Never knew what a Texas U Turn was

[Sigarms]

They have them in El Paso and Austin also.

Understood.

Don’t know the history on how highways were designed state by state along with those timelines, but it’s a pretty nifty idea IMO that it hadn’t caught on with other states when they designed their own highway system around major cities.

 

[TractorTech]

This explains a lot when it comes to 'Snowbirds' in the Coachella Valley during the winter. We would be just as confused about some of the different state oddities I guess. I experienced Texas U-turns when in the McAllen a few years back. Simple enough!

 

[Oaktree]

We have our fist roundabout. 4 roadways lead into and out of the roundabout. Once you enter you exit on any one of the 4 roadways including the one you came in on. Works great...typically there is no stopping unless you are waiting to enter.

A different thing altogether. They never really went away here in New England (though most people refer to them as rotaries or traffic circles), but the last decade or so they've built a lot more of them. Agreed that once you know how to use one correctly it does make for much better traffic flow at busy intersections.

Not certain what you mean by a frontage road, but having lived in Pa on the east and west side of the state, have seen nothing like the turn around in Texas in Pa.

By frontage road, I mean another road, not part of the interstate system that parallels an interstate or other limited access divided highway. Seem to be more common in midwestern states.

Understood.

Don’t know the history on how highways were designed state by state along with those timelines, but it’s a pretty nifty idea IMO that it hadn’t caught on with other states when they designed their own highway system around major cities.

Easier said than done in many eastern cities that had been well established 100 years or more before the invention of the automobile. It would take a LOT of eminent domain to accomplish!

On a sidenote, my wife and I have been married over 20 years now.

From our own experience, now that we are both in our mid to late 50's, the MOST stressful event in our relationship is when one person is driving and another person in the "navigator"

Doesn't get any easier when you're in your mid 70s. It's compounded when one party (my wife) by her own admission has a lousy sense of direction. Usually, she defers to me, but sometimes not.

 

[scootr]

I deem my wife a terrible driver ...she feels the same about me. When we travel together she drives and I keep my mouth shut. Happy wife happy life

 

[Sigarms]

By frontage road, I mean another road, not part of the interstate system that parallels an interstate or other limited access divided highway. Seem to be more common in midwestern states.

Thank you. I'm glad I asked. Never thought to look it up and that term makes complete sense now. Never saw frontage roads in Montona, Idaho or Utah (were I'd drive around a lot of the state) and in California we really never stayed in one place but never noticed them.

That said, in San Antonio, we were staying at a hotel about 10 minutes off the base. Didn't click with me, but there was a frontage road on both sides of interstate 410.

Now it makes sense. Looking at a map, seems like San Antonio has frontage roads off of more than just interstat 410 (didn't hit me why you have have two roads the same name on different sides of the interstate). Since driving back and fourth from the hotel to the base and back to the hotel, the layout actually makes complete sense as to why you would use a frontage road. Between that and the Texas U turn, it really does seem easy navigating once you get used to it.

 

[MossRoad]

Want to have some fun? Set your GPS unit for a South African female voice. She'll tell you to take the slip road.

 

[Sigarms]

Want to have some fun? Set your GPS unit for a South African female voice. She'll tell you to take the slip road.

I’ve got to ask how I’m tarnation you know that?

 

[MossRoad]

I’ve got to ask how I’m tarnation you know that?

Just by playing with the settings.

I always thought a GPS was stupid. I was a paper map guy. Then about 10-15 years ago I went to Florida to meet up with my wife who was there for business. Her coworker had a GPS. She was driving, so told me to play around with it and come into this century! So I did.

It was great. All a GPS is really, is a very good map! Lots of maps. Thousands of maps, all in a convenient little box. And it's easily updated, VS having to buy new paper maps. And it'll tell you where there's gas stations, dining, parks, recreation, and more importantly as you get older.... restrooms!

I liked it so much that my wife bought me one for Christmas that year. I played around with the settings. Changed the icon to a red monster truck to match our old Suburban. Changed the voices. Change the display for altitude, ETA, all kinds of stuff. Just playing with technology. Found the female South African voice. The kids loved it. I still have the GPS in my Suburban. Now I mostly just use my cell phone for GPS. One less device to carry. Integrates with the Subaru Outback apple car play.

Very nice on our long trips to OK. It reads your texts to you, sends texts via voice, all hands free. The navigation through Google maps or Apple works great. Finds routes around traffic backups.

I can't say enough about staying up on technology as a convenience to our lifestyle. I'm sitting in my jammies and sweater on a cold winter day talking to folks all over the world from my couch.

Gotta go stoke the wood stove. Some things never change!

 

[BnRidge]

The nice lady on our GPS, with an english accent, is often times recalculating the root, telling us to take the slip road, and exclaims emphatically "Waypoint Reached!".

 

[MossRoad]

 

[Torvy]

We also have a few other things for travelers.

Texas off ramp. When interstate (or similar highway) traffic is backed up for construction or accident, drive through a navigable median to the access road and continue on your way. These are not strictly legal, but are very common.

Plan ahead. Off ramps are often a mile or more before the road you are off ramping to. For me, it was hard because if you see a tall sign for gas or food, you probably missed the exit already.

I swear most Texas roads are built without the benefit of a traffic engineer. One very common type of interchange on highways has the incoming traffic merge onto the highway before the outgoing traffic merges off. This results in a slow, sometimes dangerous dance where both groups are attempting to merge the opposite way through the same space.

In general, roundabouts are becoming more common in Texas. They are great for single land 4-way stop replacement. Once you get beyond one lane, people lose their minds.

 

[MossRoad]

We've got some clover leafs that were designed during the 55mph era. Now the speed limit is 65 and the on/off merge on top of the overpass is too short, and the 25mph 270 degree off-ramp on the far side is too tight. Gotta pick your spot, duck into the accelerating upcoming traffic, duck onto the off-ramp and immediately slam your brakes.

 

[Sigarms]

I liked it so much that my wife bought me one for Christmas that year. I played around with the settings. Changed the icon to a red monster truck to match our old Suburban. Changed the voices. Change the display for altitude, ETA, all kinds of stuff. Just playing with technology. Found the female South African voice. The kids loved it. I still have the GPS in my Suburban. Now I mostly just use my cell phone for GPS. One less device to carry. Integrates with the Subaru Outback apple car play.

I had a Garmin a long time ago. Really liked it. Then some years later I had to "upgrade" the maps. Haven't bought one since, and luckily Waze works pretty well from your smart phone.

 

[MossRoad]

This is your entire enter/exit lane, exactly 1/10th of a mile. Yikes.

 

[MossRoad]

I had a Garmin a long time ago. Really liked it. Then some years later I had to "upgrade" the maps. Haven't bought one since, and luckily Waze works pretty well from your smart phone.

My garmin has lifetime updates. Still works, surprisingly.

 

[Sigarms]

In general, roundabouts are becoming more common in Texas. They are great for single land 4-way stop replacement. Once you get beyond one lane, people lose their minds.

In NC, my wife tells the story of one lady who was trying to make a left on a local round a bout...

That said, I will have to give a local town in the next county over credit using round a bouts off a major route to their town and the way they laid 3 round a bouts out from a gas station right off the exit. They made people exiting the gas station to have to take a right and go up to the next round a bout about 100 yards down the road. People we so stupid trying to cross 2 lnes of road when all they had to do was take a right up to the round a bout and come back, which generally took about an extra 80 seconds or so (they forced people to the right by putting in a divided in the middle of the road off the gas station). Was laid out pretty well IMO.

 

[Oaktree]

I always thought a GPS was stupid. I was a paper map guy. Then about 10-15 years ago I went to Florida to meet up with my wife who was there for business. Her coworker had a GPS. She was driving, so told me to play around with it and come into this century! So I did.

It was great. All a GPS is really, is a very good map! Lots of maps. Thousands of maps, all in a convenient little box. And it's easily updated, VS having to buy new paper maps. And it'll tell you where there's gas stations, dining, parks, recreation, and more importantly as you get older.... restrooms!

Both have their place. On a long trip it's nice to have paper maps (road atlas) to get the big picture, and plot routes rather than relying on the GPS to do that. Once you get down to local/street level the GPS is best. While they've gotten better in that regard, they'll still direct you down some somewhat convoluted routes.
If I'm visiting someone, I'll ask them to give directions from some local/regional starting point...sometimes there's no substitute for local knowledge.
I have no experience with cellphone GPS, but the old disclaimers apply that if it's "free" you're the product, and it's likely tracking you for it's own not-always-disclosed purposes.

My garmin has lifetime updates. Still works, surprisingly.

Mine too, I make a point of updating it at least once a year.

 

[MossRoad]

Both have their place. On a long trip it's nice to have paper maps (road atlas) to get the big picture, and plot routes rather than relying on the GPS to do that. Once you get down to local/street level the GPS is best. While they've gotten better in that regard, they'll still direct you down some somewhat convoluted routes.
If I'm visiting someone, I'll ask them to give directions from some local/regional starting point...sometimes there's no substitute for local knowledge.
I have no experience with cellphone GPS, but the old disclaimers apply that if it's "free" you're the product, and it's likely tracking you for it's own not-always-disclosed purposes.


Mine too, I make a point of updating it at least once a year.

One nice thing about the Subaru Outback's large touch screen and Apple car play is you can blow the map out as far as you want and set destination points for your route. Also, since the screen is so large, it shows way more detail than a cell phone.

 

[QRTRHRS]

The first time through a Double Crossover Diamond also called a Double Reverse Crossover is trip to say the least. They are designed to prevent left turn backups for the traffic bisecting an four lane road when there is no room for a cloverleaf.

 

[MossRoad]

The first time through a Double Crossover Diamond also called a Double Reverse Crossover is trip to say the least. They are designed to prevent left turn backups for the traffic bisecting a four lane road when there is no room for a cloverleaf.

We've been through that very one. Yikes!