1,052 Miles in one day

[iBS23]

Speaking as a fellow Wisconsinite, I've made that type of drive on numerous occassions, and it isn't that bad. However, I will second the suggestions of the others here -- break it up. I have found it much easier (and less draining) to leave immedaitely after work, drive until 1-2 am at the latest, wake up at 7-8 am and then finish the trip. In your case, I'd probably shoot through central Illinois and stop over in Carbondale (college town) which should take you about 5.5 to 6 hours barring construction. You could shoot for Memphis, but that's a bit long for a post-work drive.

If you've never driven through southern illinois, be prepared for miles and miles of flat corn fields -- very boring (we call them flatlanders for a reason).

As for police, Illinois troopers are not as bad as Wisconsin troopers, but they have been pushing construction zone speeding big-time (including camera vans that issue tickets via mail). I've heard that Missouri troopers can be tough, but have no first-hand knowledge. From there, you're on you own.

 

[Kingsly]

I work 17 hour days pretty frequently, so I'm not worried about whether or not I can handle it. And of course, I can always crash at a cheap motel along the way, but that's a last resort. Let's stick to what I asked about and quit being grandmas.

I don' t know about you, but I was glued to Final Cut Pro for 15 hours yesterday (one meal break, one bathroom break) and felt fine. Last week I drove from SF to LA and felt like I was going to die... and that was only 6 hours.

Just a thought.

 

[pianoman]

i can't imagine doing that by oneself. two people is good because you can switch off. but just one person. maintaining a speed of 70 mph, that'd be 15 hours straight driving!

good luck.

 

[Zwhaler]

That is kind of a lot to do in one day.

My parents own a second house in the Very Very Northwestern Tip of Washington, and from where I live here, (Bay Area) it is 880 miles and I always do it in one day.

But you are talking hundreds of miles more than that, so basically if you leave at 6:00 AM, (getting up at 5:30) you will probably reach your destination at midnight or later (depending on traffic), and that doesn't sound fun.

Basically I say do half and half over two days

 

[srf4real]

I drove from Melbourne, Florida to Thayer, Kansas in 24 hours in June. It was about 1500 miles if I remember correctly. Went to a funeral the next morning, ate dinner and left that night. My wife drove for three hours on the way home, other than that it was just me. (My truck has a 2000 watt system, so I didn't get sleepy!)

I WAS worthless the day after, though.

 

[ksz]

^^^ My record is close to that: 1400 miles non-stop from Buffalo to Dallas in 25 hours. I was 23, it was my first car, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Every city was a milestone; the milestones were spread out approximately every 200 miles. It was just a matter of achieving milestone after milestone.

When I arrived it was 9 in the morning. I decided to take a 30-minute nap. I woke up 12 hours later.

 

[xsedrinam]

Since we're all fessing up to foolish, youthy drives. I'm not proud of this nor should I be. But my worst was 2104 miles from Modesto, CA to St. Louis, MO alone, and stops only for gas and food. It took 29 hours, but the adrenaline rush from being awakened behind the wheel by an 18 wheeler's wind, going by me at 6 a.m. on a two way Hwy in Nevada, kept me going for the rest of the way in. Needless to say, I never tried anything so foolish again.

 

[yg17]

Since we're all fessing up to foolish, youthy drives. I'm not proud of this nor should I be. But my worst was 2104 miles from Modesto, CA to St. Louis, MO alone

Holy. ****.


And what's worse, is once you made it to STL, you realized this city blows and you wasted all that time

 

[cr2sh]

I once drove from Mineral Wells, Texas to Dayton, Ohio straight. Mapquest says its 1083 miles, but I stopped in Norman, OK for 4 hours and surveyed some high tension lines.

That was a long damn day.

 

[obeygiant]

pick up some good fireworks in missouri.

 

[yg17]

pick up some good fireworks in missouri.

Good luck with that. All of the fireworks stands I know of closed around July 5th or so. Granted, I don't know of many fireworks stands....fireworks are illegal in St. Louis County, and I had to drive to St. Charles County to get some (15 minute drive from my house)

 

[bousozoku]

Holy. ****.


And what's worse, is once you made it to STL, you realized this city blows and you wasted all that time

Six flags wasn't bad when I was there.

 

[cait-sith]

I don' t know about you, but I was glued to Final Cut Pro for 15 hours yesterday (one meal break, one bathroom break) and felt fine. Last week I drove from SF to LA and felt like I was going to die... and that was only 6 hours.

Peeing once in 15 hours is bad for your bladder. I've had urinary tract infections caused by, among other things, not urinating enough.

 

[todd2000]

I moved from NJ to VA 8 months ago and since I moved we (me and my aunt, and or uncle) have driven up to NJ for a visit and back 4-5 times (well 2 for funerals ), Thats only 500 miles each way and It's tiring, I made it most of the way once. then let my Aunt finish the drive. Your talking about 3X that and then some, you really do need to stop and rest a little. Im actually driving uo to Southern NJ the beginning of next month, only 410 miles this time, but im doing it alone, im just gonna stop to eat, drink plenty of Iced Tea(Not much of a coffee person), and get out a strech every few hours.

 

[bousozoku]

I moved from NJ to VA 8 months ago and since I moved we (me and my aunt, and or uncle) have driven up to NJ for a visit and back 4-5 times (well 2 for funerals ), Thats only 500 miles each way and It's tiring, I made it most of the way once. then let my Aunt finish the drive. Your talking about 3X that and then some, you really do need to stop and rest a little. Im actually driving uo to Southern NJ the beginning of next month, only 410 miles this time, but im doing it alone, im just gonna stop to eat, drink plenty of Iced Tea(Not much of a coffee person), and get out a strech every few hours.

It's especially bad if you have to go around D.C. since it's such a mess. I've spent 3 hours just going from Baltimore to Richmond because of construction plus accidents. At least, you have Wawa iced tea available part of the way.

 

[LeeTom]

RE: the safety vs. grandma part of the thread...

I drove the 1,300 miles from Seattle to Denver in one day (about 22 hours straight). I won't lie, I was a danger to everyone on the road, but I made it to a concert on time, totally enjoyed it, and passed out.
Then woke up the next morning to drive back to Seattle...

 

[sushi]

Since we're all fessing up to foolish, youthy drives. I'm not proud of this nor should I be. But my worst was 2104 miles from Modesto, CA to St. Louis, MO alone, and stops only for gas and food. It took 29 hours, but the adrenaline rush from being awakened behind the wheel by an 18 wheeler's wind, going by me at 6 a.m. on a two way Hwy in Nevada, kept me going for the rest of the way in. Needless to say, I never tried anything so foolish again.

Wow! That's a long drive. If that is your total door to door time, you averaged 72.4 miles per hour.

My longest drive alone was about 1100 miles in 17.5 hours from Alabama to Nebraska. Only stopped for gas/bathroom breaks.

Never again.

BTW, I only averaged 62.8 MPH on my trip but drove a lot of it at 90 plus speeds. You must have been really hauling butt to maintain an average over 70MPH. Yikes!

One thing for sure, as other posters have stated your reactions suffer worse than if you are driving drunk. Operating a vehicle while fatigued is very dangerous and not a smart thing.

 

[garybUK]

I drove from Manchester, UK to Rome, IT granted there is a break when your car is sat on the ferry to Belgium but after that it was none stop, that was total 1300 miles. Not good!!! my friend was with me but he can't drive.

the only breaks were for petrol and toilet breaks.

Open windows and a loud stereo are sure ways to get you pulled over, this is what the police look for.

Even if you take regular power nap's like pull into a service station and sleep for 20 / 30 mins and carry on, do that regularly and you will be a whole lot better driver than hammering it.

 

[mad jew]

I drive massive kilometres for my job and I always drink Coke. It has caffeine + sugar an it'll make you stop over every now and then to fertilise the roadside flora.

Always Coca-Cola™.

 

[thedude110]

The longest I've driven without "stopping" has been about 600 miles (11 hours from Bangor, ME to Ithaca, NY) and I remember being convinced I was seeing pink deer everywhere somewhere around mile 500 (Binghamton).

God I hate Binghamton.

 

[e²Studios]

Driving long distances takes a lot out of you. I drove 28 hour straight from Schaumburg (sp) Illinois to Amarillo TX, slept for 6 hours and then drove the rest of the distance to Torrance, California. I was a wreck when i got to southern california, i think i slept for 12 or 14 hours and even then i wasnt "all there".

Stop often even if to get out and stretch, get rest, and energy drinks dont help. Your stubborness to get there may save you time but could you live with yourself if you killed somone after falling asleep at the wheel? I dont think these are Grandma comments, they are common sense comments.

Good Luck
Ed

 

[SilentPanda]

Stop halfway... seriously. I drove (according to google maps) 1067 miles in one day and it was horrid... NC to IA. The biggest problem is you tend to make it 100-200 or so miles from your destination and then you get really tired. But at that point you feel like you're "soooooooo close" why bother stopping. I'd suggest stopping halfway. You can get a bed to sleep on for so cheap it's terribly worth it. $30ish is nothing to ensure safety.

 

[Queso]

Always stop at the halfway point. I regularly drive down to Barcelona from London and always stay the night en route. It really isn't worth risking killing yourself.

 

[e²Studios]

Always stop at the halfway point. I regularly drive down to Barcelona from London and always stay the night en route. It really isn't worth risking killing yourself.

See i think that if someone is retarded/stubborn enough to want to risk their life that i feel worse for the people they could possibly injure or kill with their lack of common sense rather than if they conjure the powers of darwin on themselelves.

ed

 

[jelloshotsrule]

The longest I've driven without "stopping" has been about 600 miles (11 hours from Bangor, ME to Ithaca, NY) and I remember being convinced I was seeing pink deer everywhere somewhere around mile 500 (Binghamton).

God I hate Binghamton.

was just in the ithaca and binghamton area this past week. drove from ithaca airport to dulles in a rental car with no tunes of my own. i was ready to die as i listened to michael medved!