Question For Florida Natives Or Knowledgable

Is it quicker to run up 75 to 10 from tampa area and cutting accross to 95 or is 301 a better option im def not heading back accross i4 that roads a nightmare ill be running at night if that helps one way or the other thanks for any responses or opinions im heading to jessup md also if thats any help

I prefer running up 301. It'll shave off a little bit of time, and is more scenic. Just make absolutely sure you watch your speed through some of them small towns. A large portion of town revenue comes from citations.

Is it quicker to run up 75 to 10 from tampa area and cutting accross to 95 or is 301 a better option im def not heading back accross i4 that roads a nightmare ill be running at night if that helps one way or the other thanks for any responses or opinions im heading to jessup md also if thats any help

I prefer 75. Smooth sailin

Lol sounds like both have there pros n cons maybe i shall flip a coin thank god its not a 3 sided coin though cause i have ZERO interest in goin back over 4 im here at least once a month and it gets worse everytime

75 is definitely smoother, no doubt about that. Just set the cruise and go. I like to break it up once in awhile for some variety

And I hear you about I-4. That highway is just brutal

I second Turtle's warning about speed traps on 301. Every crossing intersection traffic light has two speed reductions and most have an LEO monitoring speeds. 301 does save some miles but not so much time IMO.

Being from Ocala, Fl I always take 301 north because of being a lot safer than I-75. There are constantly numerous back ups and accidents on I-75. To each his own but 301 is more enjoyable. Like Turtle said be cautious in Waldo, Starke and Lawtey as they are speed trap towns. Always look at the speed limit signs when approaching any town. If there is a plain yellow rectangular sign above the speed limit sign-equals speed trap town. PS- there is construction going on around Starke as they are constructing a by-pass.

A little story about Florida that will interest no one but me: When I was in school we had a great classroom instructor. She mentioned that Schneider didn't do much business in Florida, which is true. I've not been routed to Florida, but to Georgia a number of times. Anyway, we had more students from Florida in class than from any other state. Someone asked her why Schneider didn't do much in Florida. She said: "Because all that comes out of Florida are plants and garbage." It must have taken a full 5 minutes to restore order in the classroom. I was HIGHLY amused!

A little story about Florida that will interest no one but me: When I was in school we had a great classroom instructor. She mentioned that Schneider didn't do much business in Florida, which is true. I've not been routed to Florida, but to Georgia a number of times. Anyway, we had more students from Florida in class than from any other state. Someone asked her why Schneider didn't do much in Florida. She said: "Because all that comes out of Florida are plants and garbage." It must have taken a full 5 minutes to restore order in the classroom. I was HIGHLY amused!

Problem with florida is that not a lot of freight comes OUT of SoFla - so the rates are REALLY LOW. Most of my O/O friends loathe to come down here - because the rates are essentially "gas money gigs" to get them back up into the lanes. Conversely, rates are usually HIGH to come all the way down, because no one wants to get stuck down here. In many cases, so high - that it's worth it to drop and deadhead out.

Many companies will not hire from zip codes south of I-4 (or even I-10), because they have nothing to get you in/out for home time. The only thing really coming out of FTL/MIA ports, are flowers from S/Central America (Prime has a Floral Division that runs flowers), and some produce. Much of the containerized freight that comes in, goes out by rail - as both ports have rail spurs nearby (FEC is actually building a rail yard ON Port Everglades). A lot of trucking companies are also moving trailers (loaded and empty) out of the region by rail. See them heading north all the time.

Rick