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we use Google maps a lot for travels around Wyoming ...
but there are more than a few instances where the database/roads are off ... ranging from a little bit "off" to significant errors.
Some rural addresses simply won't be found via those maps ... the database has roads charted which simply don't exist as viable transit roads.
In an effort to save time/distance, I've tried numerous routes to access our ranch from trips into Colorado ... and the turn-by-turn directions had me heading down an oil patch service road that lead to a dead end at a facility/well, or a road that was "private" access to a facility and closed to public use. Same with a trip to a client at a ranch straddling the WY-CO border, and they knew of the fault so advised me in advance not to rely upon Google map to reach their place. Maybe some of the roads are platted in the county planning, but not constructed.
We've had casual temp workers try to find rural locations and the maps had them taking routes adding 20+ miles around to get to their destinations. Additionally, the routes assume that you will travel at posted speed limits which are not too infrequently in the database as faster than the actual posted limits.
In any event, the big fallacy that frequently presents with Google maps ... and with other similar services ... is not having road conditions/inclement weather reflected in their travel estimates. The intent of the services to adjust for reported travel speeds is much more accurate in large metro areas, such as Denver metro with a lot of road sensors/android users ... but once you're "in the sticks" in areas of much less traffic reporting, the map system doesn't do a very good job at all. I've had numerous days in Wyoming with road closures posted and Google maps was still giving me their normal travel times/speeds.
Same thing with construction zones, especially in those places without a flagman and "traffic controlled" lights ... encountered this most recently last year on Hwy 85 on a repaving project North of Greeley where the traffic was down to one lane; you'd sit for quite awhile waiting for the automated traffic lights to allow you to go through. I had one trip down that way where the lights short cycled ... allowed only a portion of the traffic to go past. It took me 3 cycles to get through that stretch on that trip when there were a lot of semi's backed up at the light. Their software apparently didn't recognize the increasing time between the semi's as they started back up and went through the light, interpreting that traffic gap as "no more traffic" needing to pass. A flagman would have readily seen the back-up traffic and cycled it through.
And a real glaring example of the errors of relying upon their directions is this thread's 450 mile trip in 6.5 hours. That's a 70 mph average over many miles of roads to Lander which are posted significantly slower than that speed. You'll not make the time up on those interstate stretches of 75 mph of the trip.
PS: another major "fault" of relying upon Google Maps in this area is that the software isn't as "smart" as you'd like it to be.
For example, last summer we headed to a Wool Festival/Market that was about 100 miles away from us in Nebraska. Our friends had their iPads with Google Maps on to navigate us to the rural ranch. They directed us to a circuitous route from the state highway to the destination. I was in the back seat, looking at a NE map and it showed a county road that was only 1/2 mile North of the intersection that Google map had us turning South to reach another country road. Driver followed the Google instructions and it worked out to be 22 miles further going South, then East, then North, then back West to our destination. Had do I know the distance difference? Because when we left the place, I continued West from the ranch to a country road that let into the one that was a 1/2 mile North of where we'd departed South at that T-intersection. We were literally only 2 miles from the ranch at that T-intersection but the Google directions had us head to another Easterly county road.
I've had the same thing happen in Colorado on trips to Burlington. Last year, I had to pick up some equipment in Burlington, Sterling, and Brush. If I'd have followed Google maps, I'd have driven many additional miles from Hwy 6 to get across the South Platte into the towns. At one of those times, I was on the East side of the River at a truck stop getting fuel and could see the road leading East under I-76. Yet the Google map had me turning to a frontage road leading to another 26 miles of driving to reach my destination ... NorthEastward along the river to an interstate intersection and then back SouthWestward to my destination which was only a few miles SouthWest from where I was at the truck stop.
The bottom line is that Google Maps is not entirely reliable in this region of the country. Software/Database errors can frequently confound one to reach a destination, and their time estimates can be really bogus. It's a good tool to have along for many trips, but it's not the only tool you should rely upon ... especially when their priority to reach an intersection can be miles out of your way and it's very obvious that their directions are grossly in error.
YMMV. Drive safe and "stop and smell the roses", too.
FWIW...the posted speed limit on hwy 287 between Lander and Rawlins is 70mph and 80mph on I-80. Aside from passing thru Jeffrey city, where is the posted speed limit "significantly lower" on the main highways into Lander?
FWIW...the posted speed limit on hwy 287 between Lander and Rawlins is 70mph and 80mph on I-80. Aside from passing thru Jeffrey city, where is the posted speed limit "significantly lower" on the main highways into Lander?
We obviously are using different resources to define this trip. Mine come from having driven this route many times in the decade and the speed limit on this route was 65 mph about two miles north of Rawlins to a couple miles south of Lander. At that point, the speed limit on US 287 has been raised to 70 mph.
US 287 in this area has a reputation for being one of the most dangerous stretches of road in Wyoming, with a high incidence rate of crashes, especially head-on incidents. You can google this and find numerous reports about this. It has a high volume of heavy semi-trailer traffic which often cannot maintain speeds on the grades but then the trucks will speed up on the downhill sections. Makes for a frustrating drive for a more speed capable vehicle and incentive to pass slower traffic ... the problem is aggravated when a 65 mph capable semi is passing a 62 mph (or similar disparity) semi, or when RV'er's, buses, or cars want to pass the slower traffic. There are numerous posts by folk advising that they will not travel this section of road. It's one of the few stretches in Wyoming where there are "turn you headlights on for visibility" warnings and numerous "pass with care" signage; the visibility issue is your enhanced presence for oncoming traffic. (On a personal note, I've had more than a few incidents on this highway where an oncoming passing vehicle was way too close to my vehicle and I was forced to slow down to "widen the gap" for the oncoming vehicle ... I recall having one such incident two years ago where I was forced onto the road shoulder and braked to 30 mph to narrowly miss an oncoming RV'er who had apparently misjudged his passing speed ability around a semi)
On I-80 West of Cheyenne, over the pass to Laramie, it's slower than 80 mph. Especially on the 9 mile Westbound descent down the canyon to the flats just East of Laramie, it's 65 mph for passenger cars (slower for trucks, which can frequently plug up the right-hand lane so you get faster semi's barreling down the left hand lane but not necessarily at 65 mph, some are slower than that) ... and by Wyoming traffic enforcement protocol, one of the most aggressively patrolled roads for speed enforcement. Similarly, you'll find the Eastbound climb slower than 80 mph and rarely (in my experience) have an opportunity to go that fast given the normal traffic distribution across the 3 lanes (very slow moving vehicles in the right lane, faster semi's in the middle lane, and cars struggling to drive 60-ish in the left lane up the grade). And that's during clear driving conditions ... this is a stretch of I-80 with the "variable speed signs" where WYDOT can change the posted speeds. Not uncommon to see 35 mph posted here during inclement driving conditions ... and I've had many times over the pass where I would have been thankful to have actually traveled it at 35 mph because we were down to a 15-20 mph crawl in the traffic on very slick roads, even when Laramie and Cheyenne both had clear roads at the time.
In the area past Muddy Gap, with the climbs/descents in that area of US 287, 65 mph is quite a bit faster than many vehicles on this road typically travel. What I've found is that a lot of folk ... especially tourist traffic in RV's ... simply cannot or do not maintain that speed. Just like the traffic in Colorado on the rolling hills North of 120th Ave on I-25, a lot of drivers are not paying attention to the road. You'll typically encounter folk who are unwilling/unable to use the throttle/gearing of their vehicles to maintain the speed limit but will not stay out of the left hand (passing) lane. What happens is they climb the grades at 5-10-15 mph below the posted speed limit, then descend at the posted limit or slightly over it ... you'll even see brake lights ahead of you in the left lane as they realize that they're "over the limit". Their perception is that they're "going the speed limit" for their travel without realizing that they're way below it on the next ascent but they'll stay in the left lane ... and often times, they're slower than the right hand lane traffic. On a 2-lane road, they can really "plug it up" with their inattentive driving and you're frequently stuck behind them for quite some distance.
As well, from a practical driving experience, it would be a rare occurrence in recent years to make it through the Denver metro area on I-25 at the posted speed limits from well south of Denver to at least 120th Ave during a normal travel day from around 7 AM to 6-7 PM. Until the daytime traffic load eases up, traffic goes a lot slower than that and oft-times can be stop-'n-go through the core city area. As one who commutes from the Cheyenne area through to Denver for business fairly frequently, I can also report that it's not uncommon for I-25 traffic ... in both directions ... to be significantly slower than posted limits from Fort Collins down through I-25 Exit 235; one looks forward to the highway opening up from the 4-lane to the 6-lane section on the North side of Denver for an opportunity to have traffic spread out and pick up speed.
I've driven the Monument Hill area of I-25 many times since the mid-1960's. It's always been a slog due to those inattentive drivers and all the more so these days with the traffic density on I-25 commuting between the 'Springs and Denver and the heavy truck traffic on the route. It's been a very rare experience for me to drive posted speed limits in that stretch for years due to the prevailing conditions. Even the stretch from slightly North of the AFA can be a slow moving area of I-25, both directions, during normal traffic hours. I've spent more than a few trips on the North side of CSprings heading to the downtown area where traffic was not much faster than slow'n'go, too.
Overall, such are the realities of this drive ... CSprings to Lander. The mapping software that came up with a 70 mph average speed of travel for 6.5 hours between the two points 450 miles apart is simply very misleading. Perhaps if you drove this route in clear weather conditions starting late in the evening into the early hours of the next day you could do so with a suitably capable car ... and if you were lucky enough to not encounter slower moving traffic obstacles without opportunities to safely pass on the two-lane roads you'd be traveling to Lander. Fact is, I've done this Rawlins-Lander trip at night and it's kinda' daunting to pass some of that truck traffic when you can't readily see the road ahead passing lane area to make a decision about when/where to pass.
But that nighttime travel kinda' defeats the concept of a pleasant sightseeing drive through picturesque Wyoming, doesn't it?
PS: my preferred route to Lander is to head North on I-25 to Casper, then West on US 26 to Shoshoni, Riverton, then South to Lander. Scenic but with better facilities and roadside stops enroute than the Rawlins-Lander route. And had the "bonus" of traveling through Hudson where a favorite landmark of mine in Wyoming is located ... Slivar's. Worth the stop if you're in the area, one of the highlights of better restaurants in Wyoming.
Anyway ... if you think you can do this trip in 6.5 hours because some map site says you can ... well, knock yourself out. Drive safe, OK?
BTW...if (while blasting-through Wyoming) you start coming-up REALLY fast behind a slower moving vehicle...flashing your brights, riding it's bumper and stretching your neck (to the left) as a means to get said-slower moving vehicle to 'suddenly' grab a higher-gear and 'rocket' forward faster probably won't work to your advantage...
...yes...I DO see you (in my mirror) back there, and NO I am NOT going to grab a higher-gear.
I am doing just fine, plugging-along as I am, and as it happens my old rig does better at 55-60 than it does at 75-80...and that's just how it works.
Enjoy, be safe, take lots of pictures, breathe deep, come back again someday & bring your friends !
[quote=sunsprit;50788555]We obviously are using different resources to define this trip. Mine come from having driven this route many times in the decade and the speed limit on this route was 65 mph about two miles north of Rawlins to a couple miles south of Lander. At that point, the speed limit on US 287 has been raised to 70 mph.
Thank you for clarifying the **posted** speed limit between Lander and Rawlins.
BTW...if (while blasting-through Wyoming) you start coming-up REALLY fast behind a slower moving vehicle...flashing your brights, riding it's bumper and stretching your neck (to the left) as a means to get said-slower moving vehicle to 'suddenly' grab a higher-gear and 'rocket' forward faster probably won't work to your advantage...
...yes...I DO see you (in my mirror) back there, and NO I am NOT going to grab a higher-gear.
I am doing just fine, plugging-along as I am, and as it happens my old rig does better at 55-60 than it does at 75-80...and that's just how it works.
Enjoy, be safe, take lots of pictures, breathe deep, come back again someday & bring your friends !
No worries....I am not an impatient driver and don't enjoy passing on two lane highways. I do take pleasure in watching the impatient driver's behind me (when I likewise refuse to pass)attempting to pass 2-3 cars at one time. Its hilarious, really.
"I do take pleasure in watching the impatient driver's behind me (when I likewise refuse to pass)attempting to pass 2-3 cars at one time. Its hilarious, really."
In-as-far as taking a road-trip is concerned, we clearly have differing-views on the definition of the word 'pleasure', while behind the wheel...
...over the past decade, given the stress & hypertension I've experienced on the open-road, I have noticed quite the uptick in acid-reflux & the resultant ulcers from the increase in white-knuckled 'death-grip' I've been pressured into by 'impatient/over-entitled' drivers.
It's not that I am driving slower; quite the contrary...since day-one, I've ALWAYS been a conservative, non-rushed road-goer. My parents laugh whenever I mention recalling the long lines (at gas stations) during the Carter Admin, but whether they believe me or not, there were lessons to be learned during those dark days, and I never forgot them.
I guess the rest of the 'fast-paced/busy-lifestyle' world is simply on it's own schedule...one that I am unable to 'submit' to...but I'm reasonably certain things will change dramatically once carbureted/feul-injected (fossil-feul dependant) vehicles are eventually displaced/outlawed by whatever the 'green' movement pushes on the masses...and I sense a terrible foreboding that particular sea-change is about to occur sooner rather than later...
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