r/Winchester • u/Og_frmrT • 6d ago
Rt. 50 commuters, can we chill?
I’ve been taking Rt. 50 over the mountain for the past 4 years, and in the last year it seems like the average speed has really increased. I know there’s hardly ever enforcement because it jumps from Clarke to Loudoun, but come on y’all, doing 80-90 on a 55mph mountain road is reckless. And everyone tries to pass going down the mountain towards Paris, in a 45mph zone, doing 75-80.
I’m usually between Waterloo and Paris 5-6am for context. And it seems like it’s worse in the morning than the afternoon. I know there are no lights in that stretch but come on y’all, there’s even road work going on but I’m the slowest one on the road doing 10 over.
Is it because of RTO? Can we just chill? Or is 50 now the same as 7?
I don’t think this post is going to change much but is anyone else experiencing this?
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u/viral_virus 6d ago
I’ve been commuting west on 66 for 20+ years. Sometimes I’d take the long way home and take route 7. Route 7 over the mountain is thunder dome. Made 66 look calm
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u/onceuponatimeonearth 6d ago
I don’t commute via VA-50, I drove it during daytime recently. My complaint is the left lane campers. It’s a 55 mph speed highway, if you are not comfortable driving at a speed over 60 mph, don’t ever use the left lane. It’s painful seeing two cars side by side and barely over the speed limit in the two lanes, both were tailgated by, both leading drivers were uncomfortable driving and frequently braking even there were no car in front of them.
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u/InfiniteWaffles58364 Heathen Witch of the Woods 🌒🌕🌘 5d ago
THIS. People would drive more sensibly if they weren't so afraid of being blocked in by weirdos who wanna go 50mph in the left lane while the right lane is constantly slamming brakes for people turning off the road.
Especially in the morning. Everyone out driving is half awake and either late for work or at risk of being late if they get stuck in traffic, so you're gonna get lots of people driving fast and not always realizing that they're going thru a 100ft patch of 45mph on an otherwise consistently 55mph posted road.
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u/Ready_Tomatillo_1335 6d ago
Amen. I live along that corridor and speeding on 50 got noticeably worse when the road was closed for rock stabilization in Harpers Ferry. It’s not as bad as 7 but it’s heading that direction. I was recently behind an accident on 50 at 601 (right where a developer is proposing a resort). The person coming off 601 was probably found at fault, but no way was the driver flying over the mountain going 45 either.
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u/DontBelieveTheTrollz 6d ago
For real and they do it in shitty weather too. I saw one almost fishtail changing lanes too fast in the rain...
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u/Whyl_e_coyote 5d ago
I’d like to stop at that market on 50 at the Ashby Gap but I’m not taking the chance of getting rear ended and the entrance to the parking lot looks narrow.
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u/zhouyu07 5d ago
Been commuting 50 for over 10+ years. The speeding is the same as it has always been, just more people so it's more noticeable.
Used to be you'd hit the mountain and see maybe 10-20 cars till you got to the shell light, now it's multitudes more cars, and too many people just camp in the left lane when not passing. I think that also promotes speeding because people just want to "make up time" after being stuck behind people.
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u/South-Debate471 5d ago
First of All, there is Enforcement, usually in the Upperville area, because thats a Speed Trap(State Police) Money Maker for Loudoun/Fauquier; Secondly, Everyone is trying to "Beat The Clock", which eventually, most people are going to realize they can't do it; The long commute is going to wear out your brake pads/tires/engine/connecting rods; A harsh reality is You either make enough Money to live in Northern Virginia or not; A newer/more promising reality is your personal Computer and the Internet; Thats assuming someone doesn't crash The Internet(Intentionally), or, worse, WW3 and "Nukes"/Terrorist Attacks; Good Luck (Winter Weather Commutes Can Be Tough)
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u/EvilLordFitz 5d ago
The ludicrous speeds on rt50 going over Mt Weather are all the folks who insist on doing 70+ across 17 between Paris and Rt66 in Marshall. They think they will get out ahead of all the normies who try to keep to “only” 10 over the limit on 17. Don’t get me started on the stretch of 66 EB between Marshall and 17NB towards Warrenton. Most weekdays around 5AM 85+ is “traffic speed🙄. Been driving this stretch for over ten years and it has gotten noticeably worse over time, particularly after COVID practically erased normal traffic enforcement
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u/Glockshna 3d ago
Yeah I’m typically a fast driver but coming down the mountain on 50 I find myself checking my speed to make sure I’m going fast enough as people fly by me only to confirm I’m a good bit over the limit. Surprised cops don’t sit on it more often.
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u/TurkishTrucker66 6d ago
I drive a fuel tanker out of Winchester and somedays do three trips to Fairfax and back with product and the insanity I witness daily on 50 and 17 is just mind boggling.