California sweeps 'worst roads' list
The argument for SUVs may be a little stronger in California after a report released by TRIP, a national transportation research group, shows that five cities in the Golden state rank among the top ten urban areas with the roughest roads. The Cali towns with the roughest rides include San Jose, Los Angeles, San Francisco-Oakland, San Diego and Sacramento. They're joined by other U.S. cities with pot hole-ridden roads like St. Louis, Omaha, New York City and New Orleans (pre-Katrina).California also beats out the industry average for the percentage of its roads that are in poor condition. TRIP estimates that one-half to two-thirds of California's interstates, freeways and local roads are rough riding, compared to the national average for states, which is just 25 percent.
Of course, the failure of California or any state to maintain all that ribbon of road hits motorists right in the pocketbook in the form of higher operating costs. Not only is the life of one's vehicle dramatically reduced from the incessant pounding it receives, but increased repairs and poorer gas mileage also ding the driver in his wallet.
What are TRIP's predictions: it's only going to get worse. Population in these urban areas is ever increasing, and with more people comes more cars. At some point calling these areas urban will be a stretch, as their roads are beginning to resemble places like the Rubicon Trail more and more each day.
[Source: The Auto Channel]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kowell 2:07PM (10/04/2006)
Hell those inspector ain't set foot in Quebec Province that's for sure...
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SOhp101 2:15PM (10/04/2006)
It's not really CA in general but probably more socal (LA area more specifically). It's a good thing they finally started repaving the I-5 so it's not nearly as noisy.
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Pat 2:23PM (10/04/2006)
I'm suprised Boston or other colder cities weren't the worst. You would figure unending frost heaves would do more damage then the "rough roads" of so cal.
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Finished Law School 2:26PM (10/04/2006)
I would think that Michigan roads have them beat by a long shot...especially those around Detroit.
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David 3:05PM (10/04/2006)
www.tripnet.org. You can read the actual report and not a blog about news report about the report.
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rwdmtparkingonly 2:38PM (10/04/2006)
It looks like TRIP might be a PAC for the road building industry; maybe they are getting a lot of support from companies in CA. I've lived in San Francisco, San Diego and Chicago, and Chicago has both of those areas beat. They only put 18% of Chicago roads in the poor category, that's a joke:
http://www.tripnet.org/RoughRideReportApxAOct2006.pdf
Minimizing unsprung weight helps handling, but only if the car remains properly aligned. I wonder if the increasing 3rd world nature of US roads will force a move away from fragile multilink suspension linkages toward heavier, more durable suspension systems, maybe even a push back to live rear axles.
Probably not, dealers have to love the fact that, while engines are becoming bullet proof, suspensions are now a wear item.
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BCM 2:41PM (10/04/2006)
"Of course, the failure of California or any state to maintain all that ribbon of road hits motorists right in the pocketbook in the form of higher operating costs."
And trying to maintain all of them hits everyone in the pocketbook in the form of higher taxes, higher prices through indirect taxes, or reduced services elsewhere. Many states simply have agreed to maintain a far larger road network than they are willing to budget for. And of course the higher price of oil drives up the cost of asphalt, tar, and the cost of transporting all other materials for roads, and operating the machines needed ofr the work.
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Hamud 2:41PM (10/04/2006)
These guys should take a look at some of our roads here in Brazil, it would give them a heart attack, heheheehhhhe.
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Alex 2:43PM (10/04/2006)
I live in CA and travel from as far north as Santa Rosa and as far south as San Diego. CA has some pretty crappy roads. Texas on the other hand has wonderful roads, but a poor road system.
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Kansei 2:45PM (10/04/2006)
I see they remained in the states.. Quebec, specifically Montreal, would PWN all these areas.. worst roads evAR!
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Fred 2:46PM (10/04/2006)
This is an argument AGAINST, not for, SUVs in California. What do you think contributes more to road deterioration, a 1.5 ton car, or a 2-3 ton SUV?
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Hugh Johnson 2:56PM (10/04/2006)
The reason that is given why we have horrible roads in So Cal is due to a lack of funding. This was done on purpose. The money is there. The gas tax money is suppose to be used to keep roads in good shape but the leftist government in Sacramento and the corrupt L.A. city government takes the money and spends it on other things than what the money is earmarked for. The way to correct it is for people to complain to their elected representatives.
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Rock 3:02PM (10/04/2006)
Take a ride around rural Yuba county, CA. Makes the Ho Chi Minh trail look like the Autobahn.
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anahit 3:03PM (10/04/2006)
This "report" is ridiculous.
Anecdotally, I've driven plenty in both Detroit and SoCal. It's night and day as Detroit has glaringly worse road conditions. I doubt even a single person who has driven sufficiently in both areas would disagree. Who knows how many other cities/areas could the same thing be said about?
TRIP is a roadbuilding industry lobbying group, meaning its reports and conclusions are highly suspect. It's based in DC and the road condition study even says "TRIP is supported by insurance companies, equipment manufacturers, distributors and suppliers; businesses involved in highway engineering, construction and finance; labor unions; and organizations concerned with an efficient and safe highway transportation network". In a nutshell, the study was funded by those with direct financial interests in the study's outcome. That makes for really useful study, doesn't it?
Plus, real news releases by real studies tell the reader about the methodology. The AutoChannel story says nothing about methodology. It doesn't even name a TRIP spokesperson.
I'm not familiar with AutoChannel but I've seen a prior Autoblog article reporting on an AutoChannel piece that was obviously just a naked reprint of a press release. It wouldn't be an issue except the Autoblog article reported the press release as objective news and it was very much the opposite. I haven't looked into AutoChannel but they sure don't have any reasonable editing or filtering. AutoChannel looks like just a press release disseminator. If so, nothing from it should be trusted.
Bottom line, this report is a joke.
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Ryan H 6:38PM (10/04/2006)
How about Illinois? Chicago is always having some sort of construction or such going on and the rest of the state almost always has construction. However the rest of us downstate only get a half-assed job because all the money goes straight to that growth on Lake Michigan. It shouldn't take 20 + years to do about 7-10 miles of work. (Those of you who ever drove through Bloomington, IL or Peoria, IL will understand)
Friend of my familys always said, "There are two seasons in Illinois. Winter and road construction."
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Corey W. 3:38PM (10/04/2006)
Interesting that New York was noted and not Detroit. I've lived in both cities, I didn't think it could get any worse than Detroit. I've cracked 5 rims, I can't even remember all the flats from various metal and rock debris on the road. Hummm... strange!!!
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gkz 3:42PM (10/04/2006)
i live in PA, and our roads are absolutely shameful. the transition into MD, NY, or NJ is a joy every time.
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Ralph 4:12PM (10/04/2006)
To Alex, number 8 above, I would agree that Texas has a pretty odd road system, esp. here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. But better than California? I disagree. The soft, clay-like dirt around here attributes to most of the lumpy, bumpy, pot-hole infested roads. Then throw an ice storm or two on top of that, and, well, the roads in California are truly wonderful. I guess it's all one's perspective, or rather, where the do their driving!
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BREW730... 4:15PM (10/04/2006)
They did mention New Orleans, but ALL roads in La. are pretty "jacked up". I never thought any roads could be worst - until I moved to Detroit. To be called Motor City, the road are sure sh-, er, crappy...
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Ron 4:26PM (10/04/2006)
I live in San Jose (worst roads in the country apparently) so have a good insight. A common perception is that the roads are so busy that they wear out faster, have more potholes etc. etc. However, the truth is more worrying than that. Some resurfacing work is in the process of being completed on 101 in San Jose, and my best guess is that the surface was 'smoothed' (I use the term very loosely) with the boots of the workers involved.
We used to have a hard bumpy road, and now we have a soft bumpy road. The 50% approach to road maintenance is evident in many other places. It's common for a pothole repair to be so amateur that it's as bumpy as what it replaced, then wear out in a few weeks.
To me, the 3rd-world quality of road repair in California easily outweighs the impact of heavy traffic. I used to scoff at those 'jacked up Monster trucks' but maybe they're onto something...
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