[Arktikos]

Visiting Upper Valley and have been amazed by how many drivers blow by me going at least 80 on 65 mph highway, usually sporting the Green Mountain plates.
I thought this was a laid back area populated by a lot of older folks not in a hurry?

[harry chickpea]

Heh heh, drive up to Quebec if you want to see fast. I figured it out long ago, on a washboard gravel road, the ride smooths out at about 60 to 70mph, and the limited tire contact is no worse than driving on snow. Drive 35 to 45 and you suspension takes a beating and your kishkas get churned into butter. You get used to driving fast.

[timberline742]

That's not fast. 10 mi over is the norm.

[millerm277]

Originally Posted by Arktikos

Visiting Upper Valley and have been amazed by how many drivers blow by me going at least 80 on 65 mph highway, usually sporting the Green Mountain plates.
I thought this was a laid back area populated by a lot of older folks not in a hurry?

Assuming the road isn't covered in snow, why drive slow?



The interstates in the Upper Valley are basically empty if you're more than a couple miles from the 89/91 interchange/related exits.


I've had drives all the way to the MA border without ever having to take the cruise control off of being set to 74.


It's pretty normal to see people doing at least 60 (default speed limit is typically 50, not that there's anyone around to enforce it) on the state highways/backroads if you're not in a developed area, as well.

[Wells5]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

Heh heh, drive up to Quebec if you want to see fast. I figured it out long ago, on a washboard gravel road, the ride smooths out at about 60 to 70mph, and the limited tire contact is no worse than driving on snow. Drive 35 to 45 and you suspension takes a beating and your kishkas get churned into butter. You get used to driving fast.

IMO, the Québecois are some of the worst drivers I've encountered- just slightly better than the Mexicans.
They never signal their intention to change lanes and try to pull back into your lane as close to your car as possible.

[svband76]

Originally Posted by millerm277

Assuming the road isn't covered in snow, why drive slow?

Better control of your vehicle in the event your vehicle fails or that of another driver. 65-70 mph is plenty fast usually.

[millerm277]

Originally Posted by zalewskimm

Better control of your vehicle in the event your vehicle fails or that of another driver. 65-70 mph is plenty fast usually.

If there is the slightest concern that your vehicle would fail at any speed you could reasonably drive without getting arrested, your vehicle should go get repaired and not be on an interstate highway. Most of the time you're on the interstate in the region, there basically are no other cars on the road around you.



You could follow this logic to it's obvious, ridiculous conclusion, and conclude that the safest speed to drive would be 10mph, because if your car fails, you could just step out of it without injury and let it roll away.



It's a highway. In almost the entire country, speed limits are typically set at 70-75+ on open highway. For whatever reason, Northeast politicians think they're special and that somehow what works everywhere else wouldn't work here. Northeast drivers ignore this and just drive the same speed as people everywhere else in the country do.

[Lammasu]

Originally Posted by Wells5

IMO, the Québecois are some of the worst drivers I've encountered- just slightly better than the Mexicans.
They never signal their intention to change lanes and try to pull back into your lane as close to your car as possible.

I was surprised about Mexicans. They really drive ok compared with. for example, italians.

[bkwriter]

I've driven in Italy (Tuscany) a couple times. Italians drive fast, even aggressively, but with skill. So I didn't feel endangered. Unlike in Vermont, where a lot of drivers are aggressive and stupid. But overall, Vermont isn't bad because there just aren't that many people (outside Burlington).

[arctichomesteader]

There's regularly state police on I-91 so to say there's no enforcement is not accurate. Given the behavior of a lot of the drivers in that area doing 75-80+ mph (like the one I literally had to slam my brakes on for last weekend because they tried to come back into the right lane with me there, not past me yet) I would take anything anyone says defending them with a grain of salt. There's regularly deer crossing the interstate in the upper valley and enough idiots on the road that giving yourself more reaction time is a good idea.