Roads/highways you feel unsafe driving on

[kphoger]

Any freeway when it's raining.  Semis kick up a huge amount of mist as do SUVs, compromising visibility.

Not to mention the prevalence of what I call "invisible cars," i.e., vehicles being driven by people who think the "headlights on in the rain" law doesn't apply to them.

Much more annoying in two-way traffic.  Kind of like fog.  Wait, we've already had this discussion.

[elsmere241]

Not to mention the prevalence of what I call "invisible cars," i.e., vehicles being driven by people who think the "headlights on in the rain" law doesn't apply to them.

How about "invisible semis"?  I encounter those every time I drive I-84 along the Columbia - the white trailers are almost impossible to see.

[SSOWorld]

like oh my god have you heard of this road in south america like every other car falls off it's insane

you know - for once I have to back this one.   There are a lot of areas worth avoiding there or in Africa (like Libya or Egypt)

Oh, and I've gone through "questionable" neighborhood and got nervous personally.  North side of Milwaukee, South Side of Chicago, Los Angeles (period).  

3MX, Scott - We all have our tolerances of what we consider bad neighborhoods.  They are unique.  You seem to have a greater tolerance, while others like me, Brandon, H.B., etc don't.  I've braved Milwaukee's north side to clinch the soon to be possibly former WIS-57 through there, but I won't do it again.  I've also been on 95th street in Chicago (US 12/20) and in Gary to clinch all/part of both routes.  Gary is Scary (have I made a rhyme?) simply because of all the boarded up businesses and dirty landscape giving me the idea that I'd be better off someplace else.

[agentsteel53]

Los Angeles (period).  

have you ever actually been to LA? 

[hbelkins]

3MX, Scott - We all have our tolerances of what we consider bad neighborhoods.  They are unique.  You seem to have a greater tolerance, while others like me, Brandon, H.B., etc don't.  I've braved Milwaukee's north side to clinch the soon to be possibly former WIS-57 through there, but I won't do it again.  I've also been on 95th street in Chicago (US 12/20) and in Gary to clinch all/part of both routes.  Gary is Scary (have I made a rhyme?) simply because of all the boarded up businesses and dirty landscape giving me the idea that I'd be better off someplace else.

And on the other end of Illinois, Cairo is pretty desolate. However, I didn't feel a bit unsafe driving through it on US 51 between I-57 and US 60/62.

Only reason I felt edgy driving through the west end of Louisville is because of all the news reports of crime there.

And I know that there are some people who would feel nervous driving through my home area. "Deliverance" gave Appalachia a bad rap. 

[realjd]

And I know that there are some people who would feel nervous driving through my home area. "Deliverance" gave Appalachia a bad rap. 

As the old saying goes, country folks fear people, city folks fear nature. It all depends on what you're used to.

[brownpelican]

Not in the sense of road condition, but in the sense of personal safety. Inspired by that other thread of course.

Driving through Kansas City on eastbound I-70, I missed the slip to continue on I-70. I wound up going on US-24 eastbound little past 2AM, on some mixed-use boulevard that was full of people engaged in illicit activities. Needlessly to say I scrambled to find the way back to I-70 with my heart pounding out the chest.

That stretch of Independence Blvd. (US 24) is straight hood.

Post Merge: April 30, 2012, 10:22:17 PM

US 61/190 Bypass in Baton Rouge passes through a shady area... US 190 splits off towards Hammond and it gets shadier, but US 61 is a perfectly fine highway.

Airline Highway above Greenwell Springs Road...yes, it's a bad area. Between GS Road and Florida, it's an industrial area.

Florida Blvd is basically Baton Rouge's Main Street...lots of business. It does get questionable from North Ardenwood Drive westward toward downtown. The rest of Florida is pretty vibrant.

US 78/278 (Bankhead Highway) in Atlanta between Northside Drive and 285 on the west side....that is the definition of ghetto. You can add US 90/South Claiborne Avenue between Bus US 90 and Napoleon Avenue, North Claiborne Avenue (LA 39) between I-10 and the Judge Seeber Bridge...both in New Orleans.

[SSOWorld]

Los Angeles (period). 

have you ever actually been to LA? 

Yes, I have.  Some places were ok - especially the beaches, but I was not comfortable on Hollywood Blvd.  Unless they cleaned it up in the last 15 years (last time I was there0

[agentsteel53]

Yes, I have.  Some places were ok - especially the beaches, but I was not comfortable on Hollywood Blvd.  Unless they cleaned it up in the last 15 years (last time I was there0

I've never considered Hollywood Blvd to be bad at all.  The worst parts of LA for me are south-central and even those are about averagely bad hood.

[Scott5114]

3MX, Scott - We all have our tolerances of what we consider bad neighborhoods.  They are unique.  You seem to have a greater tolerance, while others like me, Brandon, H.B., etc don't.  I've braved Milwaukee's north side to clinch the soon to be possibly former WIS-57 through there, but I won't do it again.  I've also been on 95th street in Chicago (US 12/20) and in Gary to clinch all/part of both routes.  Gary is Scary (have I made a rhyme?) simply because of all the boarded up businesses and dirty landscape giving me the idea that I'd be better off someplace else.

Well, I wouldn't say that. I avoid bad neighborhoods too; I am not as gung ho as Jake or someone that will intentionally head for the bad part of town to scour for old signs or something. I am simply making the point that the vast majority of bad neighborhoods are not so bad as to fear that you're in constant mortal peril just by passing though.

[blawp]

Los Angeles is very segregated between hood and non hood. It's hard to make an exceptionally wrong turn.

[ftballfan]

Gary is bad, even from I-90. Some parts of Grand Rapids are somewhat shady. I've never been to Detroit or Flint.

[mightyace]

I agree with 3MX in that many (most) times the problem is our perception of an area or a totally irrational fear.  (And, I would include racial, ethnic and age (any teen you see must be in a gang) in that.)

Adding to the problem is that if you've never lived in a "ghetto" you don't know what really goes on there and fearing the unknown is, unfortunately, a part of human nature.

I spent about 1 1/2 years in such an area in Akron about 22 years ago.  From that, I learned first hand that if you mind your own business, you'll generally be OK.  I also learned what to watch for that TRULY IS A BAD SIGN and to avoid that.

I don't go through those areas just to prove I'm tough.  But, I don't shy away from them if I need to go there.  Heightened awareness, yes,  Nervousness, not so much.

[agentsteel53]

TRULY IS A BAD SIGN

and what is TRULY A BAD SIGN, shy of sudden new orifices in your body?

[F350]

So the keyboard warriors never had anything bad happen while driving through sketchy neighborhoods? Okay, then, I have the worst luck in the world.

[realjd]

So the keyboard warriors never had anything bad happen while driving through sketchy neighborhoods? Okay, then, I have the worst luck in the world.

Do you mind sharing what happened? I'd like to think I'm not completely oblivious, but maybe we're all missing something.

[Alps]

TRULY IS A BAD SIGN

and what is TRULY A BAD SIGN, shy of sudden new orifices in your body?

Empty lots and abandoned houses. People on the street at 10 AM just... there, not headed anywhere, and poorly dressed. No traffic besides your own car. Nothing at all looks new, and bars on all the windows. I was just in East St. Louis and saw all of these things. The key is to just keep your car moving - ignore stop signs and red lights, turn right if you feel so compelled or just run straight through them. I got the photos I wanted and got the hell out.

[agentsteel53]

Empty lots and abandoned houses. People on the street at 10 AM just... there, not headed anywhere, and poorly dressed. No traffic besides your own car. Nothing at all looks new, and bars on all the windows.

sounds like most of downtown Detroit.

[Tarkus]

US-40 through Baltimore, down Orleans Street.  That is a scary neighborhood.  Gets even worse going up Ensor Street.

None of the highways going through more "depressed" areas of Oregon really frighten me that much, though I did have a bum yell at me at OR-99 and Chambers Street in West Eugene while on my Honda scooter once.  (Eugene has some really angry and aggressive bums.  Vastly worse than Portland ones.)

[mightyace]

(Eugene has some really angry and aggressive bums.  Vastly worse than Portland ones.)

What about the bums (politicians) in Salem? 

[InterstateNG]

Empty lots and abandoned houses. People on the street at 10 AM just... there, not headed anywhere, and poorly dressed. No traffic besides your own car. Nothing at all looks new, and bars on all the windows.

sounds like most of downtown Detroit.

Sounds nothing at all like downtown Detroit.  Other parts?  Certainly, but downtown is very safe.

[realjd]

Sounds nothing at all like downtown Detroit.  Other parts?  Certainly, but downtown is very safe.

I didn't know Windsor renamed themselves "Downtown Detroit".

[ftballfan]

Empty lots and abandoned houses. People on the street at 10 AM just... there, not headed anywhere, and poorly dressed. No traffic besides your own car. Nothing at all looks new, and bars on all the windows.

sounds like most of downtown Detroit.

Sounds nothing at all like downtown Detroit.  Other parts?  Certainly, but downtown is very safe.

Downtown (south of I-75, east of M-10, and west of I-375) is actually one of the best parts of Detroit, especially after the Tigers and Lions moved into new stadiums.

[vtk]

Bad neighborhoods don't make me nervous.  But sometimes the people in them do.  Like the other day when I was in a short line of cars trickling through an all-way stop, and there were these two guys across the street from one another apparently having some kind of argument; I was fairly nervous when I had to drive slowly between them.  But I rarely encounter that kind of street drama, and most other times I can easily imagine that the locals are just people like anybody else, and have no reason to bother me.

[F350]

US-40 through Baltimore, down Orleans Street.  That is a scary neighborhood.  Gets even worse going up Ensor Street.

I'll echo that. When I cinched that road, some homeless bum stood in front of cars begging for money, preventing anyone in the lane he was blocking from going forward. Guess who was in the front...

Do you mind sharing what happened? I'd like to think I'm not completely oblivious, but maybe we're all missing something.

The reply above was one of the examples. Another example was that I had a beer bottle thrown at me on US-50 in DC.