Oohh. Kirsten will want to kill me, but...

[gridlore]

Another option for the trip.

Fly to Detroit, rent a car, and drive to Montreal. 586 miles according to Google Maps.

So, how crazy am I? I'm figuring a red eye to Detroit, and breaking for a lunch will get us into Montreal in the evening. Remember, I drive long stretches for a living, so it's not a big thing for me to go six or seven hours on the road.

Canadians.. anything I should know about driving on your beaver-infested roads?

Comments

[caraig.livejournal.com]

True, you do drives like that a lot... but after a red-eye flight? That's the thing you should ask!

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

Due to military experience, I can sleep on planes. A good breakfast, some time to stretch, and I'm good to go!

[caraig.livejournal.com]

All righty, then that shouldn't be much of a problem for you. =D My experience with redeye flights has been... less than ideal. ^_^

[bunyip.livejournal.com]

The Canadian police are much more strict on speed limits than US police. When I was in Canada with work, and driving a lot, everyone sticks very close to the speed limit.

One word of warning, when driving in Quebec... the road signs are only in French.

[robertprior.livejournal.com]

The SQ is also renowned as Canada's finest Third World police force. Montreal police have a worse reputation (in one case arresting a tourist for sitting on a wall in a park).

Navigation, on the other hand, is easy. Once in Canada, get on the 401 and keep going east. You'll reach Montreal. No turns or weird interchanges.

[pauldrye.livejournal.com]

Uh...no-one follows the speed limit on the highways in Ontario. I mean literally not a single person.

The de facto speed limit is 120 km/h, and in the Toronto area it's 130. You will not get pulled over doing this.

[capplor.livejournal.com]

Yes, remember that all measurements there are in metric units. That sign saying 100 does NOT mean MPH. It really means around 62 MPH or 100 KPH.

Similarly, if the sign says Montreal 120, then the distance is conversely shorter than your brain will think. Hand Kiri a decent calculator with built in conversion tables & have a blast.

[robertprior.livejournal.com]

I guess I'm not a person then?

Oddly enough, I do follow the limit most of the time. More reaction time and lower gas usage are things I value when driving…

[pauldrye.livejournal.com]

More reaction time only for stationary objects, of which there are far fewer on the highway than one might suspect.

Gas mileage, I give you.

[robertprior.livejournal.com]

Truck tires (or remains thereof), potholes, mattresses, bits of metal fallen off something, rocks, wandering animals, an accident just over the hill…

I've encountered enough of these that I prefer to keep my chance of avoiding them as high as possible.

[jeffreyab.livejournal.com]

Do you follow the limit on the 401?

Is there much traffic also doing the limit no or is most of it still going faster?

I have not been on the 401 since April.

[pauldrye.livejournal.com]

About 1 driver in 20 on the 401 around Toronto is doing the speed limit, barring traffic jams (though that's a big problem).

On the 407, I'd estimate 1 in 50.

[delta-november.livejournal.com]

That plan seems plausible to this Canadian.

Just make sure that the car rental people know that you intend to take the car to Canada. It shouldn't be a problem, but they may want to add a small extra fee.

Highway 401 is nice. As South Park said, "Follow the only road." It runs straight from Windsor to Montreal and beyond. The highway foodstops will expose you to Tim Horton's, our much-beloved national doughnut and coffee chain.

[thebitterguy]

Canadian roads are generally better tended than the American ones I've been on (which is mostly Michigan, Ohio & Indiana), but if you want to cross the border by car to Montreal, flying to somewhere in NY might be faster. Maybe Albany?

[johno.livejournal.com]

The 401 from Winsor to Toronto is *deadly* boring.

Canada kept to the "keep the long haul highways away from the cities and towns" rule.

All we saw were Soy bean farms alternating with tomato farms with a couple of corn fields for variety and that was it.

C and I had real problems when we made the drive a few years ago.

As to the speed limit... Driving a car with US plates, we kept to the posted limits, but were passed by many many cars at high speed. Our friends told us that Ontario police are cool as long you are going with the flow.