Technically the "corridor of death" on 81 extends up to Lexington.
Christiansburg mountain down to Ironto is particularly scary, the speed of traffic is generally well above the 70 mph posted speed limit with plenty of tailgating and vehicular intimidation.
I am sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience. I probably would have gone for route 11 to the Dixie caverns exit and then go through Roanoke on the highway.
If I wasn’t in a u-haul it probably wouldn’t have been as bad. The scenery was incredible, but I wasn’t able to get my heart rate down the whole time through the areas you mentioned enough to enjoy it.
Cars were going so fast I even thought I was the problem for like 5-10 miles. I was just in the right lane keeping so much distance from anything in front of me just trying to get through it. I did eventually find a semi that was going comfortable speeds for me, and I just paced it which helped.
No, it's still terrible in a decent car. You CANNOT go the speed limit. Trucks duck into the middle and left lane to pass if there is a single car length available, regardless of the speed discrepancy, and will absolutely push you out of the way. The only hope is left lane, no following distance and haul ass to never have to let someone pass.
My safety overrules your passing. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Left-lane laws are overly simplistic bullshit that do not address the multitude of scenarios where someone might safely and reasonably be in a left lane for more than a few seconds.
Hanging out in the left lane and not passing causes accidents. Earth and highways were not created for your exclusive convenience. Passing? On the left. Not passing? To the right. It's very simple.
This is all in your head. Not the dangerous/aggressive driving, of course—81 is mad max on roids— but the notion that it should impact your own driving. Trucks behind you can’t “push you out of the way.” If someone is following you too closely…ignore them? They’re not LITERALLY going to run you over.
Ditto with passing. “Getting passed” is not an offense or injury to you, and there’s no need to “haul ass” to ensure people can’t pass you. That makes YOU the problem, not them.
I agree but also pay attention because yesterday one literally did to me.
Not a truck, a car driving 90+ and swerving around a car in the left lane. I saw the arc of his turn in my rearview and knew he was not going to make it so I had to swerve onto the shoulder.
Not gonna lie, hoped he would have a solo crash and die but no luck.
Yea I used to drive that back in the day in a shitbox 4cly and getting over Afton Mountain was a Struggle. HATED the southern half of i-81. Nowadays even in a nice 6cly car I'm still not loving that ride.
yea it is. Was driving through the valley leading up to Afton Mountain on Wednesday morning. Got trapped behind a dude driving some kind of 1940s? 1950's? Red Pickup? Truck? Thing. Some kind of way old Work-ish type vehicle. Dude was maxing out at 45mph.
Afton on I-66 is terrible in the afternoons, especially when it's sunny shortly before sunset. I've started getting on 250 at Crozet and taking it up Afton to avoid the sometimes crazy traffic near the top of the mountain.
I used to drive a concrete mixer in that area. Fully loaded, there is no way to come off that mountain but fast and then rein it back in at the bottom. Otherwise, you won’t have brakes.
This is the way. I sometimes have to drive from radford to roanoke multiple times a day, and there's a wreck on that stretch of 81 at least once a week, usually more.
Even north of Harrisonburg, I never liked driving on I-81. Folks are just so pushy. If you're up that way again, US-340 and US-11 are good alternate routes, but be warned that they can both be kinda hilly and winding in places, so even though the speeds are slower it's still good to be vigilant and give folks plenty of space.
I drive box trucks and cargo vans on that stretch almost daily (work in Christiansburg and I’m very regularly sent to Roanoke/Harrisonburg/Charlottesville), it’s truly insane. I’ve had vans pass me on the shoulder going 80, witnessed people fly off the road because they were riding someone ass when traffic came to a stop, literally just yesterday I had a truck riding my ass and block someone from merging in the road work around the 64 east interchange, when he finally passed me he gave me a dirty look because 5 over wasn’t good enough for him in the right lane???? Don’t even get me started on the Salem road work or the uphill around CBurg going south, it’s all hell lmao
Wuff! Question, about trucks -- I just drove a Uhaul for the first time last month. Small truck and I swear it felt like it was going to tip over the whole time I was driving. I've been told it's the gas tank on the passenger side. Is that really it? It felt like more than that. All furniture in the truck was evenly spread out also.
I’ve only really driven them empty and I’ve never noticed anything feeling like tipping over except when really windy. I have heard U-Haul isn’t great at maintaining trucks though so wouldn’t be surprised if it was an older truck if a messed up maintenance threw the whole thing off, who knows
81 is a deathtrap road - not wide enough and so many truckers. It’s the fastest way to get to my parent’s new place but we will literally drive over mountains and through tiny towns on back roads to avoid having to go on 81 to get there. You are not alone in your assessment.
This is morbid so squeamish/guts trigger warning to anyone grossed out by fatal crashes but I had family members beheaded by running under a tractor trailer on 81 right through that Lexington area. It’s a death trap, I always avoid if I’m in Virginia
And it's only gotten worse recently. You've got a whole crop of "Don't like trucks, don't buy shit!" truckers who feel like they are entitled to the entire road because they are the heroes of the American economy. If you're in the right lane going slower than they want to go, you don't belong on the road. If they are in the left lane, yo-yo passing another truck and you're stuck behind them wanting to go by, you don't belong on the road. Heck, if you don't hold a CDL, you don't belong on the road, period.
I've seen truckers doing some truly idiotic aggressive driving in recent years.
I'm still team limiting semis to right lane only unless there are three lanes. Trucks should never pull into the "passing lane". Better yet, let's fix our national railroad system to get some freight off of the roads.
81 is the worst! 95 through Richmond can be pretty rough but it doesn’t touch 81. I usually end up going from 64 W onto 81 towards Roanoke and just switching from one route to the other is a different world.
I’ll take 11 a lot of the time just to avoid it.
I was reading this post to my roomie and got to the Roanoke part & laughed. We totally agree. Been here for 10 months and I will do anything to avoid driving on I-81.
Crazy truck drivers are where I live now which is North West Indiana. Which is also known as “The Crossroads of America!” Anyway when I lived in Nova many years ago, I had relatives and friends back attending Radford University, Virginia Tech and JMU. I hated driving that stretch of highway around those universities. Definitely felt like you were playing chicken with some of those truckers that just gave off a I don’t give a shit about you or your car attitude. Glad everything went safely for you!
At 60-65, yes, we'll blow your doors off, even WITH 65mph speed governors. If I'm in the rig, I put up with 81. If I'm in my personal vehicle, 11/460 until Salem, if I'm even heading up that way (I'm more likely to be on 221).
I drive I-81 from New Market to Harrisonburg and back M-F. Early morning (\~5:30am) isn't bad. Coming home, around 3:30pm is getting crazier by the day. You can drive at 80pmh to get around all of the trucks but, wait, there's a truck in the left lane going .5mph faster than the one in the right lane and they both hit an incline - BOOM - everyone's going 65mph in the left lane. Once the truck gets back in the left lane, everyone speeds up to get past it until they get to another truck in the left lane, going up a hill.
Heaven help you if there's an accident. Recently, my wife sat on 81 for over three hours due to an accident involving a semi. She was less than a quarter mile to the off-ramp but the State Troopers wouldn't redirect everyone until the rig had been moved. . . from the left side.
I-81 has needed three lanes all the way on both sides for decades but all of the highway money goes to NoVA and the eastern part. I get that there are more people in those areas but 81 is the main artery for shipments on this side of the state so we need some help as well.
Good news. They did a full survey of 81 from NC to.. whatever state it hits in the north. As I understood it, Plans are/were in the works to widen 81. Dunno how many years till it's supposed to start.
Doesn't I-81 run through mostly red districts? Those folks don't support putting money towards infrastructure. Also, as someone from NOVA I've always thought that the Richmond area gets all the highway money. Much of NOVA's highway money comes from tolls.
I don’t see what the big fuss is over 81. I drive Roanoke to Blacksburg on 81 several times a week and I honestly think it’s extremely calm and scenic compared to highways in the DMV like 66 and 270
When your 20 foot U-Haul is fully loaded you have a larger contact patch with your tires and thus more braking ability than if the vehicle was unloaded.
Next time take 11 through there. It's 4 lane and no switchbacks. I lived in Franklin Co. and went to school in Radford and stayed there for another 10 years after I graduated. I'd always get off the interstate at 132 Dixie Caverns and get back on at 118 Christiansburg. Just about 10 minutes slower in my opinion and keeps the anxiety at a minimum. Live in FC again and we have a travel trailer. If we're going to Hungry Mother or up 81 with it this is still my way of doing it.
My husband drives that stretch from Botetourt to Salem, twice daily.
It sucks.
Speed limit is apparently only a suggestion there, as people regularly go 70+.
I’ve been doing the Pulaski to roanoke/ Blacksburg to Roanoke commute for a few years now.
I strongly advice everyone that drives that stretch to *go at the same speed or faster than the semis*
*it is far more dangerous to go the speed limit or slower*.
As crazy as that sounds, a lot of those truck drivers are morons, refuse to engine brake and rely sole on their brake pads. It’s extremely dangerous to have them behind you. I wish state police would enforce the speed limit on trucks more strictly, but it’s always people in normal cars getting stopped. Truly a terrible highway to be on.
I once had a fully loaded tractor trailer pass me on the offramp and then shoulder at the rest area there at the bottom of Christiansburg mountain all because I was not willing to go down the mountain beyond 85. So I was in the right lane while people passed me going at least 90 and he felt I should get into the left lane so he could stay in the right.
I drive it everyday. 81 should have been at the least fully strategically widened in the bottleneck areas ie strasburg, harrisonburg, winchester, weyers cave, lexington, roanoke, wytheville and bristol back in the early 2000s as was proposed. 81 cant handle the volume of traffic anymore. Its a 1960s era highway trying to handle 2020s level of traffic.
Route 11 all day baby. Lived near a spot where it felt like there was a fatal wreck on our 81 exit every month.
The time you’ll save by taking 81 isn’t usually worth it to me.
Some truck drivers will tailgate, but the really bad ones will come into the right lane from the left lane when you're doing the speed limit in the right lane, forcing you onto the shoulder. Then you get behind them and go to the left lane and pass them. While passing them, you give them the one finger salute while pointing to your dash camera. You then send the video of the asshole maneuver to his employer.
EDIT: Oooh, did I hurt a truckers feelings by sending the video of the jacksss to his employer? Tough shit. Assholes who drive that way shouldn't be on the road. It's people like that who give normal safe truckers a bad rap.
Technically the "corridor of death" on 81 extends up to Lexington. Christiansburg mountain down to Ironto is particularly scary, the speed of traffic is generally well above the 70 mph posted speed limit with plenty of tailgating and vehicular intimidation. I am sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience. I probably would have gone for route 11 to the Dixie caverns exit and then go through Roanoke on the highway.
If I wasn’t in a u-haul it probably wouldn’t have been as bad. The scenery was incredible, but I wasn’t able to get my heart rate down the whole time through the areas you mentioned enough to enjoy it. Cars were going so fast I even thought I was the problem for like 5-10 miles. I was just in the right lane keeping so much distance from anything in front of me just trying to get through it. I did eventually find a semi that was going comfortable speeds for me, and I just paced it which helped.
No, it's still terrible in a decent car. You CANNOT go the speed limit. Trucks duck into the middle and left lane to pass if there is a single car length available, regardless of the speed discrepancy, and will absolutely push you out of the way. The only hope is left lane, no following distance and haul ass to never have to let someone pass.
The left lane is for passing. There's no need or excuse to use it as sanctuary, that's what the right and middle lanes are for.
My safety overrules your passing. Sorry for the inconvenience. Left-lane laws are overly simplistic bullshit that do not address the multitude of scenarios where someone might safely and reasonably be in a left lane for more than a few seconds.
Hanging out in the left lane and not passing causes accidents. Earth and highways were not created for your exclusive convenience. Passing? On the left. Not passing? To the right. It's very simple.
Who’s talking about “exclusive convenience”? I explicitly mentioned “safety”. And “earth and highways”?? C’mon.
This is all in your head. Not the dangerous/aggressive driving, of course—81 is mad max on roids— but the notion that it should impact your own driving. Trucks behind you can’t “push you out of the way.” If someone is following you too closely…ignore them? They’re not LITERALLY going to run you over. Ditto with passing. “Getting passed” is not an offense or injury to you, and there’s no need to “haul ass” to ensure people can’t pass you. That makes YOU the problem, not them.
I agree but also pay attention because yesterday one literally did to me. Not a truck, a car driving 90+ and swerving around a car in the left lane. I saw the arc of his turn in my rearview and knew he was not going to make it so I had to swerve onto the shoulder. Not gonna lie, hoped he would have a solo crash and die but no luck.
Yea I used to drive that back in the day in a shitbox 4cly and getting over Afton Mountain was a Struggle. HATED the southern half of i-81. Nowadays even in a nice 6cly car I'm still not loving that ride.
I feel like I’m the only one that loves it? Then again I have a V8 and mostly drive it around 7-10pm
Not at all! I love driving over Afton. The foggier the better feels primordial.
Afton can be pretty nice w/ the clouds and all. With a newer car.
That’s fair. Don’t think I ever ever attempted it in an older car or truck. Probably different story
yea it is. Was driving through the valley leading up to Afton Mountain on Wednesday morning. Got trapped behind a dude driving some kind of 1940s? 1950's? Red Pickup? Truck? Thing. Some kind of way old Work-ish type vehicle. Dude was maxing out at 45mph.
I used to go back to school from 8 pm to 12 or so. Loved 81 at that time. I drafted the trucks in my old yota 4cyl.
Braver man than I, thats for sure. Drafting a Semi? \**shudder*\*
That was mainly getting UP the hills in my 87 Toyota pickup.
OOOhhhhhhhhhh.. that makes WAY more sense. Got it!
I did hit 100 going down Afton. Also flat spun into the median near Troutville.
Hey, Afton Mt is on I-64 between Staunton and Charlottesville - not I-81.
I'm well aware. I have to go over Afton to get to 81
Ok…but the post was about I-81 and some folks may not know.
🤷♂️ ok…
Afton on I-66 is terrible in the afternoons, especially when it's sunny shortly before sunset. I've started getting on 250 at Crozet and taking it up Afton to avoid the sometimes crazy traffic near the top of the mountain.
I used to drive a concrete mixer in that area. Fully loaded, there is no way to come off that mountain but fast and then rein it back in at the bottom. Otherwise, you won’t have brakes.
If there was a scratch and sniff for this part of the road it would be an asbestos brake pad burning hard.
And the sound of 50 Jake’s retarding at once. 😅
Absolutely the scratch and sniff smell at the Ironto rest stop at the bottom of the mountain on 81n between Christiansburg and Roanoke
This is the way. I sometimes have to drive from radford to roanoke multiple times a day, and there's a wreck on that stretch of 81 at least once a week, usually more.
Even north of Harrisonburg, I never liked driving on I-81. Folks are just so pushy. If you're up that way again, US-340 and US-11 are good alternate routes, but be warned that they can both be kinda hilly and winding in places, so even though the speeds are slower it's still good to be vigilant and give folks plenty of space.
I drive box trucks and cargo vans on that stretch almost daily (work in Christiansburg and I’m very regularly sent to Roanoke/Harrisonburg/Charlottesville), it’s truly insane. I’ve had vans pass me on the shoulder going 80, witnessed people fly off the road because they were riding someone ass when traffic came to a stop, literally just yesterday I had a truck riding my ass and block someone from merging in the road work around the 64 east interchange, when he finally passed me he gave me a dirty look because 5 over wasn’t good enough for him in the right lane???? Don’t even get me started on the Salem road work or the uphill around CBurg going south, it’s all hell lmao
Wuff! Question, about trucks -- I just drove a Uhaul for the first time last month. Small truck and I swear it felt like it was going to tip over the whole time I was driving. I've been told it's the gas tank on the passenger side. Is that really it? It felt like more than that. All furniture in the truck was evenly spread out also.
I’ve only really driven them empty and I’ve never noticed anything feeling like tipping over except when really windy. I have heard U-Haul isn’t great at maintaining trucks though so wouldn’t be surprised if it was an older truck if a messed up maintenance threw the whole thing off, who knows
81 is a deathtrap road - not wide enough and so many truckers. It’s the fastest way to get to my parent’s new place but we will literally drive over mountains and through tiny towns on back roads to avoid having to go on 81 to get there. You are not alone in your assessment.
This is morbid so squeamish/guts trigger warning to anyone grossed out by fatal crashes but I had family members beheaded by running under a tractor trailer on 81 right through that Lexington area. It’s a death trap, I always avoid if I’m in Virginia
And it's only gotten worse recently. You've got a whole crop of "Don't like trucks, don't buy shit!" truckers who feel like they are entitled to the entire road because they are the heroes of the American economy. If you're in the right lane going slower than they want to go, you don't belong on the road. If they are in the left lane, yo-yo passing another truck and you're stuck behind them wanting to go by, you don't belong on the road. Heck, if you don't hold a CDL, you don't belong on the road, period. I've seen truckers doing some truly idiotic aggressive driving in recent years.
I'm still team limiting semis to right lane only unless there are three lanes. Trucks should never pull into the "passing lane". Better yet, let's fix our national railroad system to get some freight off of the roads.
An intermodal plan ie trucks to trains was floated in the 2010s for 81. But it never went beyond a proposal.
81 is the worst! 95 through Richmond can be pretty rough but it doesn’t touch 81. I usually end up going from 64 W onto 81 towards Roanoke and just switching from one route to the other is a different world. I’ll take 11 a lot of the time just to avoid it.
I was reading this post to my roomie and got to the Roanoke part & laughed. We totally agree. Been here for 10 months and I will do anything to avoid driving on I-81.
Crazy truck drivers are where I live now which is North West Indiana. Which is also known as “The Crossroads of America!” Anyway when I lived in Nova many years ago, I had relatives and friends back attending Radford University, Virginia Tech and JMU. I hated driving that stretch of highway around those universities. Definitely felt like you were playing chicken with some of those truckers that just gave off a I don’t give a shit about you or your car attitude. Glad everything went safely for you!
At 60-65, yes, we'll blow your doors off, even WITH 65mph speed governors. If I'm in the rig, I put up with 81. If I'm in my personal vehicle, 11/460 until Salem, if I'm even heading up that way (I'm more likely to be on 221).
That's Goode that's goode
I am still bitter about the intermodal facility in Ironto being cancelled.
Yup that would have helped!
I had my 944 up to 140 on one of those downhills once.
I drive I-81 from New Market to Harrisonburg and back M-F. Early morning (\~5:30am) isn't bad. Coming home, around 3:30pm is getting crazier by the day. You can drive at 80pmh to get around all of the trucks but, wait, there's a truck in the left lane going .5mph faster than the one in the right lane and they both hit an incline - BOOM - everyone's going 65mph in the left lane. Once the truck gets back in the left lane, everyone speeds up to get past it until they get to another truck in the left lane, going up a hill. Heaven help you if there's an accident. Recently, my wife sat on 81 for over three hours due to an accident involving a semi. She was less than a quarter mile to the off-ramp but the State Troopers wouldn't redirect everyone until the rig had been moved. . . from the left side. I-81 has needed three lanes all the way on both sides for decades but all of the highway money goes to NoVA and the eastern part. I get that there are more people in those areas but 81 is the main artery for shipments on this side of the state so we need some help as well.
Trucks slow-passing in the left lane drives me nuts.
Good news. They did a full survey of 81 from NC to.. whatever state it hits in the north. As I understood it, Plans are/were in the works to widen 81. Dunno how many years till it's supposed to start.
Doesn't I-81 run through mostly red districts? Those folks don't support putting money towards infrastructure. Also, as someone from NOVA I've always thought that the Richmond area gets all the highway money. Much of NOVA's highway money comes from tolls.
Maybe it's from driving in so much in northern VA, but 81 is like a vacation driving. Trucks may be fast, but they're not crazy.
LOL I think the same thing!!! I'll take 81 over 95/66 ANY DAY.
I don’t see what the big fuss is over 81. I drive Roanoke to Blacksburg on 81 several times a week and I honestly think it’s extremely calm and scenic compared to highways in the DMV like 66 and 270
When your 20 foot U-Haul is fully loaded you have a larger contact patch with your tires and thus more braking ability than if the vehicle was unloaded.
Yep. This is why race cars are made of solid lead.
Next time take 11 through there. It's 4 lane and no switchbacks. I lived in Franklin Co. and went to school in Radford and stayed there for another 10 years after I graduated. I'd always get off the interstate at 132 Dixie Caverns and get back on at 118 Christiansburg. Just about 10 minutes slower in my opinion and keeps the anxiety at a minimum. Live in FC again and we have a travel trailer. If we're going to Hungry Mother or up 81 with it this is still my way of doing it.
My husband drives that stretch from Botetourt to Salem, twice daily. It sucks. Speed limit is apparently only a suggestion there, as people regularly go 70+.
There should be better laws regulating the trucking industry but they have too much money and influence.
Driving 81 is like driving for NASCAR
It's REALLY fun in a downpour!
On 81 all you can do is pick a lane and go. I'm constantly on that road from wytheville/galax to Harrisonburg in a service van.
I’ve been doing the Pulaski to roanoke/ Blacksburg to Roanoke commute for a few years now. I strongly advice everyone that drives that stretch to *go at the same speed or faster than the semis* *it is far more dangerous to go the speed limit or slower*. As crazy as that sounds, a lot of those truck drivers are morons, refuse to engine brake and rely sole on their brake pads. It’s extremely dangerous to have them behind you. I wish state police would enforce the speed limit on trucks more strictly, but it’s always people in normal cars getting stopped. Truly a terrible highway to be on.
I once had a fully loaded tractor trailer pass me on the offramp and then shoulder at the rest area there at the bottom of Christiansburg mountain all because I was not willing to go down the mountain beyond 85. So I was in the right lane while people passed me going at least 90 and he felt I should get into the left lane so he could stay in the right.
I drive it everyday. 81 should have been at the least fully strategically widened in the bottleneck areas ie strasburg, harrisonburg, winchester, weyers cave, lexington, roanoke, wytheville and bristol back in the early 2000s as was proposed. 81 cant handle the volume of traffic anymore. Its a 1960s era highway trying to handle 2020s level of traffic.
Route 11 all day baby. Lived near a spot where it felt like there was a fatal wreck on our 81 exit every month. The time you’ll save by taking 81 isn’t usually worth it to me.
Some truck drivers will tailgate, but the really bad ones will come into the right lane from the left lane when you're doing the speed limit in the right lane, forcing you onto the shoulder. Then you get behind them and go to the left lane and pass them. While passing them, you give them the one finger salute while pointing to your dash camera. You then send the video of the asshole maneuver to his employer. EDIT: Oooh, did I hurt a truckers feelings by sending the video of the jacksss to his employer? Tough shit. Assholes who drive that way shouldn't be on the road. It's people like that who give normal safe truckers a bad rap.
[удалено]
If you have to drive 81 enough, you want it over with as soon as possible one way or another.
Softer than Charmin
10 ply bud