Community Chat

[NoelSeven]

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 once had to drive the coast highway up above Mendocino. AT NIGHT The only light was from my headlights.

Never again, and good God, it must be terrifying in the fog

[dooBdoo]

On 2/9/2015 NoelSeven said:

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.

Thanks, Noel. We have some mountain highways like that in my part of the country. They need to be there for access, and some of the views are breathtaking, but there's no way to improve the safety.

[NoelSeven]

On 2/9/2015 Lion said:

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.

I'm with you!

There's a coastal strip from SF south to Pacifica called Devil's Slide. Falling rocks, often, steep cliffs on the other side. Oh, I hated driving that.

They've put in a tunnel now, cutting through the mountain. Too many people went off the road and down the cliffs.

I also hate the road to Stinson Beach.

[dooBdoo]

On 2/9/2015 Lion said:

On 2/9/2015 dooBdoo said: <p class="quote_author">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.

Isn't it something? Really lovely but oh my goodness I'd have to take a while to learn to drive on it properly.

[september]

Sadly, I know a number of people who have died on the stretch of this road that runs through my area.

Yes...you have to exercise extreme caution, and even if you do, you can't be sure everyone else is doing the same.

And on a Saturday....forget the rules about keeping a "safe" distance between cars. It's called bumper-to-bumper traffic for a reason.

[Puzzle Piece]

It's an old historic route. Also bottom line is........MONEY. It takes money to improve roads. Another very strong factor is.........Environmental considerations. That lobby is always whining about this or that.

Truth is that it is an attention getter for the way it is and draws in tourist bucks. Things won't change with the loss of a life or two.

[NoelSeven]

On 2/9/2015 september said:

Sadly, I know a number of people who have died on the stretch of this road that runs through my area.

Yes...you have to exercise extreme caution, and even if you do, you can't be sure everyone else is doing the same.

And on a Saturday....forget the rules about keeping a "safe" distance between cars. It's called bumper-to-bumper traffic for a reason.

Another reason I hate the Devil's Slide drive, it's one lane one way, and one lane the other. And there's always a few jerks who tailgate.

[Puzzle Piece]

On 2/9/2015 Love Roses said:

It's and old historic route. Also bottom line is........MONEY. It takes money to improve roads. Another very strong factor is.........Environmental considerations. That lobby is always whining about this or that.

Truth is that it is an attention getter for the way it is and draws in tourist bucks. Things won't change with the loss of a life or two.

[Plaid Pants]

On 2/9/2015 Love Roses said:

It's and old historic route. Also bottom line is........MONEY. It takes money to improve roads. Another very strong factor is.........Environmental considerations. That lobby is always whining about this or that.

Truth is that it is an attention getter for the way it is and draws in tourist bucks. Things won't change with the loss of a life or two.

True. It's always about $. Every road can't be a five lane highway. Even five lane highways have accidents.

It's called paying attention while you are driving.

[shoekitty]

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.

I think I know what Nancy means. I drive it often as well, and if you drive correctly, it IS fine. PCH runs from the southern end of Baja California for 2500 miles! it does jig and jag, as there are pieces that are unusable or gone! it is also called Highway 1. Of course the most notable part is around Malibu, and Big Sur as well. During the storms of the late 1990's, and the fires of the early 2000's, patches of it have eroded...and badly!

The stretch of PCH near Malibu from Pepperdine to Santa Monica goes through many homes, business, and beaches. If you are headed South from Pepperdine you will see cliffs and beaches on right. Homes and businesses to the left. There are a few older homes in Malibu on right, near beach, but all you see of those is their garages. People pull in and out. They turn around in the middle of the road. People run across the street. You need to be going the speed limit, and watch where you are going

Near Malibu tourists slow down to look see the homes. A couple of the roads are gated with security around The Colony as Jennifer Aniston, George Clooney and many celebrities live down there, or did. Tourists try to go down there, but there is security, and they are turned away...sometimes "escorted", so that blocks traffic a bit.