You can’t convince me that I-4 isn’t the worst road ever

Mndsm said:

i-4 is unique in that virtually nowhere else on earth will you encounter the sheer variety of drivers you will here. 

 

Remember, less than 40% of florida's population is native to florida by birth. That means at any given time 60% or MORE of the people got their drivers license SOMEWHERE ELSE. They did not learn the intricacies of Florida driving. 

 

We also have the added benefit of being effectively the #1 tourist destination on earth, with i-4 passing past....all of it. If you wanna see the mouse, the minions, the whale, or any of it, you're on I-4.

 

Let's extrapolate that and add in the fact that...everyone hates tourists. So we all drive like we're trying to kill them, because let's be real, some of us are. Tourists drive like they paid for the section of road they're on so they can do what they want with it. It's a bad mix. 

 

Add in the fact that I-4 was never designed to do what it's doing right now, let alone what it's going to continue to do...forever. The Ultimate project won't catch up. It'll finish and we'll have to start over again. And that's all I can say about that without patio'ing this whole thing. 

 

There's a reason I drive junk. I'm prepared to total my car on a daily basis. Ain't worth owning something I like. 

Phoenix and Tucson are similar in that most of the people aren't native, and they are aging. Those that are native freak the f out if it sprinkles. You've not experienced terrible driving until you've been in Tucson at the start of monsoon season. Those wipers haven't been used in 9 months while baking in the southern arizona sun. Add in their unfamiliarity with wet stuff on road ways and its ..... a "treat". 

Every place has it's thing. Indy's 465 loop long ago became the new speedway. If you're not running 90+ in the 55 you'll probably die. Semi's are running 20+ over. Constant construction and never ending road degredation leaving craters randomly scattered makes it sucky. Rush hours are the same as I-4... mystery slow downs. I10 between Tucson and Phoenix I've never driven slower than 90.... and I was the slow one. 75 through atlanta at 3am is open season. I've lost count the number of times I've been running 90 through there and getting passed on both sides by cars running 110+. 24 through Chattanooga is so rough you spend half your time dodging the craters and the other half dodging the other drivers. Before 70 got its own bridge in St Louis that was a nightmare. 4 interstates coming together at once and then dispersing in all directions after and everyone was in a hurry mixed with Illinoid drivers. The Dan Ryan in Chi-town is never not destroyed and backed up for an hour. 75 just over the river from Cinci on the KY side is nuts. Especially during the weekday. How about NJ/NYC area? That isn't for the weak hearted for sure. 

Doesn't matter where you are, there are roads like or worse. 

Scotty Con Queso said:

I think if you can name an interstate near a major city, it sucks exponentially worse than it did 20 years ago.  Looking at you, I-77 through Charlotte. 

We used to go through Charlotte to visit my family.  Now we roll down towards Florence and catch 95.  By most navigation services, it is 5-15 minutes longer but that is without any traffic in Charlotte.  Way better for my sanity.  

bobzilla said:

Mndsm said:

i-4 is unique in that virtually nowhere else on earth will you encounter the sheer variety of drivers you will here. 

 

Remember, less than 40% of florida's population is native to florida by birth. That means at any given time 60% or MORE of the people got their drivers license SOMEWHERE ELSE. They did not learn the intricacies of Florida driving. 

 

We also have the added benefit of being effectively the #1 tourist destination on earth, with i-4 passing past....all of it. If you wanna see the mouse, the minions, the whale, or any of it, you're on I-4.

 

Let's extrapolate that and add in the fact that...everyone hates tourists. So we all drive like we're trying to kill them, because let's be real, some of us are. Tourists drive like they paid for the section of road they're on so they can do what they want with it. It's a bad mix. 

 

Add in the fact that I-4 was never designed to do what it's doing right now, let alone what it's going to continue to do...forever. The Ultimate project won't catch up. It'll finish and we'll have to start over again. And that's all I can say about that without patio'ing this whole thing. 

 

There's a reason I drive junk. I'm prepared to total my car on a daily basis. Ain't worth owning something I like. 

Phoenix and Tucson are similar in that most of the people aren't native, and they are aging. Those that are native freak the f out if it sprinkles. You've not experienced terrible driving until you've been in Tucson at the start of monsoon season. Those wipers haven't been used in 9 months while baking in the southern arizona sun. Add in their unfamiliarity with wet stuff on road ways and its ..... a "treat". 

Every place has it's thing. Indy's 465 loop long ago became the new speedway. If you're not running 90+ in the 55 you'll probably die. Semi's are running 20+ over. Constant construction and never ending road degredation leaving craters randomly scattered makes it sucky. Rush hours are the same as I-4... mystery slow downs. I10 between Tucson and Phoenix I've never driven slower than 90.... and I was the slow one. 75 through atlanta at 3am is open season. I've lost count the number of times I've been running 90 through there and getting passed on both sides by cars running 110+. 24 through Chattanooga is so rough you spend half your time dodging the craters and the other half dodging the other drivers. Before 70 got its own bridge in St Louis that was a nightmare. 4 interstates coming together at once and then dispersing in all directions after and everyone was in a hurry mixed with Illinoid drivers. The Dan Ryan in Chi-town is never not destroyed and backed up for an hour. 75 just over the river from Cinci on the KY side is nuts. Especially during the weekday. How about NJ/NYC area? That isn't for the weak hearted for sure. 

Doesn't matter where you are, there are roads like or worse. 

What you've described in a Tuscon monsoon is the first snow of a Minnesota winter. 

COME ON PEOPLE. It snows every berkeleying year (and it's the reason I moved to florida to be part of that 60% that didn't get my drivers license here). Yall remember how to ride a bike. Remember how to drive in some dammit snow.

In reply to Mndsm :

same here as well. B/S business skyrockets first snow.

A question related to I-4.

Heading west into Orlando, so around Lake Mary, there’s an illuminated sign almost always warning of STOPPED TRAFFIC AHEAD.

I have wondered, if that sign did not exist, would the traffic also cease to exist? 

David S. Wallens said:

A question related to I-4.

Heading west into Orlando, so around Lake Mary, there’s an illuminated sign almost always warning of STOPPED TRAFFIC AHEAD.

I have wondered, if that sign did not exist, would the traffic also cease to exist? 

Now that you mention that.....there is also one going east between like Lakeland and Auburndale. 

In reply to RonnieFnD :

Yes, that one, too–saw it while heading home from Tampa recently.

Do people see the sign and check up? Somewhere there’s a psychology experiment in here. 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

You present an interesting hypothesis. 

On one hand- the sign exists to warn others of an impending slowdown, much like brake lights. This is theoretically good- because people don't pay attention when they got that Don Miguel XXL from 7-11 to get down on (don't act like you're too good for it). HOWEVER- 

Much like a brake check can cause a giant backup miles down the road due to a chain reaction (as anyone that's driven i-4...anywhere can attest to) is the panic state of warning people in advance causing more slow down than it needs to? What happens if we just.... don't? 

Toyman! said:

I can't imagine that I4 is any worse than I26 in South Carolina. 

The fast lane running 90. The slow lane running 60. Oh, you wanted a middle lane? Funny boy, we don't spend money to fix the gargantuan holes or fill the ruts that are literally worn into the asphalt, much less add another lane. 

Can confirm. If you're not doing at least 90 on that road, you're getting run over. And the parts of the road that aren't potholed or rutted are like a cheese grater. At those speeds on that surface, I'm pretty impressed that my tires aren't bald by the time I get to Charleston.

I saw a cop on that highway once. Once. He was either napping or too engrossed in his donut to enforce anything.

I-4 through Orlando is terrible and it'll be under construction indefinitely. 

While the outer stretches are pretty straight...the downtown orlando stretch has a bunch few curves which normal people should slow down for.  The box trucks usually disagree. I think I do see more absolutely crazy stuff per mile on I-4 than elsewhere.  If I'm going through there I'll often pay to use the express/toll lanes just to stay away from the crazies in the 4-lane thunderdome.  Any time I'm head west through FL i tend to opt to drive through Ocala National Forest.  Google Maps might say it's slower, but it's way more predictable.  And, central FL is kind of interesting to drive through.

With that said, I-75 around Tampa is less chaotic...but very, very fast.  My son and I have a running running joke that there's no rules once you're within 50 miles of tampa on I-75.  

I used to joke that the Capital Beltway in DC (and I -95 in general) was actually safest at rush hour...because people driving in heavy traffic every day are generally pretty competent and efficient.  They drive door-to-door competently at 90 mph every day.  2 PM on the weekend was most dangerous because people who live in rural areas are thrown into the mix bewildered by the who experience.  

I drove from FL to NY last week.  The challenge w/Florida driving is the wide spectrum of drivers all going the same direction.  Fast clueless, fast aggressive, slow clueless, sporadic & staring at a phone...etc.   In other places drivers seems to clump around the median more.  I did notice in NY/NJ that in order to change lanes or merge you don't signal so they can give you more room...you signal to tell people you're moving.  Some people actively avoid a turn signal so they aren't actively blocked.  

In reply to David S. Wallens :

I didnt notice it at first but got a good chuckle when i saw the i4 eyesore.  Good work!

In reply to TJL (Forum Supporter) :

I live close enough to it I don't even see it anymore. I had to go back and look once you said that. It truly is a work of art. 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Funny enough, I drove through that very same area the other day, and there was no stopped traffic.

I didn't really know what to do with myself.

In reply to TJL (Forum Supporter) :

Thank you! How could we not add it?

Somehow, someway, that damn thing would survive the apocalypse, too.

Colin Wood said:

In reply to TJL (Forum Supporter) :

Thank you! How could we not add it?

Somehow, someway, that damn thing would survive the apocalypse, too.

Well yeah- not like Joel's gonna let anyone in in the event of a second coming.....

Some crazy stuff I have seen on I-4 just lately:

A new red Supra slicing up through traffic like he was being chased by a Terminator–at least 20 faster than everyone else, zero turn signals, using all the lanes from one extreme to the other. Traffic was heavy but moving. 

The same but this time a red Camry.

A silver WRX also following that M.O. but using the striped part of an off-ramp as well as the breakdown lane to get that extra jump on traffic. 

And, yes, I use the I-4 express lane. As a friend noted, it’s like insurance. We’ve also been taking 429 around town. 

For those who dont know, the "i4 eyesore" is an awkwardly large building that was funded by stealing money from old ladies via "televangelism". Literally claiming that if you give them $$, then it would increase the likelihood  that god would favor them or whatever.  Completely rotten criminal behavior.  Its a monument to bilking elderlies out of their retirement $$. 
 

The controversy does not stop there. The funding dried up long before the building was completed(ha, its still not "completed"), so this shell of a huge criminal building sat there forever with maybe a crane in place so they could claim it was still "under construction".   

As a Florida born and raised individual I can't argue the points given here. This is all part of the reason I moved to SE Georgia. Let me offer a few other possibly  close comparisons: I75 in the Atlanta metro area at any time other than 1-5 am. The seaming eternally under construction I75/I16 interchange in Macon.  Also have to agree with a previous poster in regards to I26 in SC.

The I-4 eyesore has its own Wikipedia entry.

And Halloween costume.

Veteran's HWY in Metairie, LA where Causeway Blvd. and Clearview Pkwy. cross. At one time they were rated the two most dangerous intersections in the country according to auto insurance companies. You could be first in line at a red light, the light turns green and you count to three before going and STILL get t-boned by someone running the red light. These two intersections are only a few miles apart.

David S. Wallens said:

The I-4 eyesore has its own Wikipedia entry.

We have this bizarre building in Tulsa, also built by a televangelist.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/abundant-life-building

Who then built his own university in south Tulsa in the 60s. 

Also built this complex across the street from the ORU campus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CityPlex_Towers

Forgot about Dinosaur world in Plant City 

I75 in tampa I agree is very fast, in the GTI, I find myself going 90+ just to keep up, and its perfectly fine. But I really hated cruising in the Integra at 85+. It's usually right near that VTEC engagement point. I found going north on I75 towards Ocala I tend to drive far more relaxed, and it usually feels that way most times of the day. Going south to go home, all bets are off, feels like everyone is going faster going south lol

I recently did I-75 south to Venice. Traffic was heavy but moving along at a good clip. 

Lof8 - Andy said:

#1 Deadlist Road, 2021

I drive it frequently.  Its always terrible, its always under construction.  I do everything I can to avoid it when possible.

That website won't load, so you're going to have to give me a hint... 

I-4 sounds like an average day on the PATP or I-95 through PA.  The speed limit is a mere suggestion... at least on the TP it's 70 MPH, so when the flow of traffic is 90 the slower lanes don't seem as out of place. The 55 limit on 95 is laughable. On the rare occasion there's a State Trooper, they won't even look at you unless you're doing over 70.  Getting passed by someone doing 100+ isn't uncommon. In my younger days, that someone was often me.  To be honest, the problem is usually out-of-state drivers who don't understand how fast PA drivers can be. 

On the plus side, we don't have to worry about anyone passing in the left breakdown lane... since that lane doesn't exist on either road.