I had great fun today. After we landed in Houston we hired a car. I've not driven in the states for about six years and the free way was nice easy, wide and with a speed limit of 50mph (about 80km/h) just about manageable.
(But why have multiple highway designations, why name exits on the distance from the start of the road and why only sign the exit at the exit).
The trip into town was made more exciting by the opportunity to try a couple of pieces to camera as we drove in. We'll try to put together a short video about biofuels and traveling while we're here. We'll fit it in with the others we'll be making about the NPRA meeting in San Antonio over the week end. Thinking about the road took my mind off the camera... still it is interesting to see the size of vehicles here and the lack of vehicular occupancy. Three of us and our baggage wedged into our Pontiac seemed quite cramped in comparison.
Tomorrow we start our NPRA filming with a visit to FuelQuest a firm that makes software designed to help ethanol producers integrate their logistics with mainstream fuel suppliers amongst other things.
Comments (2)
But why have multiple highway designations, why name exits on the distance from the start of the road and why only sign the exit at the exit
Highways often overlap for short distances before splitting off from each other. This often happens around cities where a major interstate runs into a city's beltway. If you drive a long distance here in the States, you will realize how helpful this is. It allows you to follow a road for a long way without having to constantly follow a patchwork of small 'connector' roads.
Exits are sometimes named using the distance from the start of the road because there are mile markers along the side of the road (they are small green signs with vertical numbers on it). This combination means that you will always know how close you are to a particular exit (at least within a mile of knowing anyway).
We sign the exit many miles before the exit, you may have missed a sign or two, however, my second answer (above) should tell you why it doesn't really matter much if you miss the sign. You can just see the mile marker then figure out how close you are to the exit.
It actually is very organized but you have to know some of the rules. For instance:
-Interstate north-south routes have odd numbers, with numbers increasing from west to east.
-Interstate east-west routes have even numbers, with numbers increasing from south to north.
-Interstate highway routes have one- or two- digit numbers.
-North-south interstates ending with a 5 and east-west interstates ending with a 0 are typically major cross-country routes.
-A three-digit interstate always ends with the two-digit number of the main interstate it loops off from, except I-238.
-Three-digit road numbers beginning with an even number are either beltways that go around a city or freeways that go through a city.
-Three-digit road numbers beginning with an odd number branch off the main interstate.
-U.S. highway north-south routes have odd numbers, with numbers increasing from east to west.
-U.S. highway east-west routes have even numbers, with numbers increasing from north to south.
-U.S. highway east-west routes ending in 0 tend to be cross-country routes.
-Three-digit U.S. routes contain the two digits of their parents routes, but there is not an odd and even number system.
And in case you were wondering, Hawaii does have an interstate even though it doesn't lead off any of the islands.
Posted by Keith | March 27, 2007 1:00 AM
Posted on March 27, 2007 01:00
I shall print this out and attach it to the dash board... (and probably still take a cab whenever I can)
Posted by Biofuelsimon | March 28, 2007 7:15 PM
Posted on March 28, 2007 19:15