The Ten Worst States To Drive Across [Road Trips]
 

09-28-2009 01:00 PM

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/image...tate_Trips.jpgWe've already covered ten great states to drive across, but now with your help, we've isolated the ten cross-state trips you won't want to take.

Click "next" to take a journey through some of the worst cross-state trips in America and note we're talking about individual routes, not states as a whole. Also note how many of them involve I-80.

Photo Credit: PAUL J.RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/image...tate_NM_40.jpgState: New Mexico
Route: I-40
Suggested By:
Reason: "Remember those old video games where the scenery way off in the distance never changes? That's it. Nothing but flat, empty desert and the occasional hill or something way out there that you can never approach. The exits along the road are some very shady and very pathetic looking corrugated-steel sheds selling "native American-made" or "Mexican-made" "authentic Indian charms" and other touristy things. Add to that the desert sun and heat, and you're in a world of incredibly boring, sweaty and depressing windshield miles."Â*

Photo Credit: Vision63

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/image...tate_KS_70.jpgState: Kansas
Route: I-70
Suggested By: Sbydrb8
Reason: "I-70 across Kansas is by far the worst. Flat as a board, nothing to look at but sunflowers or corn, and the road has an extremely gentle curve over most of the state. It's just enough to make you question your car's alignment for 400 miles."Â*

Photo Credit: zyzzyva

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/image...tate_OH_80.jpgState: Ohio
Route: I-80
Suggested By: Kotobuki
Reason: "As a Michigander, I am going to most wholeheartedly agree that Ohio is certainly the worst state to drive through. Added to all the speed traps on the side of the road, and the planes/helicopters watching you from the air, when you get on and off the tollway you're timestamped. So even if there's no cops out there to catch you, they'll get you at the exit plaza when you finally get where you're going."

Photo Credit: Base10

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/image...tate_GA_16.jpgState: Georgia
Route: I-16
Suggested By: GoPadge
Reason: "I think I'm fairly well traveled, I've driven through ever state east of the Mississippi and a fair portion of the SouthWest. But I still say that I-16, which only runs 167 miles between Savannah and Macon, Georgia, is the most desolate and god-forsaken stretch of road I've ever driven. The few exits that exist, only serve as a reminder that the trip is NOT finished yet, but thank you for visiting hell."Â*

Photo Credit: Supertruckergirly

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/image...tate_IL_80.jpgState: Illinois
Route: I-80
Suggested By: Popsnicker
Reason: "Illinois is my personal worst state to drive though. It is the only time I was solicited for a bribe by the officer who pulled me over for ‘speeding'. When I was pulled over said I can pay a $75 cash fine now and make it all go away or he would have to issue a ticket where it would be settled in court. He had me on the gun at 68 in a 65 and wrote a ticket for 77 in a 65 when I didn't have the cash to pay upfront. Then he threatened to take me to jail for questioning him. Miserable corrupt scum sucking state…"Â*

Photo Credit: CurtisPerry

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/image...tate_TX_10.jpgState: Texas
Route: I-10
Suggested By: Sportwagons, haulin' stuff
Reason: "Hands down: Texas. It's takes half of the 3 day trip from GA to CA just to cross effing Texas. And once when I was making that drive and a summer shower passed over I tried to turn on the windshield wipers but they didn't budge...because they were melted to the windshield!"Â*

Photo Credit: DPH1110

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/image...tate_NB_80.jpgState: Nebraska
Route: I-80
Suggested By: NJ Hoon
Reason: "Mind numbing boredom. When I drove through it my crappy little Dodge Colt would only do 75. Down hill and there ain't no hills there."

Photo Credit: mfajardo

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/image...tate_CT_84.jpgState: Connecticut
Route: I-84
Suggested By: PotbellyJoe
Reason: "Connecticut sucks because the roads are narrow, counter banked, and full of Connecticut drivers...Â*Seriously, the left lane is for passing.Â*After driving between NJ and MA for years, I have observed a new mental deficiency, it's PLLES, Perceived Left Lane Entitlement Syndrome.Â*They camp out. and then jam their brakes to go through turns, up hills, or under overpasses.Â*Then you have the Massholes and NYers that rip through at 100+ mph.Â*I have driven in 40 of 50 states and of them the only one I get angry in is CT…"Â*

Photo Credit: Hi-Fi

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/image...ate_NJ_GSP.jpgState: New Jersey
Route: Garden State Parkway
Suggested By:
Reason: "New Jersey. The last time my family drove through there, our Xterra suffered a tire blowout and we had to wait over 2 hours for an AAA van to come fix it for us (our spare tire was missing). In 90 degree July weather with garbage lining the shoulders. And there's nothing to see except factories, overpasses, and kids in a-frame t-shirts and gold chains swerving in and out of traffic in their parent's BMWs. Â*It's ‘The Armpit of America' for a reason."Â*

Photo Credit: Matthew Crone

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/image...tate_WV_81.jpgState: West Virginia
Route: I-81
Suggested By: FlatheadSmith
Reason: "Several years ago my family was on a road trip to attend my sister's marriage in New York City, she is the black sheep of the family you see, and as we were driving north up through a beautiful part of Virginia the road suddenly went all to hell. The road went from smooth pavement to something sort of between asphalt and gravel with potholes added for fun. There were run down trailer houses, ramshackle shacks, completely rusted cars on blocks and trash everywhere one looked. We saw one house sitting on a hill, where it could be clearly seen that trash had been thrown directly out the back doors for tens of years, and the trash pit had migrated its way to the bottom of the hill. This was a white trash mecca that was as poverty stricken as any place I had ever seen; it was third world in nature. This went on for about ten miles and then a sign up ahead said you are now entering Maryland. Wham, the road was smooth, the houses and yard were nice, and we were in Suburbia again. My wife looked closely at the map and determined that we had driven a very short distance through a small corner of West Virginia."Â*
Photo Credit: CMerlo441



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West Virginia is beyond 3rd world.
The dialect of 'English' they speak there is pure comedy.
Depressing, but entertaining all the same.

PA blows, I80 i think.
nothing but narrow shitty roads with a wall of rock on one side, a cliff on the other, and tractor trailers blowing past you at 90
at night its horrible

IDK

Alligator Alley here in FL that takes you from East-2-West coast is painfully boring. Granted its only an hour and a half or 2 hours if ur a slow driver but it's driving through the Everglades which is nothing but trees and grass. If ur lucky you might see a gator on the road and get the chance to run it over if you have a big enough car or truck but I saw an accident where a Corolla tried to run it over and the gator was so big it ended up makin the car flip and roll like 4 times. And it costs like 6 or 8 bucks to make the trip on it.

yea fuck alligator alley...i can vouch for there and kansas...worst state to drive through ever

anybody else notice west virginia is on both the worst and best lists?

Haha, Kansas is definitely terrible. Wish it would just go away, so Missouri can be right next to Colorado.
And every time I drive on Illinois highways, I see someone pulled over every couple of miles. There are seriously state troppers/sheriffs hiding everywhere.

Haha Texas is terrible, if you don't take I-35, it's just long patches of nothing with random butt-clenching dips thrown in for fun.

i hate driving in every state

just means it has some of the best roads & some of the worst roads.
every state has some degree of inconsistency.

If i can out in some input about Canada then i would say that the worst province to drive through is Saskatchewan(North of eastern Montana). Its alot like New Mexico highways supposedly. Its Flat , boring , the road is straight as an arrow and nothing to look at except prairies all the way to the horizon. on top of that .. it stinks like shit .. for miles and when it stops , your in the clear for a few miles and then bam , another shit storm.

PA blows when you've taken the PA turnpike the whole way and get off it, only to owe the state $30.

Illinois sucks on every highway, either because it's boring, or there's tons of cops, or there's potholes, or all of the above (I88 and I80).

Missouri is boring, but tolerable for some reason.

Kansas is the most godforsaken boring state in the union.

New Mexico isn't too bad to drive through at night, and the mountain roads make it worth it. Not to mention the roads are nice and smooth.


I just drove from IL to AZ a few weeks ago, so I'm very familiar with these roads, lol.

its kansas, when you see a road sign that says fifty miles to the next exit you know your fucked

jersey turnpike is horrible. i80 in PA is eh. it has its areas. kinda nice to drive through in the winter when the snow is on the rocks and 476 in PA is eh too. they mix clay with the tarmac so the roads are red and its kinda strange to see for 100miles on my way to the poconos.

I'll add another vote for Ohio. Anywhere in the state. No one knows how to:
1) Use a turnsignal.
2) Drive greater than or equal to the speedlimit.
3) Not slow down to equal speed as the car they are trying to pass.
4) Get the fuck out of the left lane.

I hate my life.

Oklahoma has to be in the top 5 just because the roads are shitty as hell, nobody knows or obeys any traffic laws, police are either to lazy to do anything or trip about everything. I've had five officers pull me over for having illegal neon lights on my car and try to charge me with impersontating an officer. I've also ran through a red light at 55 mph running a cop car off of the road in the process and had him tell me to keep going because he didn't want to get out of his car and right a ticket.

If all our Idiot drivers don't kill you or destroy your car one of our legendary pot holes big enough to bathe a saint bernard or our f'in 200 year old unmaintained bridges most certainly will. I work in a body shop and have come to realize that if somebody hits your car you can get out and flip a coin to see if they have insurance or not.

I've had three wheels and tires shattered in the last 18 months by pot holes.
I gotta get the hell outta here
Won't miss these shitty roads or drivers at all



:mephfawk:OKLAHOMA

Ohio drivers don't use turn signals, they also love their left lane.
The cops are pricks and there IS a speed trap like every mile and a half. and EFF the I-90 trnpk i spent 6 hrs crossing it in a freak ice storm on my way back from MI (it took me 2 to get there).

West Va is kinda scary if you're not on the Turnpike. but the mountains are fun if you drive something with balls or 4wd/Awd

The state of Florida generally sucks to drive in. unless you can take a short trip on a coastal road. Flat and plain for cross state trips, and the city traffic is usually no good.

Va drivers are by FAR some of the worst i've dealt with, they don't signal, everywhere i go it seems like everyone wants to do like 7 under the speed limit and there are more of those little cut out hidey places for 5-0 than any other state i've ever been in... and 1 outta 3 are occupied.

Oh yeah NC puts empty cop cars in the median to scare you, and they leave them there for like a week or two then move the damn thing a mile away.

Illinois sucks... period.

Nebraska and Kansas are the same.

Missouri is nice tho :p

Ct is on there
big surprise

I drove from Chicago to LA, 3 times and the most boring is by far Nebraska, but the cops & roads in Illinois suck asshole. Nevada sucks to drive thru too but at least you have Vegas!!

nj is good if your not in the northern parts...

Virginia is so so, but Virginia Beach is fucking terrible, cops will pull you for anything

I'm relatively surprised that Michigan isn't on here. I'm not going to lie to you, I really believe that we have the worst roads in the United States. Pot holes cover most of the roads here, and it is nearly impossible to drive anything that is lowered more than 1.5".

- Josh @ Auto Addictions

I agree Ohio is rediculous. Driving I71 or the turnpike their is a cop every turnaround, and the drivers don't understand the concept of the passing lane.

I cannot believe michigan is not on the list though. I fear for my life everytime I go to the Detroit area. People drive like maniacs and they do 80 mph in any type of weather plus tailgating is only way they know how to follow. I swear there are no cops in michigan either.

haha, there are cops, just not on the highways most of the time... for some reason. And yeah, it pisses me off how EVERYONE has to tailgate. Even if I'm doing 80mph, there is someone ALWAYS on my ass. :bash:

yea I agree with the IL part.. thats for sure

Dam had no clue

kansas and wyoming are by far the most boring highways!..texas is extremely boring as well but mainly because it takes at least a full day to cross it..never driven in the east coast. but some roads dont seem fun by what people say

Of all the states I've been to PA has the worst roads and NJ has the worst drivers. You'll notice the difference in road quality on I78 from PA to NJ and then you'll begin to see all the skid marks on the road from accidents.