 3/4" air gap plus 15" digits.

This said, I would not have included a provision in a MUTCD supplement banning state-name shields altogether--I would merely have restricted them to independent-mount shields, as is done in Kansas.  The reason for this is that independent-mount shields are used largely for confirmation and tend not to be located at critical decision points on freeways.  However, Kansas uses green-background ramp direction signs with guide-sign shields having 12" digits at the 24" height.  This level of provision is an extra-cost enhancement above the directional assemblies with independent-mount shields that are used in many states.  If Virginia is taking the cheap way out and using assemblies at ramp turnoffs, then this makes it especially critical not to have the state name in Interstate shields.

[Alps]

From a purely visibility/safety standpoint, I don't know why anyone uses state-name shields any more.

[oscar]

From a purely visibility/safety standpoint, I don't know why anyone uses state-name shields any more.

It's not as if the state name provides information drivers have much use for, except marginally in areas near state lines.  And it marginally takes away shield space better used to make the route number more legible. 

Some Interstate shields in Hawaii have the state name.  But if you need a road sign to remind you that you're in Hawaii, you probably shouldn't be behind the wheel in the first place  

Back on the subject, I'm pretty open about my roadgeeking (though I don't go out of my way to bring it up), and in my circles it's fairly widely known in particular that I'm a county counter.  That certainly helps deflect attention from other weird stuff about me, such as that I'm a retired antitrust lawyer. 

[D-Dey65]

Keep in mind that only 1% of us, at MOST, are engineers.

And I'm among the 99% that isn't. Although there have certainly been people who thought I was.

[kurumi]

Hopefully, soon, an active player from one of the four major team sports will go public about his roadgeekiness. No more sneaking out of the hotel before breakfast with a digital camera. No more secret compartments in duffel bags for maps. No more secret second Twitter account to follow @PAHighways.

[cpzilliacus]

The interesting thing is that when I was in college I had envisioned myself becoming a traffic engineer. Then life happened.

All things considered, though, it's probably best that I'm not. I'd be too opinionated about the projects I'd be working on as a traffic engineer and I want no part of designing a road the way some other entity wants it in direct contradiction to the way I want it.

It is tough having to keep the personal feelings separate from work sometimes.  I still remember the moment I typed the sentence about state-name Interstate shields "shall not be used" in Virginia into the Virginia Supplement to the MUTCD.  VDOT has their reasons for not wanting to do this, and part of being a good roadgeek/engineer is realizing that sometimes the engineering decisions don't make roadgeeks happy, but the public agencies are catering to the mobility needs and safety needs of the public, under extreme fiscal and political pressure, and "making roadgeeks happy" takes a back seat to effective/safe/cost-effective.

And you were ethically serving the needs of your customer when you did that (and FWIW, I also like state names on Interstate shields (and would bring them back for U.S. shields if I could)).

But there are definite advantages to being a roadgeek engineer.  I happen to be very lucky that my co-workers and clients view my knowledge as a good source of information, as opposed to "something weird".

My colleagues come to me pretty often when they have needs for obscure information (a recent example being the hours of operation for all HOV facilities in the suburbs of D.C., which I can (disturbingly) recite from memory).

[jwolfer]

I have to work at not being a know-it-all.  I have lots of random knowledge about a lot of stuff.  When people start running their mouths about road stuff that is down right wrong... I can't help but open my mouth.  Since GPS more people know the secret Florida state roads... 20 years ago it was known to the DOT, Police and the select few.

[formulanone]

Hopefully, soon, an active player from one of the four major team sports will go public about his roadgeekiness. No more sneaking out of the hotel before breakfast with a digital camera. No more secret compartments in duffel bags for maps. No more secret second Twitter account to follow @PAHighways.

Auto racing is a safe haven for them. 

[jwolfer]

Hopefully, soon, an active player from one of the four major team sports will go public about his roadgeekiness. No more sneaking out of the hotel before breakfast with a digital camera. No more secret compartments in duffel bags for maps. No more secret second Twitter account to follow @PAHighways.

Funny.  There as so many dromophilaphobes in the world!! 

We can call road-geekiness... dromophilia... from the greek word for road... dromos

[djsinco]

Would they not merely be dromophobes, then?

[agentsteel53]

Would they not merely be dromophobes, then?

those would be the people who are afraid of driving.

plenty of them on the road, nonetheless.