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Richmond VA to Hershey PA – Route
We are in the middle of a summer road trip and would like a little routing advice.
We are planning on going from Richmond, VA to Hershey, PA this Thursday. It looks like we have at least 3 options.
1. The GPS wants to take us on I-495 around DC and then up I-270 to Frederick, through Gettysburg and into Hershey.
2. If we want to stay on Interestates and go from Frederick to I-81 and into Hershey it adds about 25 miles.
3. Another option is bypassing DC by taking I-64 out of Richmond to I-81 and then into Hershey adds about 75 miles over the most direct route.
Is going around DC on I-495 in the middle of the day a good idea or bad idea? We don’t mind city traffic that keep moving, we aren’t big fans of stop and go traffic.
Will my life be easier if I just take I-64 over to I-81 and bypass the entire DC traffic?
Eventually we will get to Quebec and Maritime Provinces before we make our way back to Florida.
Thanks for your help.
Terry
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14 Replies
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Terry I avoid heavy traffic at all cost. DC can have bad traffic at any hour of the day!
64 to 81 is easy traveling. But another route is 95n to 17 in Fredricksburg to 81.
17 is scenic if you like that kind of traveling. You will find some traffic lights along the route but the
speed limit is 55 or so. Rick
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Either way you go Terry, I would avoid the DC nightmare.
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I live at the Maryland Pennsylvania line 5 miles of I 83 and use the I 95, DC beltway (east side), Baltimore Beltway (west side avoiding the Baltimore harbor tunnels), I 83, to I 81 and avoid rush hour traffic with usually A minimum of problems.
I allow suficant time use the bumper lane and usually enjoy the ride
No worse than Orlando, Chicago, Indy, LA, Etc note the word USUALLYI 270 and I 81 puts me out of my way in those area’s in fact I have never used that part of the interstate system.
Thats my $002
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Correction Terry 17 66 than 81. 17 between 66 and 81 is restricted use. Rick
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Hey Don, do they allow on the interstate, your about 80′ long.:)
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After consulting my co-pilot we agreed, we aren’t in a hurry and we might as well take it easy. We are going up to I-64 to I-81.
Thanks for the great input.
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Terry,
If you’re not in a hurry try I95 to VA234 in Dumfries to I-66W to US15N. This is mostly 4 lane. This route takes you by Camp David and the quaint unofficial Camp David museum at the Cozy Restaurant http://www.cozyvillage.com/
We’ll be there about the same time as you with the grandkids. We’re leaving the bus at their house in VA.
Gil
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Tom
I am the same as an 18 wheeler 70 feet so far I have slid under the radar.
Don
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I was just pulling your chain Big Boy….
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I have to believe any of us that might exceed the length limits are going to be given a pass from the law enforcement folks until we draw attention to ourselves by driving in such a way we force them to notice us.
Drive with the traffic flow, don’t drive agressively, don’t tailgate, don’t switch lanes all the time, etc. and the LEOs will likely ignore us.
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Jon
That is exactly what I do follow traffic at a good distance trying to give myself an alternate escape route, set the speed at the posted limit if I am not in traffic, and stay in the bumper lane as much as I can.
It makes for low stress, with the 70 feet I was a little concerned for my driver getting pulled over going thru Tenn after POG 10 but no problem.
speeking of problems I have had no problems of being gitty after POG 10. The wife is making reservations for POG 11 We will probibly be in that campground for 3 weeks,
we plan on heading west July 20 + or – returning sometime around the end of October. November 7 to 10 we plan on being at the Florida Flywheeler show. January 4 we hope to become snow birds again in Florida.
I am trying to use your advice Jon and keep the Bus running as much as possible for as long as I can.
Life is Good Don
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Really happy to hear you are well and keeping the bus running often. I really believe as private coaches we are not being pulled over for being over length or weight until we fail to exercise good judgment. Then I think we deserve to be pulled over.
I recently completed a course on Bendix air and braking systems. Our coaches are typically going to stop in over 300 feet at 60 MPH, with the stopping distance increasing as speed increases. That is kind of scary when we realize the average car on the road can stop in 130 feet or less from the same 60 MPH speed. I try to stay way back and I get really concerned when folks cut in too close. Very dangerous.
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I have had 2 experiences with people passing and diving in front or me and purposely hitting their brakes.
The first one believe it or not was A Maryland Prince George County police. He was passing me so close I felt that he was going to side swipe me while passing. Luckily that gave me A heads up that he was up to no good and I applied the brakes at that point. He then dove in front of me and applied his brakes very hard, he miss judged that my speed had slowed way down. He pulled away A short distance then did it again by this time I was almost at a stop on the DC Capital Beltway.
The only thing I can think of he must have been looking for an insurance claim (hit A cop you are always at fault)
Did I get his car number? No I was to shook up to think clearly all I could do was thank God I had missed him.
Never under any condition let anyone move around in the bus while driveing.
Last November while 6 of us were returning from the Florida Flywheelers Show one of the guys had to go to the bathroom. Wouldn’t you know it, someone passed dove in front and jamed on his brakes and dove off at an interchange on I 95 in North Carolina. The passenger went flying into the table and brused his hip and landed on the floor.That could have been a lot worse, All of us still talk about that.
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I am not sure of when the new regulations will go into effect but there are two significant changes coming in the not too distant future.
The first is one some vehicles now have and that is a braking system controlled by a sensor that is used to determine distances between the coach and fixed objects (such as a bridge abuttment) or other vehicles, and then if required apply braking to prevent a collision.
The second significant change is to reduce the distance for stopping from the current certification standard (which is over 300 feet if I remember correctly) to 200 feet or less at 60 MPH.
The two regulations when in effect are going to have a profound impact on how all large vehicles are driven. The impact avoidance which is now available on Prevost coaches combined with greatly increased stopping power is going to make current driving practices very unpleasant. If you are used to tailgating your coach impact avoidance system is going to apply brake forces proportional to what is needed to prevent a rear end collision. That’s a good thing. The bad thing is a driver that cuts in too close in front of a coach that is a safe distance from the car ahead is going to force the coach brakes to be applied, possibly at a significant force. The regulations requiring these features do not recognize how other drivers can in effect control your coach.
It is going to be interesting.
Relative to the cop playing games with you, this is a perfect example of why I have a dash cam on my bus. I am not suggesting I am looking for the first person to do what the cop did so I can play the video and prove I did nothing wrong, but it is peace of mind knowing even if it is a cop playing games the actual situation will be documented and it will not be my word against his.
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