What would deterr you from driving any road?

[Zeffy]

(May be more suited to off-topic, if so, mods please move)

As the title says, what factors would you consider that would alter your decision to drive any road? Here's my list:

1. Bad Area / City (*cough* Camden)
2. Posted construction that would impact said road
3. Roads prone to dangerous conditions (I.E. Ice, for example)
4. Extremely narrow roads

[hotdogPi]

I would say mostly #3. And traffic, although that's just temporary.

[Mr. Matté]

Perfect example for me: Before this winter, my daily commute both ways involved taking a Robbinsville Twp., NJ-maintained road as it was the shortest route that allows me to bypass traffic in Princeton Junction. Since this winter, the potholes on this road have gotten really bad and the township didn't seem to do anything about it. I have since started taking an alternate route involving county roads; it also helps that a four-lane bridge fully reopened in December and there's no more backups approaching it.

[AsphaltPlanet]

Winter road conditions would deter me.  I'd love to do the Million Dollar Highway in Colorado, and have some time in a few weeks, but don't want to if it's going to be icy.

[oscar]

Speed traps.  For example, the entire city of Falls Church, Virginia.  I try hard to avoid it, but even though the city covers only about two square miles (the FC postal address zone is far larger) it's not always possible, since it's next door to my home county (not real speeder-friendly either), and most of my doctors have their offices in Falls Church. 

D.C., too.  I always take Metro on my few trips downtown (now that I no longer work there), though I have to cut through D.C. when I drive to destinations to the east.

[Big John]

excessive speed bumps.

[hbelkins]

Heavy traffic and traffic jams.

Bad areas/neighborhoods.

Ice. I don't mind snow, but I'm not crazy about ice.

[golden eagle]

All of the above, plus timing and scenery.

[corco]

Yeah, I don't want to sit at stoplights. I enjoy driving through suburbia sometimes, but I'll time it so that I'm not doing it when it's busy out. Winter conditions can be a deterrent depending on a lot of things-I won't avoid the road because it's bad, but the fact that it might take unacceptably longer to drive the road would deter me.

[Brian556]

Tolls. I rarely drive on toll roads. I generally will avoid them at all costs, because I don't believe in paying for something that should be free.

[Jardine]

I live in a deep rural area.  If the county hasn't bothered to blade the snow off a road that would do it.  They don't like paying overtime, so several roads around here if snowed up on Friday evening, they won't get plowed till Monday sometime.

Also, there are dirt roads in this area that are impassable if it has rained.  Neighbor was quoted a price of nearly $10,000 to get the dirt road he lives on rocked.  He passed and bought a 4 wheeler and parks a rig at a neighbors farm that is on a gravel road. 

There is a cement low water crossing not too far away, I would be extremely cautious crossing if the water was even a little deep.

[sammi]

Tolls. I rarely drive on toll roads. I generally will avoid them at all costs, because I don't believe in paying for something that should be free.

Yup. There are expressways in the Philippines, but all of them are tolled, except for a few kilometers between toll barriers (I think 5~10, total across the country). For tollways, you're paying for the convenience; that's both the speed (because you get to go 100 km/h vs 60~80 on the surface highways) and the lack of congestion (because other people avoid tolls ).

At least the exchange rate works in my favor now (C$1 ~ ₱42). Still pretty expensive though.

[leroys73]

Partly depends on which vehicle I'm driving.  I would say on any given occasion all of the above could make me think twice about driving on a road.

[roadman65]

Well I do not want to drive on NYC streets after my 2003 visit there, so unmovable traffic would be that reason.

Then overnight sprawl that causes instant traffic jams hence why I hate the OBT/ Stable Drive traffic signal in Orlando.  One Walmart Neighborhood Market did that one.

Bad signal timings, which Orange County, Florida does.

It is stuff like this that takes the fun out of driving and makes it a chore.

[froggie]

Tolls. I rarely drive on toll roads. I generally will avoid them at all costs, because I don't believe in paying for something that should be free.

Probably OT for this particular thread, but the problem with this line of thinking is that roads just aren't free.  SOMEBODY has to pay for them.  The mentality is also one reason why transportation funding is such a clusterf*** in this country.

As for the topic, it depends on the situation.  There are certain roads I avoid on my commute due to traffic.  Just tonight, I took a long-about way home due to bad pavement and likely black-ice on the more direct route.  Then there are some areas of the country that have "roads" that in the Upper Midwest would have "Minimum Maintenance Road" signs posted.  Not exactly the type of road one would want to drive on if going from Point A to Point B or trying to take a shortcut.

[US71]

Tolls. I rarely drive on toll roads. I generally will avoid them at all costs, because I don't believe in paying for something that should be free.

Probably OT for this particular thread, but the problem with this line of thinking is that roads just aren't free.  SOMEBODY has to pay for them.  The mentality is also one reason why transportation funding is such a clusterf*** in this country.

E 470 near Denver is expensive. Seems like every 10 miles, it was another $2. Toll Roads are one thing (like the Cherokee Turnpike in Oklahoma), but E 470 was a major ripoff, IMO.

[US81]

Tolls, especially after my negative experiences with the toll roads in Central Texas. I want to pay the posted fare at the time I drive, not get a bill in the mail with so many fees that I pay more fee than toll. 

[NWI_Irish96]

1) High number of serious/fatal accidents
2) Regular traffic volumes that prevent going at least the speed limit

[dgolub]

I have mixed feelings about the Dalton Highway (AK 11) in Alaska.  On the one hand, it would deter me from driving it that it's 400 miles through the middle of nowhere with no exits, so if you break down you could very easily get stranded.  On the other hand, it would be cool to see the northernmost point in North America that's reachable by car.

[1995hoo]

Usually for me it's something about a particular road that might deter me, rather than a general phenomenon.

For example, traffic alone isn't enough, but a particular road's traffic might be. I hate driving on I-81 in Virginia and will try to use another route when feasible, simply because the volume of traffic combined with the large number of trucks makes passing difficult (due to the slow drivers already being in the left lane to pass the trucks); on top of that, the aggressive drivers are sometimes that much more aggressive with the tailgating and weaving in their "desperation" to try to break through. Trucks themselves don't bother me, and both traffic and aggressive drivers are common in the DC area. It's the combination of all these things together that makes me dislike I-81.

Traffic combined with a particular road design issue would be another. An example is Columbia Pike in Arlington, Virginia. I used to commute on that road and at rush-hour it's nerve-wracking due to a combination of traffic, a lot of bus stops in the right lane, and a frequent lack of left-turn lanes. The latter two factors combine–you want to use the left lane to get around buses but you want to move back into the right lane very quickly lest you get stuck when someone wants to turn left.

Speed humps themselves don't deter me provided you can traverse them at the posted speed limit. Unfortunately, those are unusual, which just underscores the point that most speed humps are not there for speed control purposes.

Mistimed traffic lights are a major deterrent, though obviously most of the time you only learn about those the hard way!

I suspect I'm like most of you in that I will avoid certain roads at certain times of day, such as roads where I know there are a lot of school bus stops, or on Sunday morning I might try to avoid a road that passes several churches in quick succession.

Tolls don't really bother me per se. An excessive toll rate might, especially if the toll is easily avoided. For example, it's so easy to avoid the toll at the Maine Turnpike's "Tourist Exit" in Portland (NB Turnpike to NB I-295) that the toll comes across as a middle finger gesture and I will avoid it. But I use the Dulles Toll Road and Greenway in Virginia whenever necessary without thinking about the toll, simply because they're usually the fastest route (I don't drive them daily, though!).

[Brandon]

Tolls, especially after my negative experiences with the toll roads in Central Texas. I want to pay the posted fare at the time I drive, not get a bill in the mail with so many fees that I pay more fee than toll. 

That's why, IMHO, every toll road (including the 407 ETR) should use one transponder.

[SD Mapman]

Construction is nice if you don't have to drive through it. If so, it is the most evil thing ever created.

[US71]

Construction is nice if you don't have to drive through it. If so, it is the most evil thing ever created.

If you're in a hurry to go somewhere, construction is bad. BUT, I'm regularly on I-540 just so I can monitor progress and get a few photos

Very few things would dissuade me: snow, flood, maybe earthquake.  Really bad neighborhoods, perhaps...expecially at night.

"Bridge out" in an invitation to see if the bridge is gone or simply closed to traffic. 

[oscar]

Tolls, especially after my negative experiences with the toll roads in Central Texas. I want to pay the posted fare at the time I drive, not get a bill in the mail with so many fees that I pay more fee than toll. 

Guess I lucked out on my upcoming trip to Texas.  I applied for a TxTag, then the online application system seemingly choked before the process was done, and while I was considering whether to reapply I decided that maybe pay-by-plate wouldn't be so bad after all.  But lo and behold, my original application went through and I got my tag in the mail, just in time for a brief warm spell in my area last weekend for me to install the tag (windshield temps have to be over 50°F when you do that, to make sure the tag sticks). 

[agentsteel53]

traffic, and traffic lights.  I will leave my house at 11pm to make it through LA without hitting traffic.

otherwise - don't care about snow, night, bad neighborhoods, tolls... and if the road is a dirt track then I'll just take the 4x4 truck.