Man Drives From New York City to Los Angeles in 31 Hours
Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 10.19.07 | 10:51 AM ET
The man in question is Alexander Roy, and, to be precise, he did it in 31 hours and four minutes. How many laws did he violate? Can’t be precise about that, but since he claims to have made the coast-to-coast trip in October 2006, enough time has lapsed that he can’t be penalized for reckless, over-the-speed-limit driving, the New York Times reports. Another benefit of keeping his achievement a secret for a year: He can now use the news to promote his new memoir, The Driver.
Roy claims he made record time, beating the 32 hours and seven minutes set in 1983. Of course, it’s an unofficial record. David Shaftel writes in the Times: “Because of the dubious legality and the absence of a sanctioning body, transcontinental and endurance-driving records are hard to quantify.”
Still, the trip was well documented. Besides the book and the bloggers at Jalopnik who acted as third-party witnesses to Roy’s departure and finish, 2,794 miles piled up on the odometer. Roy’s pace: 90.1 mph. Roy also traveled with a co-driver, David Maher, and a support team in a Cesna to help look out for speed traps and other obstacles. No word in the Times about whether he had a medical crew trailing, too. Doing 90.1 mph cross country on no sleep is, after all, rather dangerous.
I’ve driven across the country three times, each effort taking at least a week. I much prefer that pace, or slower. When I want fast, I just watch this.
But safety and other obstacles don’t seem to factor in for these transcontinental speed demons. The sub-30 hour trip calls.
“If people want to try it,” Brock Yates, an automotive journalist and Cannonball Run organizer, told the Times, “the roads are open.”
Related on World Hum:
* Video: A Cross-Country Road Trip Captured in Time Lapse
* Oprah Winfrey, Amanda Congdon and the New Golden Age of the Cross-Country Road Trip
* David Byrne Goes to Graceland
Photo by TheFriendlyFiend, via Flickr (Creative Commons)
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Michael Yessis is the cofounder and coeditor of World Hum.
Jake 10.19.07 | 4:54 PM ET
Frist off, the man is an idiot. What makes him think he has the right to endanger the lives of law abaiding citizens, by speeding down public roads. I recommend that someone throw a net over him and haul his butt to the nearest loony bin. There are private places where fools like him can set records. I would recommend the Salt Flats in Utah, he could run round and round until he passed out and no one but himself would be hurt.
Manny Gomez 10.20.07 | 10:40 AM ET
I believe that Mr. Roy is a thrill seeking individual. I would like to see him beat the record from Spain to Vietnam. I doubt if he can make it.
Diana Kuan 10.21.07 | 12:12 AM ET
Wow. Another man with too much money and no concern for other people’s lives. Don’t millionaires and billionaires have something to do other than try to break speed records?
john 10.21.07 | 2:17 AM ET
Are you kidding this man is an american hero! Im sick of all the safty junkies worrieng about people geting hurt, your turning the nation into a bunch of wusses.
Timothy Goodness 10.21.07 | 2:29 PM ET
As someone who has done a great deal of interstate driving I can say with complete confidence that Mr. Roy is a first class moron!
I’ve seen a lot of people drive over the speed limit, and honestly, as a professional driver I can tell you the safest speed to drive is the speed the traffic flow is moving at. In Mr. Roy’s case, this IS NOT the case.
If his average speed was just over 90 mph just how fast do you think he was going in areas where he could drive even faster? Perhaps more importantly, how fast was he going through states like Ohio, New York, etc. where the speed limit is 65mph or less? How fast did Mr. Roy drive through, or after getting through construction areas, accident areas, or just plain old traffic jams? After all, creeping in traffic hurt his average speed—got to drive faster to make this up, right?
The bottom line is all the same, it is reckless endangerment of those around this idiot. And here we have media outlets giving this guy attention when what he really should get is a month or two in jail, loss of his drivers licence and a good fine.
Have to wonder what kind of person would pay to read his memoir, The Driver? Perhaps a more fitting title would be ‘The Jerk’!
Enjoy the fame Mr. Roy, because sooner or later some one will pay with their health, or life for your stupidity!
But then again, what do you care, you’ll get attention for that, too, I’m sure.
Lauren 10.21.07 | 7:10 PM ET
Geez ... aside from all the speeding concerns, how on earth does someone manage to stay awake and focused enough to drive that sort of distance straight through? On second thoughts, maybe I just don’t want to know.
bonbon 10.21.07 | 9:43 PM ET
I’m sorry, but I just don’t believe it. Not only is it alot fo country to drive by yourself, but waht about gas stops, bathroom breaks,etc. I just don’t see how even at 90.1 mph. unless he had another driver.
Rufus McGuffin 10.21.07 | 10:11 PM ET
Wow… So very bitter. If you had not been brainwashed by Safety Police, you would know that the majority of the east west highways were engineered for driving at 90+ speeds, and even Texas has a 85 MPH speed limit on one of its rural highways. With a time of 30 hours, that is a little more than one day, so much of the driving was at night. Certainly not absolutely safe but manageable. Think of all the 40+ hour round trip flights airforce pilots do, and rethink the safety factor of time. Just a thought,
RUF
Dave 10.22.07 | 1:11 AM ET
You know all of these people complain about the speed and how he is trying to get attention. Fact is every one of us wish we had the time to be able to do this. Was the speed rediculous? Yes. But no one got hurt. And as for the attention…We all watched. Who is stupider??? Man i feel like a road trip!
Margaret 10.22.07 | 11:56 AM ET
I do not think this man is crazy. The day after 911, I drove from Glendora, Ca. to Baton Rouge, La. in 26 hours. That was stopping for gas and sleeping 4 hours in a motel. There was very little traffic and I did exceed the speed limit guite a bit but not where it would endanger others. The major interstates and highways usually have pretty high speed limits.
Vivian Rose 10.23.07 | 9:41 AM ET
First of all, I don’t believe it. I’ve driven across country non-stop with another driver and it would be hard to do it that fast alone and without drugs. The person that brought up the airline pilot has a good point. And, physicians that work the ER’s 40+ straight hours. We as a whole seem to accept that but can’t accept someone driving 30 hours. I would rather take my changes with the driver than the airplane pilot or the ER Doctor!!! And yes, so many people are worried about every little thing that they are turning our country into a bunch of wusses.