The final post in my series on the recent East coast drive through five states has broader observations and thoughts. With over two thousand miles of driving it gives you plenty of time to think and observe. In no particular order…
Professional Driver Responsibility
I think that all 18-wheel trucks should be required by federal law to have a phone number you can call to report dangerous driving or other issues. It seems that invariably trucks that are bad drivers don’t have them, and the trucks that are good drivers have the “Call if my driving is bad” signage on the trailer. These people drive for a living and should be held to a high standard since their job can endanger the lives of so many others.
Hyundai UI / UX
Upon arriving in Wilmington, NC, I was told by Hertz that I received a free upgrade. I assume due to the car I originally requested not being available but an upgrade is an upgrade, right? They gave me a 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe with low mileage. The vehicle is pretty big, looks like a shoe box on wheels, and has a horrible turning radius among other things. But what frustrated me more than anything was the internal electronics and dashboard. Whoever designed this should not be in the car business. Nor the UI / UX business.
- The dashboard clock doesn’t update the time based on your current time zone, so traversing from Eastern to Central, the clock didn’t change, even two hours later. Even with “Set Time Automatically” enabled.
- If you’re on the highway, you turn your signal on indicating you want to change lanes. That is standard driving. However, this vehicle beeps at you because there’s a car in the lane. Yes, I fucking know that and see it, but I still want to give indication that I want to change lanes. What, does this stupid thing want me to wait until there’s no car and miss an exit?
- You can be three minutes into a drive, since the car was parked and turned off, for it to suggest you need to “Consider taking a break” simply because you drove over rumble strips for any reason.
- If you have a six-pack of beverages in the back seat, expect this Nanny-state car to warn you every time you turn the vehicle off. Apparently it thinks a baby might be sitting back there and weighs seven pounds.
- The layout of the entertainment screen is ridiculous and a waste of space. The size of the screen is huge but they give you a large analog clock and a digital clock for some reason. The list of radio types takes up a lot of space on the left, channel list with wasted space in middle, then the song that is playing is tiny in the lower right. For those interested in what song is playing, this layout begs for a driver to be distracted.
- When you ‘star’ channels to include in favorites, if you then unstar them, the system doesn’t remember that in many cases. I don’t even remember what I did differently the fifth time to get it to remember my favorite channels correctly.
Cat Cafes
Hopefully by now you have heard of cat cafes, or the more exotic animal cafes in Tokyo for example. When I see a cat cafe I feel compelled to stop in. Most operate on a shoestring budget and just look to rehome cats in need of a forever home. In Norfolk I ran into one (Catnip Cat Cafe) and popped in only to be asked if I had an appointment; that is frequently a requirement these days. I said no, “How about $20 for 20 minutes of visiting the kitties?” They obliged! I also ended up buying some of their swag and tipped on top of that to help them out. I wanted to be clear I regrettably wasn’t adopting but wanted to support their cause. I encourage everyone to do the same!
WV / KY Roadkill
I wrote about this topic in more detail back in 2022 after a cross-country drive. Driving through West Virginia and Kentucky, specifically, on this trip brought all the same thoughts back. When there isn’t a lot of scenery other than the same rolling green hills, it might lead you to notice the excessive amount of roadkill. That makes me really question the cost break and analysis of putting in more tunnels under the road, dedicated overpasses, smaller little bridges, or something to help keep the wildlife off the road. Maybe just more fencing along the highways?
Consider that we have different styles of fences for humans, and some security ones for keeping people out that are more serious than others. It seems one could design a fence that’s not terribly big, painted green so it blends in better, and would make it extremely difficult for e.g. a raccoon to go over. It could have spacing so that a possum can’t go through and you can also put up a chain link fence that’s a little thinner, but high enough to keep deer out. While it’s not quite as attractive it would save a considerable amount on car damage and accidents.
Southern Driving
There’s a thing about living in the South where the lifestyle is slower and more relaxed. That certainly applies to driving where too many people behind the wheel seem to have no sense of urgency or understanding that others on the road may have it. This is no more evident than waiting at a left turn watching someone not take half a dozen opportunities to turn. On this trip I saw cases where there was easily 50 yards from them to the next oncoming vehicle and they still waited. Someone needs to give them a refresher course on using the gas pedal because pretty much all modern cars, even the smaller less expensive ones, will have a little pep. Clearing one or two lanes is not a challenge.
Virginia Isn’t for Driving
Virginia’s state slogan is “Virginia is for Lovers“. It’s even on the license plates. The state isn’t the best for driving in my opinion. It is, hands down, the worst state for people riding the left lane and not moving over, especially when going under the speed limit. Richmond, VA has a highway system with tolls that are utterly ridiculous. More than once, I had to pay one dollar to literally go one exit. That will teach me to be more aware of when to toggle “No Tolls” in Google Maps. I will say the highways are fairly well kept so they’re apparently using some of that money for maintenance but there also appears to be an excessive amount of grooming of the medians and common areas along the highway. Seems that money could be used for better purposes and just let some of that grow more wild.
Southern Cuisine
For the last ten months I have made a point not to eat meat again. I am an on-again / off-again carnivore historically but for years now I have strived to avoid it in the big picture. As someone who has been pescatarian for the last ten months, eating in the South is easy enough. Plenty of fried shrimp and fish to make me happy. However, as I drove through all of those states with a few vegan friends in mind, I noticed how difficult it is to get a quick bite if you don’t partake in meat. Some exits advertised as many as three chicken fast food chains as an example. It would be nice if more fast food joints had a few more non-meat options for travelers.
A Bit Tone Deaf
People in Virginia still use “plantation” as if it doesn’t carry negative meaning or connotation. For example, there are some sites I saw advertised where you can book a barn wedding on a plantation. That just screams privilege and racism baked into one.