The ticket is bought and I'm flying to Melbourne. I'm currently trying to find a car service who will drive me from the airport to Vero Beach where I'll help my Uncle pack his car and drive him up the east coast to my Aunt in Massachusetts.

He's got a recent model Toyota Avalon (17 gallon tank & 20-30 MPG) with a full tank of gas. As of this posting the Google maps traffic reports shows hardly any traffic from his condo to the FL/GA border (estimate is less than 4 hours). The hotel websites appear to have enough rooms for any of the places we'd stop in along the way.


I'm bringing a backpack with me and it'll have the usual stuff (phone, laptop, GPS, charger, flashlights, spare batteries, etc.). One thing I'm trying to get my hands on is an EasyPass (got one) so we don't have to stop for the tolls from NC to MA. Any suggestions from members on the ground who have any tips or observations about the current conditions and what the gas situation is like?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dead_Eye,

When do you land?

If the airport is open I am sure there will be cabs that want to make money. Uber and Lyft are always options.

Bring him some new windshield wipers.

quote:

One thing I'm trying to get my hands on is an EasyPass

I don't know about MA, but here we can purchase one at the customer service desk at Wegmans and a few other stores.

I'm pretty sure the governor of Florida suspended all tolls for the duration.

http://www.wftv.com/weather/tr...ng-florida/454577800

You are rolling the dice with I95. Mandatory evacuations along your route are going to begin tonight and I95 traffic will be a mess. I95 will be a parking lot as the storm is going to run up it's length, if you get stalled you could find yourself stopped right in the path of the storm. If it was me and my family I would take 192 East to the Florida Turnpike and stay on the Florida Turnpike until you hit I75. I75 is going to be a nightmare so I would try to work East to US 19 and go north toward Tallahassee on US 19 and spend a day or two in a hotel there. After the storm passes take him to MA or home as you see fit.

I just drove south on I-95 from GA. Traffic northbound has solid. Some areas crawling and some decent. I turned off at I-4 though. I would expect it to be worse from here on out.

Just got an Easypass so that's a relief for the tolls from NC to MA.

I'm a little confused about the traffic reports. I've heard 10-50 hours to get out of FL depending on where people are but here's the latest traffic report from Google:



Either Google is wrong (not usually) or the reports on the ground are way off.

Well, it took me three and a half hours to make that exact drive last spring with no traffic and going 75. I would say it might take a hair longer with upcoming conditions.

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ou are rolling the dice with I95. Mandatory evacuations along your route are going to begin tonight and I95 traffic will be a mess. I95 will be a parking lot as the storm is going to run up it's length, if you get stalled you could find yourself stopped right in the path of the storm. If it was me and my family I would take 192 East to the Florida Turnpike and stay on the Florida Turnpike until you hit I75. I75 is going to be a nightmare so I would try to work East to US 19 and go north toward Tallahassee on US 19 and spend a day or two in a hotel there. After the storm passes take him to MA or home as you see fit.

This guy knows what he is talking about. I would take his advice.

I think the traffic will get much worse tomorrow, so it depends when you arrive and will GTF outta dodge.

It seems that people are traveling in waves. For example, my boss set me a pic of northbound Turnpike through Orlando at 12:30 this afternoon, and it was a parking lot. Yet at 6:30 this evening, it was smooth sailing through the exact same piece of road.

The above advice to travel all the way west to US 19, is pretty solid and should be given due consideration. 75 can be a parking lot with just the usual weekend traffic. You would be looking at about 3 hours to get across the state east-to-west, but it might be worth it. North of Crystal River, US 19 is 4-lanes and very, very lightly traveled.

Here's my reccomendation:


Modify your endpoint as you see fit, of course.

The gas situation is weird as well. Seems people have forgotten about the stations in the industrial or commercial areas. Not many lines in those, but just down the road there will be a huge line at a station near a residential area.

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I would try to work East to US 19 and go north toward Tallahassee on US 19 and spend a day or two in a hotel there. After the storm passes take him to MA or home as you see fit.

I would certainly try to call ahead to reserve if I planned to stay anywhere around I10 it is probably jammed as well.
SR 44 from Florida's Turnpike to US 41 and/or 19 was a parking lot near Crystal River earlier today. 19 was also very heavy.
Radio reports from Ocala were that cars were averaging 45/50 on I75.

It is only going to get worse tomorrow.

FL511.com has real time traffic info. I wouldn't trust google at this time.

quote:

Originally posted by Dead_Eye:
Just got an Easypass so that's a relief for the tolls from NC to MA.

I'm a little confused about the traffic reports. I've heard 10-50 hours to get out of FL depending on where people are but here's the latest traffic report from Google:

Either Google is wrong (not usually) or the reports on the ground are way off.

I am not a native, so I have no useful information about the best route (unless you need NC>VA advice), but in regards to Google Traffic, I noticed that during the Eclipse traffic nightmare I was involved in, Google Traffic was VERY wrong, likely due to the overwhelming amount of traffic data, so keep that in mind while planning and driving.

Travel safe.

"Pack his car" should be done when you get there, by him or a neighbor. Emergency supplies only, no "stuff". It's kind of you to try to help, but I'd be planning on in and out in under 15 minutes, and I'd be wishing I had more than a tank of gas. You'll use a lot parked on highway too, and may end up in a world of hurt.

No way for him to meet you at the airport and just go from there?

Not sure of the cause but tonight the Turnpike North bound was a parking lot in Saint Lucie County. That was around 18:30. I am sure some is people coming home from work but the majority it seems is people leaving. Good luck with your traveling.

Finding Gas in Florida is a huge issue. FHP is escorting gas trucks to make sure they get through.

I would run google maps and Waves on my phone when I leave his house in the car.

Let them guide you real time.

We can all speculate but traffic will change drastically over the next 48 hours.

Waves will take you on more side type streets than google maps. At least that's my experience.

quote:

Originally posted by p113565:
Finding Gas in Florida is a huge issue. FHP is escorting gas trucks to make sure they get through.

Run gas buddy on your phone. It may not be perfect as it relies on people updating it but it will help.

Waze has the interstates north with traffic jams all the way into GA. At that point it looks like it eases up.

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but here's the latest traffic report from Google:

That's simply a map route that doesn't take traffic conditions into account. Waze is probably your best bet. I've found it very accurate.

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Waves

Correction...WAZE.