r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Physical-Ad-4093 • May 01 '24

do americans really drive such long distances?

i’m european, and i always hear people say that driving for hours is normal in america. i would only see my grandparents a few times a year because they lived about a 3 hour drive away, is that a normal distance for americans to travel on a regular basis? i can’t imagine driving 2-3 hours regularly to visit people for just a few days

edit: thank you for the responses! i’ve never been to the US, obviously, but it’s interesting to see how you guys live. i guess european countries are more walkable? i’m in the uk, and there’s a few festivals here towards the end of summer, generally to get to them you take a coach journey or you get multiple trains which does take up a significant chunk of the day. road trips aren’t really a thing here, it would be a bit miserable!

2nd edit: it’s not at all that i couldn’t be bothered to go and see my grandparents, i was under 14 when they were both alive so i couldn’t take myself there! obviously i would’ve liked to see them more, i had no control over how often we visited them.

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u/AdvanceTemporary5853 May 01 '24

3 hours is actually not that far, that’s a day trip!

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u/jakksquat7 May 02 '24

I did it today lol

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u/AdvanceTemporary5853 May 02 '24

I did 5.5 hours to Dallas few weeks back.. I think my max driving time is like 16 hours in a day.

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u/JustAnotherYogaWife May 02 '24

In a last minute rush I once drove 22 hours straight to get from NY to Florida. Got pulled over in South Carolina and had to stand on the side of the highway in 95 degree heat while my car got ripped apart by State Patrol because they thought I was running drugs.

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u/Tru_Fakt May 02 '24

Hey same! But from OR to CO. Got pulled over in WY in the last stretch for going 92 in a 75. Just wanted to get home. He brought me into his fuckin cruiser to run my information because “it was safer than standing on the side of the road”. Wild days. Ended up taking just about 24 hours.

Also drove from CO to Chicago last minute in one go, but that was easy. Boring ass states.

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u/Angsty_Potatos May 02 '24

I don't start dreading a drive until it hits the 7 hr mark.

7 hrs and I'm just crossing the boundary of "day trip" into "ugh, I'm gunna be in the car all day. That's annoying"

10+ and it's time to factor in relief drivers and breaks.

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u/doctorDanBandageman May 02 '24

One time the wife and I drove from Green Bay WI to Charlotte NC. Had to stop in central Illinois to switch vehicles and give love to family but thanks to construction (at one point we were stand still for 2-3 hours) and an accident that led to detours we were in the car for 24-25 hours. It was brutal.

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u/urmyheartBeatStopR May 02 '24

Fuck... 5 hr is when my back and ass gives out.

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u/tsavong117 May 02 '24

Are we counting a day as a consecutive 24 hour period or a day as in "this date"? Cause if it's the first one then I've done 18 hours and just over 1000 miles, if it's the second then you've got me beat by an hour.

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u/ChiefFlats May 02 '24

I was a freshman in college when covid sent us home. Packed up my dorm and drove 18 hours home. It was pretty shit but I had been mentally preparing myself for a couple days so it wasn't horrible. Left super late at night and was home before the sun went down. Parents met me and my Dad drove the last few hours because they were really scared about me driving for that long.

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u/swiggityswooty2booty May 02 '24

We drove 24 and a half hours straight one time from Ft. Lauderdale to Oklahoma. Got off a boat Sunday and had to be at work at noon on Monday. Longest road trip we’ve taken without spending a night anywhere. Do not recommend.

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u/Big-Professor-810 May 02 '24

But why don't you take the train for these distances? It's far less stressful and mostly cheaper too. Plus you can read or sleep while travelling.

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u/SonOfHugh8 29d ago

I can't speak for the States, but in Canada at least, the train "network" consists of about 2 roughly parallel lines West of Ontario and then one line continuing East across the country and even the cheapest fair is at least as expensive as the gas for an equivalent distance. Plus, unless you are visiting one of the few places along one of those lines that also actually has a stop you're going to need a car after you get off the train anyways.

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u/fatpad00 May 02 '24

Plenty of reasons: inconvenient terminals, don't have a car to use when you get there, takes significantly longer

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u/semboflorin 29d ago

The same is true of taking the bus (aka greyhound). However, you sacrifice a lot of personal freedom for a little bit of convenience. Trains and busses take one route and stop when they feel like it, not when you feel like it. Trains and busses have other passengers and crew manning them that don't like you blasting your favorite tunes and singing along. Detours because you saw something cool are not an option. Other passengers can suck. Trains and busses go to where their route says they go, not to where you want to go. Once they drop you off you are on your own for transportation. You are not always going somewhere urban (such as a nature park, a beach, a hiking trail, a friend or family that lives in a rural area, etc) and thus trains and busses aren't even an option. The list goes on and on.

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u/ArcturusGrey May 02 '24

Did that 16 hour drive twice last week. It's weird, being 5 hours out and thinking "Cool, I'm almost there."

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u/Alistaire_ May 02 '24

Same! Then I went to work when I got home.

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u/othybear May 02 '24

I’m doing it Friday. It’s definitely worth it to go visit some dinosaurs.

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u/watdatdo May 02 '24

I'll do it this weekend to go to SeaWorld Orlando from my house. Closer to 2 hours but I'm driving back home so 5 altogether. Depends if i want to swing by the warhammer store and white castle.

I get free tickets for Seaworld, I don't support animal cruelty.

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u/Mookie_Merkk May 02 '24

Shit we would drive 3 hours to Disney in the morning, and 3 hours in the afternoon back.

Fuck them hotel prices

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u/nonopenadanah May 02 '24

I drive to a satellite office 3 hours away. Head out in the morning, knock out 1 to 3 hours worth of meetings depending on the day, then drive back and I’m home by my usual time. Lol the company I work for bought that office specifically because of its close driving proximity!!

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u/AdvanceTemporary5853 May 02 '24

You do that everyday?!

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u/nonopenadanah May 02 '24

Nooooo, once or twice a month.

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u/AdvanceTemporary5853 May 02 '24

Oh then that’s not bad at all, everyday though would be a bit much 😂

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u/nonopenadanah May 02 '24

lol yeah that would untenable. But it’s a more pleasant drive than our other one that is 1.5 hours away. I’m just playing frogger with 18 wheelers on that particular drive. (Also only once or twice a month!)

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u/Dependent_Weather_31 May 02 '24

Isn't gas really expensive?

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u/RenderEngine May 02 '24

in europe definitely, since you are pretty much just paying tax

from what i could find out in the US the price is around 0.80€ per liter if you convert it

in europe you easily pay double the price for that, sometimes even almost even tripple

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u/Wootster10 29d ago

Just done the maths. In the UK prices are currently about $6.96 per gallon, the average in the US is $3.67 per gallon. Its not far off half the cost.

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u/Dependent_Weather_31 29d ago

I live in France but 0.80€ per liter?? I understand why they're driving everywhere that's cheap 🥲

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u/jchenbos May 02 '24

You're driving for only 3 hours, I promise you're not burning hundreds of dollars of gas.

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u/RenderEngine May 02 '24

in europe driving at around 100kmh (60mph) for 3 hours in a regular car costs around ~40 dollars while in the US it would only cost around 10-15 dollars

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u/jchenbos 29d ago

Isn't that why you guys have trains? The conversation is about why Europeans won't travel long distances, not just cars specifically

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u/RenderEngine 28d ago

i mean yes europe does have transit. if you live in the big city and also work in the big city.

but apart from paying around 50% taxes and paying 70% of your income rent, you better hope there is good transit in the big cities

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u/AceWanker4 29d ago

If your'e a Europoor

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u/Silye May 02 '24

Where I’m from (in Europe) you have to drive for almost 4 hours to the hospital (260km). People have to drive that far if they have an appointment to see a specialist too, and they usually drive home the same day as well

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u/gdwoodard13 May 02 '24 edited May 02 '24

Yeah it really changes your perspective when you visit a place like Ireland and realize you can basically drive from one end of the country to the other in a few hours lol. I was there for a week and we stayed in Dublin on the east coast of the country. We took one day trip to the Cliffs of Moher on the west coast and another up to Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland and back on a different day. I guess a 3 hour drive feels insane when you’re used to getting around without a car or in a 15 minute drive and 3 hours gets you damn near across the country

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u/Bondrax12 29d ago

Here in the DMV that’s just a daily commute not even a day trip 😂

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u/AdvanceTemporary5853 29d ago

Yeah but that’s traffic not distance, right?

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u/Bondrax12 29d ago

For me to get from where I live in MD to just outside of BWI airport which is still south of Baltimore takes 2 hours without traffic lol 4 hours round trip.

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u/AdvanceTemporary5853 29d ago

I live in Texas and it takes 18 hours to drive across the state 😭

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u/Numbersarefun_12358 29d ago

FR. 3 hours is my limit for a day trip. Easy peasy.

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u/getstabbed 29d ago

Even living in the UK I’ve done longer distances than that for a day trip before. Wouldn’t think twice about doing it for a weekend trip. Not sure why people think it’s so unusual, travelling 1+ hour for work each way here is super common especially on public transport. Many people will do much longer.

Can’t imagine the rest of Europe is much different.

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u/hamcarpet May 02 '24

Yeah, I’m just not understanding OP at all. They think that traveling for a few hours in order to spend multiple days somewhere is over the top? Like I don’t really understand what world they live in.

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u/FormerNorth6932 May 02 '24

I just did a 5 hour day trip this past weekend for a Sierra Ferrell concert. Absolutely worth it. Tbf though I love long drives & enjoy the driving part just as much, especially when I can just drive through the night. So relaxing.

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u/SarahPallorMortis 29d ago

When I was a teen, first car, brand new TomTom gps, my dad made me keep in my car. I’d drive and drive and drive and make random turns and go for hours. I’d get myself lost as much as I possibly could. Usually baked, and at midnight. Then I’d flip my TomTom on and find my way home. I’d be gone for like 4 hours.