Spent the weekend up in the Salt Lake City area when I came across a unusual VMS on EB I-80 approaching the I-15 multiplex:
DRIVE TIME TO:
LAS VEGAS: 5h 36m
Wait, what???
For those of you unfamiliar with the diving mileage distance between SLC and Vegas, you're looking at 425+ miles!!!
Anyone else have sightings of drive time VMS signage for unusually long distances?
Quote from: thenetwork on May 10, 2026, 11:19:46 AMSpent the weekend up in the Salt Lake City area when I came across a unusual VMS on EB I-80 approaching the I-15 multiplex:
DRIVE TIME TO:
LAS VEGAS: 5h 36m
Wait, what???
For those of you unfamiliar with the diving mileage distance between SLC and Vegas, you're looking at 425+ miles!!!
Anyone else have sightings of drive time VMS signage for unusually long distances?
I don't see the issue with that driving time given speeds on I-15.
Quote from: Rothman on May 10, 2026, 11:53:53 AMQuote from: thenetwork on May 10, 2026, 11:19:46 AMSpent the weekend up in the Salt Lake City area when I came across a unusual VMS on EB I-80 approaching the I-15 multiplex:
DRIVE TIME TO:
LAS VEGAS: 5h 36m
Wait, what???
For those of you unfamiliar with the diving mileage distance between SLC and Vegas, you're looking at 425+ miles!!!
Anyone else have sightings of drive time VMS signage for unusually long distances?
I don't see the issue with that driving time given speeds on I-15.
How many miles to Vegas is it actually from that VMS? 425 would suggest 89mph :-o
Quote from: ElishaGOtis on May 10, 2026, 11:58:57 AMQuote from: Rothman on May 10, 2026, 11:53:53 AMQuote from: thenetwork on May 10, 2026, 11:19:46 AMSpent the weekend up in the Salt Lake City area when I came across a unusual VMS on EB I-80 approaching the I-15 multiplex:
DRIVE TIME TO:
LAS VEGAS: 5h 36m
Wait, what???
For those of you unfamiliar with the diving mileage distance between SLC and Vegas, you're looking at 425+ miles!!!
Anyone else have sightings of drive time VMS signage for unusually long distances?
I don't see the issue with that driving time given speeds on I-15.
How many miles to Vegas is it actually from that VMS? 425 would suggest 89mph :-o
(425 miles/336 minutes) X (60 minutes/1 hour) = 75.89 miles per hour.
I've driven I-80 between Reno and SLC enough to do those calculations in my head.
I don't think I've ever seen long-distance/outside-of-metro driving distance messages on a VMS in north TX. Maybe weather (tornado, hurricane) or far off traffic accident issues, but not out-of-metro distances.
Quote from: gonealookin on May 10, 2026, 01:23:18 PMQuote from: ElishaGOtis on May 10, 2026, 11:58:57 AMQuote from: Rothman on May 10, 2026, 11:53:53 AMQuote from: thenetwork on May 10, 2026, 11:19:46 AMSpent the weekend up in the Salt Lake City area when I came across a unusual VMS on EB I-80 approaching the I-15 multiplex:
DRIVE TIME TO:
LAS VEGAS: 5h 36m
Wait, what???
For those of you unfamiliar with the diving mileage distance between SLC and Vegas, you're looking at 425+ miles!!!
Anyone else have sightings of drive time VMS signage for unusually long distances?
I don't see the issue with that driving time given speeds on I-15.
How many miles to Vegas is it actually from that VMS? 425 would suggest 89mph :-o
(425 miles/336 minutes) X (60 minutes/1 hour) = 75.89 miles per hour.
I've driven I-80 between Reno and SLC enough to do those calculations in my head.
DoH I did the math wrong lol 😂
Quote from: thenetwork on May 10, 2026, 11:19:46 AMSpent the weekend up in the Salt Lake City area when I came across a unusual VMS on EB I-80 approaching the I-15 multiplex:
DRIVE TIME TO:
LAS VEGAS: 5h 36m
Wait, what???
For those of you unfamiliar with the diving mileage distance between SLC and Vegas, you're looking at 425+ miles!!!
Anyone else have sightings of drive time VMS signage for unusually long distances?
I've seen longer posted driving times, but never at distance that great!
Barstow to Bakersfield (before the CASR-58 completion) and Meyers to Rancho Cordova both around 100 miles both in California can rival this "smooth flight".
Southbound US 101 around Morgan Hill has one displaying the time for Los Banos. A lot of the traffic heads east over Pacheco Pass via CA 152. I-580 has a similar sign around Tracy for Super Commuters but I forget exactly where it was at.
Quote from: michravera on May 10, 2026, 06:25:08 PMI've seen longer posted driving times, but never at distance that great!
Barstow to Bakersfield (before the CASR-58 completion) and Meyers to Rancho Cordova both around 100 miles both in California can rival this "smooth flight".
It can take hours to get from Meyers to Placerville on US 50, or Truckee to Auburn on Interstate 80. But I've never seen "Placerville 255 min." or anything like that; in those situations the VMS are used to display chain requirements, and something like "Traffic held 2 mi. ahead - avalanche control" or the ever-popular "Traffic held before summit - spinouts".
Quote from: gonealookin on May 10, 2026, 01:23:18 PMQuote from: ElishaGOtis on May 10, 2026, 11:58:57 AMQuote from: Rothman on May 10, 2026, 11:53:53 AMQuote from: thenetwork on May 10, 2026, 11:19:46 AMSpent the weekend up in the Salt Lake City area when I came across a unusual VMS on EB I-80 approaching the I-15 multiplex:
DRIVE TIME TO:
LAS VEGAS: 5h 36m
Wait, what???
For those of you unfamiliar with the diving mileage distance between SLC and Vegas, you're looking at 425+ miles!!!
Anyone else have sightings of drive time VMS signage for unusually long distances?
I don't see the issue with that driving time given speeds on I-15.
How many miles to Vegas is it actually from that VMS? 425 would suggest 89mph :-o
(425 miles/336 minutes) X (60 minutes/1 hour) = 75.89 miles per hour.
I've driven I-80 between Reno and SLC enough to do those calculations in my head.
Utah likes to sign things far, far away. I guess when your control cities from downtown SLC on I-80 is Reno and Cheyenne, and I-15 south is Las Vegas, signing drive times for far away places as well is "normal".
More than likely, this is an indication to local-area travelers that driving conditions along the Wasatch Range are normal, otherwise the VMS would indicate delay times to closer points in the area (like to I-215, Ogden, Provo, etc...)
Personally, if area traffic is running normal, either turn the VMS's off, run a Public Service Message (ie, CLICK IT OR TICKET or CELL PHONES DOWN,...) or just post drive times to closer towns -- something that would be of importance to most drivers and not the <1% of the drivers that
might be heading to Las Vegas from SLC at that very moment.
BTW, the VMS signs on EB US-6 east of I-15 this morning were listing travel times to Price (about 60 miles away -- logical), and Moab (which is about 180 miles away) -- another unnecessary destination with maybe about 5% of the travelers heading there...just saying "I-70" would be way more beneficial.
Not as far as the example at the start of this thread but, INDOT used to have the time and distance (134 miles) to I-465 on southbound I-65 north of US 30: Streetview (https://maps.app.goo.gl/NXn8pLLxJANvbRws7).
INDOT also used to have the distance and time to I-265 on SB I-65 not to far south of I-465: Streetview (https://maps.app.goo.gl/FvDsetnjZgnWFrcMA).
Illinois lately has had the travel time to I-39 on SB I-55 before the Bluff Road exit, which is over 80 miles away: Streetview (https://maps.app.goo.gl/j5YU6yzonFzqWeLv7).
Quote from: Rothman on May 10, 2026, 11:53:53 AMI don't see the issue with that driving time given speeds on I-15.
The wonder isn't that 5½ hours is reasonable for the distance, but rather that a destination 425+ miles away even made it onto a variable drive time sign to begin with.
Quote from: kphoger on May 11, 2026, 10:16:51 AMQuote from: Rothman on May 10, 2026, 11:53:53 AMI don't see the issue with that driving time given speeds on I-15.
The wonder isn't that 5½ hours is reasonable for the distance, but rather that a destination 425+ miles away even made it onto a variable drive time sign to begin with.
And also the ridiculousness of thinking that number can be accurate as two hours in, you could have multiple accidents occur ahead of you.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on May 11, 2026, 11:29:49 AMQuote from: kphoger on May 11, 2026, 10:16:51 AMQuote from: Rothman on May 10, 2026, 11:53:53 AMI don't see the issue with that driving time given speeds on I-15.
The wonder isn't that 5½ hours is reasonable for the distance, but rather that a destination 425+ miles away even made it onto a variable drive time sign to begin with.
And also the ridiculousness of thinking that number can be accurate as two hours in, you could have multiple accidents occur ahead of you.
Also, it assumes you won't need to use the restroom along the way.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on May 11, 2026, 11:29:49 AMQuote from: kphoger on May 11, 2026, 10:16:51 AMQuote from: Rothman on May 10, 2026, 11:53:53 AMI don't see the issue with that driving time given speeds on I-15.
The wonder isn't that 5½ hours is reasonable for the distance, but rather that a destination 425+ miles away even made it onto a variable drive time sign to begin with.
And also the ridiculousness of thinking that number can be accurate as two hours in, you could have multiple accidents occur ahead of you.
Pfft. That's a limit of any static travel time sign.
Quote from: Rothman on May 13, 2026, 06:45:32 AMQuote from: JayhawkCO on May 11, 2026, 11:29:49 AMQuote from: kphoger on May 11, 2026, 10:16:51 AMQuote from: Rothman on May 10, 2026, 11:53:53 AMI don't see the issue with that driving time given speeds on I-15.
The wonder isn't that 5½ hours is reasonable for the distance, but rather that a destination 425+ miles away even made it onto a variable drive time sign to begin with.
And also the ridiculousness of thinking that number can be accurate as two hours in, you could have multiple accidents occur ahead of you.
Pfft. That's a limit of any static travel time sign.
I'm sure the accuracy of a sign that says "3 min" is much more precise than a sign that says "5 hours".
Quote from: thenetwork on May 10, 2026, 11:19:46 AMSpent the weekend up in the Salt Lake City area when I came across a unusual VMS on EB I-80 approaching the I-15 multiplex:
DRIVE TIME TO:
LAS VEGAS: 5h 36m
Wait, what???
For those of you unfamiliar with the diving mileage distance between SLC and Vegas, you're looking at 425+ miles!!!
Anyone else have sightings of drive time VMS signage for unusually long distances?
I want to say that there is a sign along US-93 in northwestern Arizona, northwest of Kingman, which shows the travel time to Phoenix. I don't recall exactly where, but it was showing something like 3+ hours which made the drive feel even longer, for some reason.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on May 13, 2026, 08:28:44 AMQuote from: Rothman on May 13, 2026, 06:45:32 AMQuote from: JayhawkCO on May 11, 2026, 11:29:49 AMQuote from: kphoger on May 11, 2026, 10:16:51 AMQuote from: Rothman on May 10, 2026, 11:53:53 AMI don't see the issue with that driving time given speeds on I-15.
The wonder isn't that 5½ hours is reasonable for the distance, but rather that a destination 425+ miles away even made it onto a variable drive time sign to begin with.
And also the ridiculousness of thinking that number can be accurate as two hours in, you could have multiple accidents occur ahead of you.
Pfft. That's a limit of any static travel time sign.
I'm sure the accuracy of a sign that says "3 min" is much more precise than a sign that says "5 hours".
They're always given current conditions. :D
Geez, |Rothman|, your double quotes are getting out of hand. Do I need to show you how to use the [Preview] button?
Quote from: kphoger on May 13, 2026, 05:33:58 PMGeez, |Rothman|, your double quotes are getting out of hand. Do I need to show you how to use the [Preview] button?
Meh. The site's broken. :D
I fixed it...as punishment for all sorts of things now.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on May 13, 2026, 08:28:44 AMQuote from: Rothman on May 13, 2026, 06:45:32 AMQuote from: JayhawkCO on May 11, 2026, 11:29:49 AMQuote from: kphoger on May 11, 2026, 10:16:51 AMQuote from: Rothman on May 10, 2026, 11:53:53 AMI don't see the issue with that driving time given speeds on I-15.
The wonder isn't that 5½ hours is reasonable for the distance, but rather that a destination 425+ miles away even made it onto a variable drive time sign to begin with.
And also the ridiculousness of thinking that number can be accurate as two hours in, you could have multiple accidents occur ahead of you.
Pfft. That's a limit of any static travel time sign.
I'm sure the accuracy of a sign that says "3 min" is much more precise than a sign that says "5 hours".
Or, in the case of Salt Lake City again, a VMS giving simultaneous drive time options to the same destination, i.e.:
SLC AIRPORT VIA:
I-15/80 7 MIN
I-215 12 MIN