Road Tripping in the USA!

uncle_rufus · 4 Oct 2019 at 21:14

mjt said:
What do you guys do for data roaming when travelling to the USA? Buy a local SIM card with data roaming only like this? https://www.ultramobile.com/tourist/?icid=WMM_TMNG_PPEULTRA_AU4DD3J38PK7L3C8617764

We just got back from a trip last month... since we only really needed our phone's data for the odd thing we just added a travel thing which cost $4.99 per day that we actually used any data, and then we just made liberal use of wifi wherever we could get it (which was every hotel and quite a lot of cafes and things)

I'm sure a prepaid SIM from the US would be much better and cheaper overall but this was just no-hassle and the cost was negligible overall once factored into the price of the holiday

mjt · 4 Oct 2019 at 21:40

InvaderGIR said:
You're in Europe right? So not sure anyone can really comment about using your plan there which is what a lot of UK people do.
I wanted to roam in both USA and Canada so when I landed and got my hire car I headed to a local AT&T and got a prepaid sim ( https://www.att.com/buy/wireless/prepaid/select-plans ) on a $50 plan, gave me 8GB of data for a month and gave me mobile tethering too. I put the sim in a spare phone and used that for tethering my actual phone to for data when out and about (including for Waze) and then used wifi spots when visiting places.

E: I embrace the flaming from others...

Could you buy that $50/mo plan even though you don't live in the USA? I presume you just cancelled it before you left?

uncle_rufus said:
We just got back from a trip last month... since we only really needed our phone's data for the odd thing we just added a travel thing which cost $4.99 per day that we actually used any data, and then we just made liberal use of wifi wherever we could get it (which was every hotel and quite a lot of cafes and things)

I'm sure a prepaid SIM from the US would be much better and cheaper overall but this was just no-hassle and the cost was negligible overall once factored into the price of the holiday

TBH I forgot to contact my provider this week, but I'll check with them next week. As far as I could see on their site, they don't offer anything like that. However, I'm on a business package so I can't imagine all small businesses pay through the nose if they leave the EU for roaming...

InvaderGIR · 4 Oct 2019 at 22:11

mjt said:
Could you buy that $50/mo plan even though you don't live in the USA? I presume you just cancelled it before you left?

No need to live in the USA and no need to cancel, only get the one initial charge (listed price plus taxes). I chatted with the guy in store to make sure it was all fine for my trip, as I was there for a few weeks and do many miles between stops it made sense to have data. I think I used about 7GB in the end.

Maccy · 5 Oct 2019 at 00:04

O2 with travel add-on has worked for me in US and Canada this time round, no additional fees. 120 mins and texts per day and unlimited data.

Joe T · 15 Oct 2019 at 07:24

Bit of a horror story on the US-Canada border: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50050467

Dont mess with US Immigration.

Maccy · 15 Oct 2019 at 08:04

Ouch, glad we took the ferry to Canada!

timmeh · 17 Oct 2019 at 03:00

Joe T said:
Bit of a horror story on the US-Canada border: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50050467

Dont mess with US Immigration.

They say they were driving with family members on 3 October when, to avoid an animal, they veered onto a small road.

This makes no sense. I’ve swerved around an animal before but never ended up in another country

b0rn2sk8 · 17 Oct 2019 at 10:06

Jailed British tourists entered US 'deliberately' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-50067575

InvaderGIR · 17 Oct 2019 at 17:24

b0rn2sk8 said:
Jailed British tourists entered US 'deliberately' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-50067575

Can't say I'm surprised, it's not all that easy to cross accidentally.

geekman · 17 Oct 2019 at 18:01

I deal with border patrol every couple of weeks and have always found them very fair and reasonable. Most seem to be ex military and I’ve had very interesting conversations with quite a few of them. I only know two people who’ve had issues and in both of those cases it’s been their fault, and they’ve tried the whole “I know my rights” thing which unsurprisingly doesn’t go well for them.

Amp34 · 19 Oct 2019 at 19:42

I find the US guys at the land borders are usually a lot more friendly than the ones you meet at the airport. Even get the occasional joke from them!

Buffman · 27 Oct 2019 at 20:21

Edit: woops wrong thread

[TW]Fox · 27 Oct 2019 at 20:38

Wrong thread

Buffman · 27 Oct 2019 at 21:12

[TW]Fox said:
Wrong thread

Fark :x

ic1male · 6 Dec 2019 at 23:04

I have a question which I can ask using American Truck Simulator.

I'm not sure what the rules of these double-lined central reservations are. Are they no-go areas or waiting areas?

For example, if you wanted to turn left into the driveway marked by the red arrow and traffic was coming towards you in the left lanes, do you sit in the middle of the road, i.e. in the reservation and wait until you can cross (indicated by the blue cross) or do you stay in your lane and wait (purple cross)?

To me, it would seem better to wait in the blue cross position so you don't block the right lanes for other traffic.

Which is the correct answer?

Amp34 · 7 Dec 2019 at 03:15

Neither. You can’t legally turn left there at all. It’s a central reservation and should be considered a physical barrier (I.e. a dual carriageway). You could turn left where the road narrows (where there’s just a single set of solid yellows, but not where you want to.

https://driversed.com/driving-information/signs-signals-and-markings/road-markings2.aspx

Most dual direction turning lanes I’ve seen have two arrows in them to indicate they’re turning lanes. They also have one solid and one dashed line on each side.

Like this:

https://m.wikihow.com/Use-the-Center-Turning-Lane

Maccy · 7 Dec 2019 at 09:38

Yeh you can’t cross them, but I saw many people do it!

ic1male · 7 Dec 2019 at 09:41

Thanks both. I have just been reading the Washington state driver's guide and it's still a bit vague to my eyes but I did conclude that you have to imagine there is a solid barrier in the middle of the road and can't turn across it. So that's something new learned. I would have sat in the middle and waited!

The other question I have is joining interstates. In the UK, when you enter the motorway slip road, you're supposed to speed up to match the speed of the traffic and merge seamlessly. But am I right in saying, you're supposed to give way on interstate on-ramps and even stop if there is too much traffic?

mjt · 7 Dec 2019 at 12:53

Driving at night: Yay or Nay?

ic1male · 7 Dec 2019 at 12:59

mjt said:
Driving at night: Yay or Nay?

I mostly hated it. I suppose it depends where in the country you are but I found the lack of cats eyes really scary when driving at speed. I swear a few times I could have ended up veering off the road and going down a chasm or something.