23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest The American Experience
Crossroads of America

A typical part of the current American Experience of cross country driving is the frequent traffic delay due to an accident. We were driving home on Interstate I 65 in Indiana head north to Chicago when the AI voice on our navigation system advised us to take the next exit. We've driven this way for decades and given our lack of experience with AI, we decided to trust ourselves and stayed on the highway. After about 10 minutes, this scene of backed up traffic is what we encountered. It took us an extra 1 1/2 hours to make the drive home, and we later learned that a truck carrying 127 live cattle crashed near Fair Oaks, Indiana spewing live as well as dead animals along the roadway. The unusual clean-up must have accounted for the long delay. As you might expect, for this American Experience, we now have much more trust in our AI navigation system.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 08.2025
Date Uploaded: 11.2025
Photo Location: Near Fair Oaks, Indiana on Interstate 65 driving north towards Chicago, Illinois., Indiana, United States of America
Camera: iPhone 12 Pro
Copyright: © Joel Richman