topic Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) in Community Chat

PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

Lion — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 21:23:40 GMT

I'm hearing so much about how awful the PCH is for driving accidents.

Just listened to "The Talk" crew talk about how terribly dangerous it is, how many accidents there are, and they even lost a beloved staff member in a fatal accident on PCH.

Why doesn't CA fix it so it's safer to drive on?

Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

MickD — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 21:33:54 GMT

It's a scenic road. People are sight-seeing, on their way to boutiques, restaurants, etc...not to mention the tourists and mud/ rock slides....a lot of distractions... I was driving on it a month ago after picking up my car from being repaired.....and I thought - why did I go this way? Wet surface..idiot drivers...rocks in the road....ugh.

Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

Nancy Drew — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 21:34:28 GMT

I drive it all the time. It's fine. The ladies on 'the Talk"" just talk to talk.

Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

sunshine45 — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 21:35:52 GMT

it is more the unsafe crazy drivers than anything else!

Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

MickD — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 21:36:01 GMT

Nancy. - you make a great point ...you drive it all time...so you know it.

Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

MomOf4 — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 21:37:28 GMT

On 2/9/2015 Nancy Drew said:
I drive it all the time. It's fine. The ladies on 'the Talk"" just talk to talk.

I completely agree with you.

Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

dooBdoo — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 21:39:05 GMT

On 2/9/2015 Nancy Drew said:
I drive it all the time. It's fine. The ladies on 'the Talk" just talk to talk.

I'm not discounting your experience -- you're there and I'm not. But I'm curious about its long-standing reputation for being perilous. One of my sisters lived out in the L.A. area, and she's mentioned the dangers, too.

Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

Shaunac — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 21:40:27 GMT

People drive too fast. Many roads would be safer if they would just take it easy.

Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

Lion — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 21:42:02 GMT

But, even if the traffic problems are because of how people drive on it, there are ways to update and change roads to minimize the effects of bad drivers.

Around here, they monitor traffic accident statistics on roads and investigate. If the stats are bad, they do something about it by making changes to the road/intersection/etc.

Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

chickenbutt — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 21:44:29 GMT

There are lots of parts that have a cliff on one side and a steep mountainside on the other, with only one lane going each way. I don't know how they could widen that or do much to change it.

I think it's just one of those things one has to experience for oneself. It runs all along the coast, so there are hundreds of miles of it. It's not like a freeway, or a street, where you have some ways to re-build or widen it.

Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

MaggieToo — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 21:45:37 GMT

Picture didn't stay in box.

Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

Lion — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 21:45:38 GMT

Julie Chen was very serious when she said the road is so dangerous that they don't like their family to drive it, and when they do they are asked to call home to let them know they arrived safely.

I didn't get the impression they were just making things up for the sake of talking, and have heard many other reports of the dangers on that road.

Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

Lion — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 21:47:20 GMT

On 2/9/2015 chickenbutt said:
There are lots of parts that have a cliff on one side and a steep mountainside on the other, with only one lane going each way. I don't know how they could widen that or do much to change it.

I think it's just one of those things one has to experience for oneself. It runs all along the coast, so there are hundreds of miles of it. It's not like a freeway, or a street, where you have some ways to re-build or widen it.

Thank you for the description, cb. That does explain why some areas can't be changed very easily.

Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

Melania — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 21:49:13 GMT

On 2/9/2015 Lion said:
Julie Chen was very serious when she said the road is so dangerous that they don't like their family to drive it, and when they do they are asked to call home to let them know they arrived safely.

I didn't get the impression they were just making things up for the sake of talking, and have heard many other reports of the dangers on that road.

They should know, they live there too and for others discount their experience is not fair.

Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

dooBdoo — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 21:53:31 GMT

On 2/9/2015 Lion said:
On 2/9/2015 chickenbutt said:
There are lots of parts that have a cliff on one side and a steep mountainside on the other, with only one lane going each way. I don't know how they could widen that or do much to change it.

I think it's just one of those things one has to experience for oneself. It runs all along the coast, so there are hundreds of miles of it. It's not like a freeway, or a street, where you have some ways to re-build or widen it.

Thank you for the description, cb. That does explain why some areas can't be changed very easily.

My thanks, too. I've been on the road a couple of times when I visited, but we only saw a small sample of it.

This site offers some views of the PCH: http://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/384-pacific-coast-highway-usa.html

Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

chickenbutt — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 21:55:07 GMT

On 2/9/2015 Lion said:
On 2/9/2015 chickenbutt said:
There are lots of parts that have a cliff on one side and a steep mountainside on the other, with only one lane going each way. I don't know how they could widen that or do much to change it.

I think it's just one of those things one has to experience for oneself. It runs all along the coast, so there are hundreds of miles of it. It's not like a freeway, or a street, where you have some ways to re-build or widen it.

Thank for the description, cb. That does explain why some areas can't be changed very easily.

Some parts of PCH are just beautiful, but it is what it is. I can totally see how parts seem more perilous when you add an idiot driver to the equation. I've been in Nevada now for quite some time but over all the years I've driven PCH it always had a bit of a reputation for 'just be careful'.

Now, what with drivers who talk on the phone 24/7 or text or put on their make up or eat while they drive I can imagine it can be crazy perilous! I'd probably even be afraid to drive on parts of it at this point with all those extraneous elements added to the already situation where you need to be careful your own self.

I actually saw somebody one time eating a plate of food while he drove. Yeah, he was balancing the plate of food on the dashboard, above the steering wheel, with a fork in one hand and a knife in the other and kind of using his wrists and forearms to manipulate the steering wheel. Scariest 'doing something you shouldn't be doing, while you drive' thing I've ever seen for myself!

Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

NoelSeven — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 21:56:25 GMT

On 2/9/2015 dooBdoo said:
On 2/9/2015 Nancy Drew said:
I drive it all the time. It's fine. The ladies on 'the Talk" just talk to talk.

I'm not discounting your experience -- you're there and I'm not. But I'm curious about its long-standing reputation for being perilous. One of my sisters lived out in the L.A. area, and she's mentioned the dangers, too.

dBd, it follows the coastline, it's a scenic route. The road turns where the cliffs and shore turn.

No way to fix it.

Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

Lion — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 22:10:06 GMT

On 2/9/2015 dooBdoo said:
My thanks, too. I've been on the road a couple of times when I visited, but we only saw a small sample of it.

This site offers some views of the PCH: http://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/384-pacific-coast-highway-usa.html

OMGosh! I could never drive or ride along that road. The sheer heights and steep drop offs made me cringe just looking at the pics.

Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

bikerbabe — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 22:13:42 GMT

I've driven the entire length of PCH many times. It's beautiful. I've been on mountain roads that are much much worse.

Re: PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

Lion — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 22:17:03 GMT

On 2/9/2015 bikerbabe said: I've driven the entire length of PCH many times. It's beautiful. I've been on mountain roads that are much much worse.

I can't do mountain roads with steep drop offs, either.

I'm sure they're breathtakingly beautiful, though.