Roadology - the Study of the Road

Summertime and the road are clogged with travelers, from those who live there or from out of town. They stop to see the sights or to visit friends and family. But there are those out on the road who have a different passion - the passion for the road itself, not the destination, but the traveling in and of itself. They are known as roadologists or road geeks. This article offers a brief glimpse into the meaning behind a road geek's trip and how it really started.

According to the Urban Dictionary (www.urbandictionary.com), Roadology simply is a word made up by the Japanese to describe "who knows what". It is also used in slang by English speaking people to describe the science of being a tourist, either in reference to oneself or a tourist to one's home nation - a roadologist.

It may sound funny to give the standard term "road trip" a specific name, but it is the truth - in 1999 in Britain a group was formed who sole passion was "road trips". Here in the states, we use the term "road geek" is often used in conjunction with roadology to describe a person's love affair with roads, be they single lane or multiple lanes. Those who have a passion for roadology may drive the full length of the road or research the number system used for the national highway system. Road Geeks may just also take a comprehensive interest in a single road, highway or just road in general.

Road trips always include photographs of street signs from highway numbers or unusual attractions found along the roadside, to collecting old maps of the road. Some will even go so far as sending in corrections to local publications.

This obsession originally started in Britain, but quickly (thanks to the internet) has spread worldwide. Even the United States is know well known for our unique highway systems from Arkansas' Highway 43/Oklahoma's State Highway 20 to Virginia's wrong way concurring near Wytheville.

There are even groups you can join such as www.groups.yahoo.com/group/roadgeek/ to help you explore a growing passion for the road. You can also view the original roadology site known as Saber at www.sabre-roads.org.uk/ to see how everything was started as well as learn about its history.

Anytime is a good time to be a road geek or study roadology, so grab your keys and see what the states have to offer.