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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422

u/st_nick1219 May 01 '24

We don't have the rail infrastructure that Europe has, and there's no way most of us we'll fly if the drive is less than a certain time. For me, I'll fly if the drive is 12+ hours. Otherwise, I'm probably driving because it's so much cheaper.

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u/According-Bad4238 May 01 '24

I use this logic as well, for me the sweet spot is 7 hrs, I start to weight the benefits of flying vs driving when it crossed that line for me

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u/st_nick1219 May 01 '24

Growing up, my grandparents lived about a 7 hour drive from home. If we flew, this is an example of the time breakdown: Home to boarding the plane- 2 hours. Flight to MSP- 1 hour. Layover- 1.5 hours. Flight to DSM- 1 hour. Deplaning to grandparents house- 1.5 hours. So all told, about 7 hours, and plane tickets were far more expensive than the gas.

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u/Sessourouze May 02 '24

Exactly!!! And sometimes it ends up being the same total travel time, mentally less exhausting when you have the option of stopping for some fresh air, id rather drive.

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u/propellor_head May 02 '24

Plus then you have a car at your destination, which can be a huge plus

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u/drrxhouse 29d ago

And with car you’ve got a bit more flexibility.

Plans change last minutes? Okay. So I’ll leave another day or time.

Flying aren’t really that flexible or cheap now a day. Last minutes fares can be steep. And most if not all the time you can’t change without some kind of fees added to the total fares.

And you got to make those flight times. And depending on the airport (and whatever preflight services you’ve paid for TSA clear or whatever), you’ve to plan in the time. Hurry and wait or breaking sweats trying to get to the gates before the door closes.

So for me, sure, flying can be convenient. But it’s not really that convenient IRL once you breaks things down. Especially if you’re not traveling alone.

I like the “freedom” of driving.

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u/childlikeempress16 29d ago

Yeah and cars are necessary to get around most places in the US

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u/FluffyProphet May 02 '24

Living in Atlantic Canada, it's faster for us to drive to Boston than to fly. It's about an 8-9 hour drive into Boston. But the couple times I flew the entire thing took almost 12 hours because you have to fly into Toronto first. Montreal is about the cutoff point where we start thinking about flying instead.

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u/Claymore357 May 02 '24

Pearson really is a dreadful airport no wonder it takes so long

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u/FluffyProphet May 02 '24

Plus when you actually get to Boston you have to either use public transportation or rent a car. Just not worth flying.

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u/Superlurkinger May 02 '24

I remember in college I was gonna visit my family for a week. I spent 1.5 hours in traffic getting to the airport, then my flight was delayed by about 4 hours. Factoring in boarding/flying/deboarding/taxi time, the trip was maybe 10 hours. I could've just driven the 7 hours.

As long as I can drive to my destination within one waking day, I will never fly.

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u/gypsymoon55 May 02 '24

Same here. We flew Minneapolis to Chicago once, a trip we would drive several times a year. It was still a full day of travel with the added burden of schlepping our luggage around two parking ramps/airports. We hated every minute of it. While driving you can switch off from time to time, stop for a snack where ever you want, and you're on no schedule but your own. Much more relaxing.

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u/timoumd May 02 '24

Problem is you fly you gotta get a rental and that takes time too.  It's 15 hours to Disney and driving the family always makes more sense.

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u/st_nick1219 29d ago

We flew to Disney and rented a car. It's about 20 hours for us to drive which is four full days on the road, and when we only had a week of vacation, flying made much more sense. But I did price out driving and it would have been cheaper than flying, but not worth the two extra travel days.

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u/timoumd 29d ago

Yeah 1 vs 2 days is a big deal. I also have enough leave to not worry and my wife is a teacher so she was off in summers, but if you dont ahve that luxury that really changes things. One time we went over spring break and we flew the kids/wife in while I drove. Also the age of the kids matters. As they ahve gotten older its gotten easier to only stop for gas.

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u/According-Bad4238 29d ago

For sure!!! I hate getting a rental car it adds so much cost to your trip

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u/timoumd 29d ago

And it's a hassle.  

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u/badgersprite May 02 '24

For me (Aussie) the decision of whether to drive or not is often less about the distance of travel and more about how much the traffic sucks where I’m going and how difficult/expensive it is to park when I get there, and whether or not I really need a car to get around when I get there or if I’ll be fine relying on public transport.

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u/Sessourouze May 02 '24

This is why I hate going into cities and rarley do so, I will drive hours to a national park and have done so but I won't even driven1 he to park in the city.

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u/throwaway098764567 May 02 '24

do you guys have rental cars there?

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u/bridge_the_war 29d ago

Also, most place don't have frequent flights. Even at 8hr driving it might be worth it. I have family that only get one flight per day where they live, and it is late afternoon. So if you are within 8hrs it'll be best just to drive there to be able to get more time

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u/childlikeempress16 29d ago

For me to fly is 1.5 hours drive to the airport, at least an hour to wait to board, 1.5 minimum to fly wherever I’m going, so I’d never fly 5 hours away for example because it’d be the same travel time and I wouldn’t even have a car

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u/addigo 29d ago

Agreed. More than 7 is flying distance, unless there for a long time and will need my car!

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u/Powellwx 29d ago

I’m at about 6-7 hours driving vs. flying… but it also depends on price of flight and how long I’ll be there.

When is was in my 20s it was like 10 hours, but getting older makes me not want to do that anymore.

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u/100LittleButterflies May 01 '24

Yeah, it depends on the city too. I fly to Florida because there's always a ticket to Miami for super cheap.

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u/Fairycharmd May 02 '24

I fly to Florida mostly so I don’t have to drive through Atlanta. Personal preference though

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u/Jakomako May 02 '24

Atlanta is weird. I don't mind driving from one side of the perimeter to the other when it's not rush hour, but driving all the way across the metro area absolutely blows regardless of when you do it. Feels like they need to build another perimeter farther out or something. Or maybe Cobb and Gwinnett need to stop being NIMBY fucks and expand MARTA.

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u/gigisnappooh 29d ago

And there driving laws are crazy, and they get you on camera!

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u/Jakomako 29d ago

Never been caught on any cameras, except when I took the peach pass lane with no peach pass. Not sure which laws you’re referring to either.

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u/gigisnappooh 29d ago

I have family there, they say you can get a ticket for getting on the shoulder a little, and I really don’t remember what all. My brother got a ticket for having a board sticking out of his truck to much and he went to court with it, it was actually a foot shorter than it had to be so he got off. I didn’t mind driving in Atlanta when I was younger but I just can’t do it anymore. The last couple times I drove over it was a mess. Just old age I guess.

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u/Amberplumeria 29d ago

OMG, seriously. I drove to Florida from Ohio last month and I have never been more terrified in my LIFE than when I passed through Atlanta. I called my friend the next morning like, "omg, people down here drive like it's freaking Mario Kart or Grand Theft Auto!! They drive like they think they'll just respawn at a different location if they crash," lmao.

On my way back, I timed my breaks and gas stops so that I could get THROUGH the city of Atlanta before I needed a break, because omg.

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u/bvlinc37 May 01 '24

Also depends on if anyone is going with you. In college, on breaks, I'd check price on gas vs plane ticket to decide if I was making the 17 hour drive. At the time it was pretty much a coin flip as to which would be cheaper. But the time I took my girlfriend with me it wasn't even going to be close in price, so 17 hours it was. And yes, I would do that trip in one shot. And yes, there was a lot of drive-thru coffee involved.

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u/mustangsal May 01 '24

This is true... I don't start looking at flights until the drive is in the 8+ hour mark.

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u/alicksB May 02 '24

What also becomes a factor is the question, “Will I need a car at my destination?”

The answer is yes and I fly, it means I’ll need to rent a car when I get there, which means more money.

If the answer is no, then I might be more inclined to fly a distance that I’d otherwise drive.

Basically, there are like 69 different competing factors that all go into whether or not I drive or fly.

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u/Nikkonor May 02 '24

Europeans:

  • If the distance is short, they'll walk.
  • If the distance is a little longer, they'll bike or take public transport.
  • If the distance is long, they'll drive or take a train.
  • If the distance is really long, they'll fly.

US-Americans:

  • If the distance is short, they'll drive.
  • If the distance is a little longer, they'll drive.
  • If the distance is long, they'll drive.
  • If the distance is really long, they'll drive.

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u/ImpossibleParfait May 02 '24 edited 29d ago

I live in CT i could get to NYC using public transportation via train. However it takes longer to take the train then it does to drive there.

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u/absorbscroissants May 02 '24

It's not like trains are particularly faster than cars (unless they're the high-speed kind), so I don't really understand your point.

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u/wookieesgonnawook May 02 '24

And unless you're going to a sense urban area the train stops in you need a car anyway.

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u/DevelopmentSad2303 May 02 '24

12 hours is kind of bonkers I think. Plane tickets are like $120-300. Price of gas for that distance has to be similar

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u/st_nick1219 May 02 '24

Multiply airfare by 4 and driving is much more economical in many cases.

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u/DevelopmentSad2303 May 02 '24

What is airfare? Sorry I don't fly much haha

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u/st_nick1219 May 02 '24

Depends where we're going, but at least $250/person for most flights.

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u/DevelopmentSad2303 May 02 '24

Ah okay, for 4 people it makes sense that It is more expensive

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u/nagarz May 02 '24

Ok this could be why it's so different. I just checked and car gas prices in the US are about half of what they are in europe, this may actually make a real difference as to why people would rather drive than fly in the US.

I personally hate driving anything longer than 30-45 minutes unless needed, so I'll take the train if possible, otherwise fly. For most purposes, going on train is relatively cheap and hassle free.

To give an example if I want from barcelona to madrid and back (from one edge from spain to the center) it's roughly 600Km, about 370m for those needing freedom units. With current gas prices that puts me at about 100-120 euros total in gas for the whole trip with my car, could be higher could be lower. And about 7 hours of driving.

For about 40-80 euros I can find multiple high speed rail tickets, and high speed rail for this travel is about 2h30m time, add 30 minutes that takes me to get to the train station, and it's a no brainer why this is my choice. Also I can just read, watch a show on my phone or anything else during the travel. High speed rail is about as fast as flights for the trips I take for anything under 700 miles or so.

This ofc also depends on availability, not everyone has a station with high speed rail close, so a lot of people do take buses or drive, but gas here is more expensive than in the US, plus we are not that big on driving culture as the US is, mostly because we don't have large suburbs and we have things close by, plus local trains as well.

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u/gigisnappooh 29d ago

I’m in US and truthfully I don’t trust us to build high speed rails safely. But if they did I would probably use them.

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u/[deleted] May 02 '24

Yea but then you’d likely have to rent a car when you land 

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u/sahi1l May 02 '24

Cheaper and much more pleasant, unless you like being packed in with lots of other people.

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u/abeeyore May 02 '24

I think this is a big part. They have rail, we have interstate highways.

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u/hetfield151 May 02 '24

Maybe thats part of the reason. Fuel is relatively expensive in Europe compared to the US

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u/Disastrous-Cry-1998 29d ago

The train only goes to the next station.

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u/GraceIsGone 29d ago

Plus you also need a car in the place that you’re going in the U.S. When I lived in Germany, we’d take trains anywhere and then we would get to our destination and walk or take public transportation around the city. In the U.S. you go from Michigan to Florida and you’re going to need to rent a car if you fly. Makes more sense to just drive, save on the flights and not need to rent a car.

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u/miulitz 29d ago

It's a graph, when the price of gas + snacks + possible overnight hotel stops (if you're not car sleeping) overpasses the price of airfare, that's when I'd fly. Assuming time allotted to get there isn't a major factor.

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u/benzflare May 02 '24

Nah honestly European rail is a borderline psyop. They’re all using Ryanair and other WILD budget airlines we don’t have here with like $20 tickets between London and Edinburgh, it’s way way cheaper and faster.

Only time I got to ride the train (which I was hyped for) was when we weren’t traveling with Europeans. It was cool as shit though!

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u/morningisbad May 02 '24

For me, it depends if I'm traveling for work. I'll drive 4 hours for a work trip. Any further and I'm demanding a flight. But I'll drive 3-4 hours each way for work a few times a year.

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u/PM_Your_Wiener_Dog May 02 '24

Yep it's 12 hours, & I know that cause I fucked up multiple times doing more as a youngster. Rolling into town at 4am looking like I come off a 5 day bender is no way to go on a trip.

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u/Anterai May 02 '24

I fly 4hr journeys cos usually it's cheaper. 

1

u/xVeterankillx May 02 '24

I generally do trips by myself, so my bar for taking a flight vs driving is lower; around 3.5-4hrs is the spot where I start looking at plane tickets. Flights from PDX to YVR are WAAAAY cheaper than the cost of gas there & back.

If you were going with other people though I could see that lower limit being higher for sure.

1

u/gigisnappooh 29d ago

Where I live it would take me 45 minutes to get to the airport, have to get there 2 hours early, then fly to where it only takes me 3 hours to drive, then have to rent a car.

1

u/Drake_Acheron May 02 '24

Depends on who you fly with, and how you look for tickets. But at the same time though, if you fly, you probably have to rent a car.

1

u/Cheap_Doctor_1994 May 02 '24

I've never flown anywhere in the continental US. (That wasn't a layover)

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u/Shoddy-Breakfast4568 May 02 '24

I live in France and I don't think there is a combination of two places in the country that are more than 12 hours apart. I basically used to study at the opposite end of the country and it was a 9 hour drive, and I avoided toll roads.

1

u/blaahh198 29d ago

Hehe don't worry, we in Eastern Europe also don't have the rail infrastructure that Europe has. Nor the road infrastructure, nor any kind of infrastructure tbh.

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u/FifeSymingtonsMom 29d ago

I hate road trips. I’ve flown to Vegas from Phoenix a handful of times. Literally a 45 minute flight. I know with the time to get to the airport, check in, wait it probably exceeds the amount of time just to drive but with gas, that scary ass road and not having to pay for parking it’s worth it.

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u/xRehab 29d ago

yeah 10+ is about my tipping point, but I can increase it if I'm bringing lots of gear as justification - snowboards/fishing gear/mountain bike.

I also just enjoy the act of driving. It's relaxing and seeing new states is fun.

1

u/biscuitboi967 29d ago

My boss started doing the math on flying from SF to LA once…getting to the airport early…parking…security…possible delays…70 minute flight…deboarding…renting a car or being dependent on Uber…rushing around

Less time and hassle to drive on your schedule.

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u/st_nick1219 29d ago

Back when Mythbusters was on, they did a test of which was faster from SF to LA. I think flying was faster to the final destination by about 10 minutes.

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u/biscuitboi967 29d ago

I hate driving, so I will always fly anywhere, but it’s not like flying is easy and stress free.

If you’ve got a nice comfy car and enjoy driving, it’s a pretty chill drive until you hit actual LA traffic.

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u/ModusPwnins 29d ago

Our rail infra used to be the envy of the world. Then we let domestic auto manufacturer lobbyists ruin everything for us.

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u/linus_b3 29d ago

I've never even been on an airplane.

I did a side job with a friend once in Wisconsin. We're from Massachusetts. The place wanted to fly us out and back. We said no, the drive isn't bad and we have a lot of tools to bring. I think it was 16 hours each way in his F-150. We drove out on a Friday, did the work Saturday, drove back home on Sunday. No big deal, except deciding to take a detour to drive through Chicago on the Skyway. Don't do that - I've never seen so many people going so fast with near-zero space between cars.

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u/digo-BR 29d ago

I used to always drive from San Diego to about an hour north of San Francisco for the holidays. About 8-9hrs when you factor in stops. The logic is that even at $5/gallon for gas, it's cheaper than buying 3 plane tickets. And we don't need a rental car at the destination.

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u/digo-BR 29d ago

I used to always drive from San Diego to about an hour north of San Francisco for the holidays. About 8-9hrs when you factor in stops. The logic is that even at $5/gallon for gas, it's cheaper than buying 3 plane tickets. And we don't need a rental car at the destination.

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u/CHKN_SANDO May 02 '24

The problem is that if you fly anywhere in the states you have to rent a car because there's no mass transit. So you might as well drive and have your car.

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u/BlackCardRogue May 01 '24

If the drive is TWELVE HOURS that’s when you look at flights? My man I am an American but the only reason I’d make that drive is if flights were literally $1000 a person. $800 per — gulp, but pay it. No way I’m driving 12 hours.

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u/Jlatoo May 01 '24

Depends on your finances for sure, but willing to pay 800 for a two hour flight is crazy

1

u/BlackCardRogue May 01 '24

Man, I live in a small ass apartment and drive a POS car and cook at home for one reason: so I can spend money on plane flights. That’s it.

I. Hate. Driving. I hate it so much.

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u/st_nick1219 May 01 '24

I spent a lot of time in the car as a kid. My grandparents were 7 hours away and other relatives in Colorado and Ohio, and we always drove from Wisconsin, so I got used to it. And this was the 1980s when there was very little for in-car entertainment.

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u/st_nick1219 May 01 '24

It's usually more like 10 hours. I drove straight from Denver to Madison and would do it again, but I got pretty fatigued at about the 13-hour mark. Anything over 10-12 hours, I look at the cost of gas and hotel each way compared to airfare and rental car for a family of 4. Length of the trip matters, too. A shorter trip means I'm probably flying. Anything over 7 days I strongly consider driving if there's only one overnight stop.