I just returned from my road trip to Long Island, NY. I let the Tesla Navigation system determine the route based on traffic delays.
The Tesla Navigation system had me take the I-695 Exit and the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, not stay on I-95 and use the Ft. McHenry 95 Tunnel.
The Tesla Navigation system advised that one of the Supercharger locations was closed on the route to my destination. Actually multiple Supercharger locations were closed on the NJ Turnpike, North and South as these rest areas are being renovated. Stopped at the John Fenwick service area. This was the first open rest area after getting on the NJ Turnpike headed North. There was a temporary notice on the sign stating that the next rest area was not for 53 miles. The Supercharger stalls were busy but I did not have to wait. This was about 10:30 A.M.
At noon I took the opportunity to stop to take a break and also charge for an additional 20% at the Woodrow Wilson service area. This service area was very busy as it was lunch time. The Supercharger stalls were all in use, I was lucky and did not have to wait. I was only interested in adding 20% to the battery (this took 20 minutes based on the heavy usage and the state of charge of the battery in my Tesla.) After charging I moved my Model Y to the parking lot and went inside the building. As I was leaving I noticed a driver of a Nissan SUV/truck ICEing one of the Supercharger stalls. There were multiple signs stating that idling was prohibited, nothing about parking in an EV charging space. I don't know of New Jersey has any regulations about parking in an EV charging space.
The southern part of the NJ Turnpike was much improved since 2022 when I last drove this route. There was many asphalt patches of the roadway. There were several construction zones with lines of dump trucks and road paving machinery renovating the inner shoulder of the Turnpike. This caused a slight travel delay.
The Tesla Navigation system routed me to the George Washington Bridge and the Bronx (this avoided the Outer Bridge and Goethals Bridge and what appeared to be heavy traffic delays in Staten Island and in Brooklyn)
I arrived with 45% SOC so I did not need to immediately charge. My hotel was less than a mile from a Supercharger (150kW) and I charged later that evening so I would have plenty of charge for the weekend driving on Long Island.
The Long Island Expressway (LIE) was much improved since 2022, with many patched areas of the road compared with the horrible condition of the LIE in 2022. There is a single HOV Express Lane on the LIE but it appeared not to start until after Plainview (Exit 41) heading East. The LIE beyond Plainview out to Exit 61 appears to have been totally redone, was smooth as glass.
The northern part of the New Jersey Turnpike heading south through Secaucus and the Meadow Lands area was pretty rough with plenty of potholes and craters in the road surface especially on the elevated sections of the roadway.
For the return trip I charged to 90%, left in the rain with 88% SOC. I ignored the suggested Supercharger location and stopped to use the Supercharger at the NJ Turnpike Thomas Edison service area. This Supercharger was smaller (I believe there were only 8 charging spaces.) I charged to 80% and then drove ~150 miles to home. I stayed mostly in the far right lane and kept my speed to no more than 65 MPH. I turned off the AC (outside temperature was 70F and it had stopped raining by noon.) This saved an estimated 5% of the energy consumed and added an additional 5% to the estimated remaining battery on arrival (estimated less than 15%, was 19% upon arrival at home.) This gave me an additional 8 miles of additional range for a total of 54 miles remaining.
Tolls for this trip totaled $94 according to Virginia EZPass.
Supercharger charging costs were $42
I did encounter road rage while on I-95 South, just North of Baltimore, Maryland. I was moving from the middle lanes to the far left lane to be ready to enter the Express Lanes that lead to the Ft. McHenry I-95 tunnel. I entered the far left lane when there was a gap in the traffic. This evidently triggered the driver of a Honda Accord who was in the far left lane and now behind me. The driver of the Honda proceeded to accelerate, move into the adjacent lane to overtake my Model Y. The Honda driver then cut in front of my Model Y barely missing my front bumper and then once they were in front of my vehicle proceeded to attempt a brake check.
Shortly after the brake check the driver of the Honda Accord moved to the right lanes and did not enter into the Express Lanes. The dash cam in my Tesla Model Y captured it all. I was later able review the video and read the license plate of the Honda Accord. I don't believe I did anything to incite this behavior.
Note: The only highway patrol I encountered on the trip was one highway patrol car after the Delaware Memorial Bridge while headed south and one highway motorcycle patrol approaching the I-95 tunnel.
