In 1974 I left Ft.Myers, Florida and drove straight through to Dayton, Ohio, a distance of 1090 miles. I left at 9 in the morning and arrived in Dayton about 3 the next morning. I stopped for gas obviously and stopped twice to eat and have coffee. I hadn't planned to drive straight through, but after dinner in the early evening I wasn't really tired and then after driving a few more hours it seemed silly to stop so close to "home". But in those days the speed limit (can someone help me out here) in Tennessee on the Interstates was 80 I believe. Of course, everyone drove at least 10 over the limit which meant I kept it at about 90 most of the way through that state.

fantaman, you averaged about 69 miles an hour for the whole trip. Considering you had to stop at least for gas, that is really an incredible average speed. You covered 150 miles more than I did in the same amount of time. But you must not have stopped to eat!!!

A loooong time ago, I drove from San Francisco to San Diego, stayed for part of the day then drove back. So the driving without sleep part came to about 2 days.
Thank God for that truck stop coffee!

Patrick -

I drove that fast many years ago when we all were a little more carefree -

The power of caffeine, drive-thru food, and my long-distance girlfriend at the end of 1240 miles helps the motivation in getting there fast.

this thread reminds me of that hiddeous new celine dion song..".i drove all night".
otherwise...i dont have anything to contribute.

I drove 22.5 hours and 1385 miles from Missoula, Montana to Wausau, Wisconsin. It was insane and I would never do anything like that again. We had no air conditioning. It was near 100 degrees during the daytime portion of the trip and so dry that we were drinking 2-litre bottles of soda and never had to stop between filling the gas tank.

I drove from Augusta, GA to Fort Worth, Tx in one shot. I only stopped for gas, etc. I tried to time my drive to get through Atlanta prior to rush hour. Unfortunatly, the day of my drive a small commuter plane crashed onto the highway crossing Atlanta (the one I needed to take) and skidded into 6 Flags Park. This added at least 2 hours to my drive time due to traffic snarles. Then somewhere in Alabama or something I saw the wreckage of a terrible car crash on the other side of the highway. When I stopped for food later someone noticed my license plate and wanted to strike up a converstation about the gruesome aspects of the accident (which he apparently witnessed also).

I was so pooped when I finally reached Fort Worth. Worse - my arms cramped up and I couldn't move them from a slightly bent "holding the steering wheel" position. I think it took me 14 or 15 hours - but I've repressed some of the details because it was a horrible drive.

With another driver I made a drive from San Antonio, TX to Fort Lauderdale, FL - that was about 20+ hours total. But the driving was split between 2 people.

Drove from Denver after a long night of going out, all the way through Kansas, past St. Louis, to Terra Haute, Indiana. About 18 hours with three people asleep in the car, windows down, lots of loud music and a few Cokes.

Sacramento to Quad Cities, (cruised thru Nevada at 105 mph - pre-oil imbargo and "safe and reasonable" days) and DC to Amarillo, TX. I was a space cadet both times after finally stopping.

St. Louis to Pittsburgh then back to St. Louis. By far, the dumbest damn thing I have ever done.

X_Bellman, were you bored and just out for an evening ride? If so, yeah, it sounds pretty stupid. But then, don't most of our responses?

Took a college friend to pick up his car and didn't have enough money for a Hotel so we just drove back. I had so much coffee in me It took me a couple of hours to fall asleep once I got back!

Grand Rapids, Michigan to Montclair, New Jersey (I was 19 and could drive all night) in January. Being young and energetic, it never occured to me that this might not be the smartest thing for a cute 19 year old female to do on her own. It took me somewhere around 14 hours and many cups of coffee. Now, many years later, I would strongly discourage my 19 year old daughter from doing this. Well, at least we now have cell phones.

is there anything better than a long drive?? this is a great post. i'd love to hear the reasons why the people made these trips. i've done 14 hours from seattle to san francisco but wasn't driving. when i was the driver, i've done 12 hours (not bad)from long island to bar harbor maine. by the end by eyes hurt so much from the lines in the highway just running by! both vacation trips.

Drove from Austin,TX to Raleigh, NC (including an ice storm for the last couple of hours, which slowed me down some). Why didn't I stop? I wanted to watch the New Year's Day bowl games on TV with my friends, and I got there about 15 minutes before the first game started. Then I fell asleep and missed most of two games. Dumb--really dumb.

11 hours. I Hate driving and can not understand how some people can drive day and night. My Dad can out drive me!

Longest drive ever was made by my boyfriend-but he didn't let me sleep-at the conclusion of our roadtrip in July 2000. His logic? Since we hadn't had one really long drive on the entire trip we should go out with a bang. The result? We drove 1245.49 miles from Green River, Utah to Greenland, Arkansas which was 20+ hours! We left Utah apx. at 9 am and arrived in Arkansas at 6:30 am the next day. Great memories of rolling the windows down in the pre-dawn hours and singing Bon Jovi's "It's My Life" along with the radio.

Jasper, is there anything better than a long drive, you ask! Anything is better than a long drive (except if you are on the golf course where nothing is better!!!)I'm w/Jor on this one....I hate driving....My mind wanders, I miss the exit & next thing I know I have driven 70 or 80 miles in the wrong direction!! Sad but true.

21 hour drive from DC to Boston, and that was after being at work all day. It started to snow as soon as we left, and just got worse the entire time. Why didn't we stop? Because EVERY weather forecast said the storm was going out to sea, and the further north you were, the less snow there would be. Of course, that was the opposite of what actually happened.

A couple of years ago, an Army Captain was driving home from Ft Bragg to upstate PA. He died when his truck went off the road around 5:30 AM about 15 miles south of his home. His wife and their young (and only) child perished with him.

Don't know what the mileage was...

14 hours with minimal bathroom stops. Houston, Texas to Florence, Alabama. Bad weather, no help from my two car mates (they slept) and no stops to eat. It was one miserable trip that had to be made in a short time. I've learned from that mistake.

I drove from East Lansing, MI to Highgate, VT to see a Grateful Dead show. We did stop in Adrian, MI to pick up a friend. Had no money for hotel along the way, and wanted to get there w/ time to spare. Was a great time!!!! Not terribly bright, but fun!

Ouch! My sciatica is acting up, just from reading these posts!

I've never been in the driver's seat for more than a 6-hour stretch. The longest I've sat in a moving car is about 20 hours (Albany NY to Daytona FL) but there were seven of us in the driving rotation.

wow...i still love long drives. a little music, my thoughts...it's totally peaceful and zen. it's traffic i hate! : )

I hate to drive so my longest would probably be an hour.

In 1969 I was discharged from the Army at Fort Benning, GA. I packed up my car and except for stopping for gas, drove all the way across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas before finally stopping in Phoenix, AZ to get some sleep. I can still remember the boredom of driving all the way across the widest part of Texas in the middle of the night. After getting about 8 hours sleep at a motel in Phoenix, I then drove the rest of the way to San Francisco. When I think about doing that now, I realize how crazy it sounds. However, after where I had been before, it sure was great to get home.

This doesnt really qualify as no sleep-but very little. 3 (my self and 2 cousins) of us driving from Philaelphia to San Fransisco, where one of my cousins was mvoing to and getting married. Idea was to drive straight through, 3-4 hour shifts each, 24 hours a day. Until just about everything on the car or trailer we were towing fell apart, state by state. (vinyl roof peeled off in OH, AC went in Indiana, tire # 1 on trailer went in Iowa, etc., etc.) Hitchhikers saw how bad our car and trailer were and waved us on. Finally, somewhere in Utah, we had to dump the trailer, unload the stuff being moved at the closed rest stop we pulled into (it was a big draught year and many western rest stops were closed), while the groom to be drove to Salt Lake City to rent a new trailer. Although we tried to sleep while at the rest stop, it was in the middle of nowhere, no running water, no toilets, and lots of critters. I still have pictures of us "lounging" in the chairs we unloaded from the trailer while we waited. I barely slept. After 5 days of pretty much straight driving or repairing the vehicle, we made it to the brides house-having no showers, etc. since we started. I'm sure her family wondered what she was getting into. I'm happy to report that my cousin and his bride are still happily married and we all laugh about this trip.

I forgot also driving across New Mexico before I finally stopped in Phoenix.

23 hours from Great Lakes, Il to Nashua, NH.

MM

Tough break for the Capt.

Well, I'm going to rant here.... this sort of question is just as bad as asking what is your record for alcohol drunk before driving - it isn't anything to be proud of, and we're probably all lucky to have got away without killing ourselves or someone else at some time in a car. A year ago someone in the UK fell asleep at the wheel and ended up on a railway track with fatal consequences - not for him but for the passengers on the train. Let's start a thread about how fast you've driven past a school next.

Well, I ve been reading this post as it developed, thinking I must be such a wet blanket. All I can think of is a tragedy that has just happened locally. Husband and wife, driving home from a vacation, husband falls asleep, crosses the centre line, kills a father and mother, injures two children. Waking up, he finds himself charged with negligent manslaughter or something to that effect, will be sued for way more than the million his insurance company covers, may go to jail, have a criminal record, etc. HIS children certainly dont think THEIR father is a criminal. He just made a "mistake" they claim. And the two children who survived this "accident" have no parents. Its not an accident, its driver error; in judgement. I guess thats what I think about reading this post, lets brag about how dumb we are, how cavalier we are with a ton of metal in our hands, to kill someone else with. Sorry, I just cant see the validity of this post either. No matter what the reason, who's life is worth giving up? I too felt the need to rant.

I used to drive 1180 miles solo, back and forth from college, CT - FL. Did it at least a dozen times, never got particularly tired. Used to take about 19 hours. The key was timing, leaving right before NYC rush hour heading southbound, leaving FL at 6:30 to get to DC after 7:00PM. Nowadays, I wouldn't drive 300 miles alone, I'd be on a plane or train.

LA (South Bay) to Eugene and Seattle or v.v. umpteen times, ranging from 16 to 21 hours, either in a 36HP Veewee with a crash box or a '55 Chev Bel-Air. It was flat out impossible to fall asleep in either of these vehicles because just driving them in a straight line was all-consuming.

I wouldn't dream of doing something that ambitious in a car with cruise control - really asking for it.

LOL! it sounds as if there is nothing we can do these days that can not be construed as dangerous to others!
I remember when I was a kid, my dad would take us on driving vacations. WE drove to Arizona from NC once. Through Texas at night with the oil wells, there was nowhere to stop, and we sure weren't stopping on the side of the road, tarantulas! So my dad drove most of the night until we found a small motel to sleep for a while, then back into the car. I thought it was a great adventure!
Maybe that is why today, I still like driving to Canada

.

Whoops!
Sorry folks, hit the wrong key again!
In response to Sherry, having checked some of your other posts, I noticed that you have been asked to stop attacking other posters before. Did you respond to this post or just attack the posters?
To keep in the spirit of things,
A few years ago, my boyfriend and I piled into our VW with the dog and the cat and drove from NYC to Georgia. Non-stop. Stayed for two days, then drove home, non-stop. The dog and the cat slept, we found that plenty of chocolate with your coffee helps keep you alert. And that your bed never looks or feels so good as when you get back!

Another "wet blanket" here. Our family has personally dealt with the consequences of being too tired...an aunt became a paraplegic at the age of 17 due to falling asleep at the wheel. Thankfully she had an amazing life after that. I can tell you though that we are always making sure we do not drive while tired.

Geezus Chyst, wet blankets! Which repliant stated they ran over or killed anyone? You presume that some of the respondents were dangers to other travelers, b/c they were driving while "tired", but none so indicated that to be the situation..read the threads before you draw erroneous conclusions..

Chill out all -

No one posting was convicted of a crime and no one is planning to "break" the record for miles w/o sleep.

No more wet blankets please

GOOD NEWS! Cyndi Lauper orginally did the song, "I drove all night." Not Celine Dion. And it's a much better version......

PS: 21 hrs from Seattle to San Diego. I've also removed the tags from our mattress. Terrible things are happening all around us. Enjoy life when you can.

jasper: my thoughts exactly!
(wow...i still love long drives. a little music, my thoughts...it's totally peaceful and zen. it's traffic i hate! : ))
i still love road trips on my own. and, as for you 'wet blankets', most of these posts sound like they happened quite some time ago when we were all young and carefree... maybe it wasn't a wise choice, but it sure is a nostalgic memory!

I did the NYC to Virgina trip in one shot. I know some of the readers wont like to hear this but I used to drive from tucson to Vegas, about 6 hours straight, gamble for the night and drive back the next morning all without sleep.

We all like to hear stories and I personally have curiousity which is why I clicked this thread to begin with. I have a wet blanket but I didnt read this thread to tell any or hear any for that matter. Start your own wet blanket thread.

sleepycal,
when I lived in LA, we drove to Vegas many weekends, on little sleep but I think someone had it right saying that when we are young and carefree, these things are not such a big deal

Roy Orbison did "I drove all night" first, then Cyndi Lauper, then Celine Deon.

As a child it seemed like it to FOREVER to get to the vacation spot because I was stuck in the backseat with my evil older brother. I was no more than 5-6 hours, but that was long enough. My brother is a nice guy now, but back then . . . .

That's "took FOREVER"

Sorry for it and all my other goofs.

Oh I forgot to mention previously - 20 hours from Boston to Atlanta - don't know the miles but I got stuck in NYC and DC on the way - Love was the reason for the drive and Mary D. if you're out there - Remember the summer of '77!

AM radio the whole way down - talk about hell on earth

This has to be the longest drive ever alone, without even a stop....

The 1979 fuel crisis spurred many economy cars. What people didn't realize is that they didn't need the highest miles per gallon car; they needed the car with the longest range so that meant less frequent times to wait the gas lines.

Cadillac came out with the 'dawn to dusk' Coupe De Ville in 1980. It had a 6 cylinder engine and a whopping 56 gallon gas tank. The range was said to be over 1500 miles!!!

I was working at the time and was a full-time college student and I was fortunate that I saved $12,902 to buy this car.

For sping break 1981 I left my apartment on 77th Street and 1st ave in Manhattan at 5:00 AM and drove to Savannah, Georgia by 8:00 pm without even taking the car out of gear. I still had 1/3+ tank left.

I then ate, went to the bathroom, and filled this car with gas. I made the sping break scene in Fort Lauderdale by 2:00 am.

I spent the time on my CB radio and I le=istened to cassettes by the Police, Pat Benatar, the Cars, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Devo etc...

52 Hours from Atlanta to Seattle. 2 and a half days without sleep and slightly under 3,000 miles. I was pressed for time so I couldn't stop. I had about 2 energy drinks, that was about it.

St. Louis to pittsburgh and back to st. louis when I was about 25....a little over 20 hours and it was one of the dumbest things i've ever done!! Didn't have the funds for a hotel but still should have pulled over and slept in a rest area. I must have drank 20 cups of coffe to stay awake. I was so jittered up by the time I got back to my friends house that I couldn't sleep!!!

Ha! I just realized I posted the same story back in 03! Guess it's obvious I was telling the truth...the story is the same!

Okay, I was young, stupid, and poor back in the 1970's, and we used to drive from Nashville to Oklahoma City in 10 hours flat, not long but very fast since it was just under 700 miles and not all interstate.

A friend used to drive regularly in the 1970's non-stop from Ft Holabird, Maryland, to Hobart, Oklahoma -- 1440 miles -- in roughly 24 hours. He covered his face with Vicks Vapor Rub and left the windows down to stay awake -- in winter.

As an old geezer, I drove a U-Haul truck from Chapel Hill to Boston, 16 hours non-stop for the 740 miles owing to the low speed of the truck. So now I am old and stupid.

I've been driving since 03 after seeing this post and haven't stopped or slept yet.

i drove from anchorage Ak to yorktown Va in 5.5 days. this means i drove the 5500 miles at an averge of 1100 miles a day. i cant believe did it, and some others deny it- but the truth. I slept 2 hours every other day in the back of my truck. a police officer pulled me in sioux falls and told me to not leave till i agreed to get some sleep. i went to a pizza hut, ate, then continued on. I didnt speed as my truck could barely go 55 mph as it was a 4 cylinder and fully loaded down.