Driving in the US. What do I need to know?

Driving in the US. What do I need to know?

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TREMAiNE

Original Poster:

3,904 posts

148 months

Monday 1st February 2016
quotequote all
Me and my friends are going to Vegas in early September - we'll be renting a Chevrolet Tahoe and I will be the only driver.

We'll mostly be driving around the Vegas area, although will be doing a day trip to LA at some point. I have driven in the US before, however, only in the middle of nowhere where I spent most of my time seeing how fast the Corvette would go and never actually drove in areas where I'd need to know the driving laws.

Can anyone give any tips or rules that I really should know and does anyone know where I can find an American Highway Code (or equivalent)? Google doesn't seem very helpful with this!

MartinQ

796 posts

180 months

Monday 1st February 2016
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Don't park on the street facing the flow of traffic.

RDMcG

19,095 posts

206 months

Monday 1st February 2016
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You can turn right on red in most places.

Tolerance for speeding is usually about +10%

If you are stopped by an officer do not get out of car unless instructed, and keep your hands visible on top of the steering wheel.



HRL

3,329 posts

218 months

Monday 1st February 2016
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Get good at guessing how much fuel you'll need before you go to fill up.

Last time I went most of the petrol stations were prepay.

davepoth

29,395 posts

198 months

Monday 1st February 2016
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HRL said:
Get good at guessing how much fuel you'll need before you go to fill up.

Last time I went most of the petrol stations were prepay.
It did depend for me. Some accepted my UK debit card, most accepted my credit card, a few required a ZIP code typed in before they'd pump, and I think two of the two dozen I went in (east coast) required prepay.

a311

5,789 posts

176 months

Monday 1st February 2016
quotequote all
RDMcG said:
You can turn right on red in most places.

Tolerance for speeding is usually about +10%

If you are stopped by an officer do not get out of car unless instructed, and keep your hands visible on top of the steering wheel.
If I can offer a little anecdote of my own.

I was pulled and fined for less than <10% on the free-way, I was certainly wasn't the quickest driver on that stretch either but the cop said a bright red Mustang convertible screamed tourist to him.......

It clipped my wings for the rest of the trip, stuck to the limit or less and saw a couple of drivers being pulled in that time, including a guy who was sat close behind me for a while then overtook on a crawler lane and got pulled by a police motorcycle hiding behind a big advertisement board.

It's been a pain in the arse ever since as the original fine never came through so it's escalated to over £400.

Found lane discipline to be poor, seem to pick a speed and drive at that in any lane.

LarryUSA

4,319 posts

255 months

Tuesday 2nd February 2016
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Petrol (gas) pump colours:

Green = Diesel
Black = Petrol

bridgdav

4,805 posts

247 months

Tuesday 2nd February 2016
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Tight right.. long left.

Consider - Everyone on the he road is also trying to kill you and have never driven before.

You can get cash back after paying at pump.. Give attendant $40, fill up at $35.. Get $5 back.


stuttgartmetal

8,108 posts

215 months

Tuesday 2nd February 2016
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There gallons are much smaller
If you get pulled over English your accent.

GCH

3,984 posts

201 months

Tuesday 2nd February 2016
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Laws vary from state to state - there is no highway code as such. There are some sample written tests for Nevada http://www.dmvnv.com/dltesting.htm and California https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/pubs/inte... if you want to take a look.
This may also help: http://www.trafficsign.us/


-In Nevada and California you can turn right on red - unless otherwise signed - but traffic with green has priority. When turning right or left on green - be aware pedestrians crossing priority.
-Don't park or stop on a hydrant.
-Don't park facing against the traffic. Not a problem in the Uk, big problem in the US.
-If you need to pay at the pump, use 00000 as your zip code.
-Try not to get stressed by people driving too close - it is not meant in the intimidating ' get out of my way i am in a rush' way that it is in the Uk.
-Blood Alcohol level is the same in the US as the Uk - 0.08% (80mg/100ml)
-Entrance/Exit/merge lanes on freeways can be very close together, and no-one leaves room to merge properly.
- Stop at a stop sign - all the way. If several of you approach at once (like at a 4-way stop), then whoever stops first gets to go first. Sounds odd but it works.
-Be careful when turning right - you will probably clip the kerb every now and then with the rear wheel. I still do it from time to time - force of habit from years of driving on the other side. You will also probably find yourself more to the right of the lane on the road than you would be - again, force of habit.
-Stay well back from school buses, and if they stop and have their lights flashing (and usually the STOP sign hanging out), then STOP. They take this very very seriously indeed and you will be in trouble if you don't stop. This applies to both directions - even it it is stopped/flashing in the opposite direction.


Edited by GCH on Tuesday 2nd February 02:29

Pothole

34,367 posts

281 months

Tuesday 2nd February 2016
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TREMAiNE said:
Me and my friends are going to Vegas in early September - we'll be renting a Chevrolet Tahoe and I will be the only driver.

We'll mostly be driving around the Vegas area, although will be doing a day trip to LA at some point. I have driven in the US before, however, only in the middle of nowhere where I spent most of my time seeing how fast the Corvette would go and never actually drove in areas where I'd need to know the driving laws.

Can anyone give any tips or rules that I really should know and does anyone know where I can find an American Highway Code (or equivalent)? Google doesn't seem very helpful with this!
You won't be doing a day trip to LA, it's a 4.5 hour drive.

As to the rest, just drive.

smack

9,727 posts

190 months

Tuesday 2nd February 2016
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davepoth said:
HRL said:
Get good at guessing how much fuel you'll need before you go to fill up.

Last time I went most of the petrol stations were prepay.
It did depend for me. Some accepted my UK debit card, most accepted my credit card, a few required a ZIP code typed in before they'd pump, and I think two of the two dozen I went in (east coast) required prepay.
I'm in the US about 5 months of the year with work, and it took 2 years to get to the bottom of this at a random Shell 'Gas Station' in the middle of nowhere who had a supplied cheat sheet for Canadians who have the same problem up near the US/Canada border, and I had gone through all the internet tricks (any old zip code 90210 the easiest to remember, to 00000) they don't work anymore.

So, take the postcode your UK card is registered to, use the 3 numbers, and add 00 to make 5 numbers (for those of us with non Central London Postcodes that is, I guess you use 2 numbers).

Example, to keep it PH, I'll use McLaren International's old postcode since I know it off the top of my head thanks to the misfortune of working for them back in the day, GU21 5JY - so use 215 + 00 = 21500. O have never had it fail since I worked it out 18 months ago.

Other from that, get a US sim (I assume you can - work just gave me a local phone) for your phone and use Waze, which comes really handy for cops on freeways. Off the beaten track, or B/C type roads the cops use moving radar, so speeding is high risk.

SimonTheSailor

12,543 posts

227 months

Tuesday 2nd February 2016
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Driving is genuinely st, they are idiots.

They could have guns in their glove box so don't piss anybody off.

Got pulled and got a warning for doing 75 on a 70 road that was totally empty, all 3 lanes of it, cop was even going the other way but still did the classic U turn down and up the grassy central reservation.

If you can't get the gas pump to work the attendant might shout 'push the lever down!' and thats lever pronounced 'leather'.

They'll be eating/texting/drinking coiffeeee/doing make up whilst driving so just be vigilant.

If you ever have to stop and ask directions they seem very perplexed for a while, then they realise you are speaking English, then when they realise this they want to tell you how much they love your accent and have stopped listening to what you are actually saying. They are then overly helpful and repeat themselves 7 times and generally give you poor directions.

Its all done in the best possible taste so have a great trip !!

Truckosaurus

11,183 posts

283 months

Tuesday 2nd February 2016
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There's no rules on lane discipline so watch for cars overtaking on both sides.

In urban areas with multi-lanes the right-hand lane seems to be only for cars looking to turn off in a parking lot (which all the locals seem to come to a complete stop for rather than steaming into at 30mph like you'd do here), or take the next right turn, or for buses to stop in. Around Vegas (and probably LA too) a lot of the right lanes suddenly become "Right Lane must Exit". Also, even if the right lane does allow you to go straight on at a set of lights, if you are sitting in it you are stopping people behind you from turning right.

I also noticed that if there is a Sleeping Policeman bump then the locals will go over it at 1mph even if they are in a huge pickup truck with massive 'off road' suspension lifts whereas you'll be bouncing over it in your rental car without slowing. I asked a local if there was some law saying you had to take it slowly and he looked at me as if I was a nutter - because they have more powerful cars on average and are used to coming to a stop all the time they don't have the same 'conservation of momentum' driving style.

Finally, there aren't roadsigns giving directions other than major freeway junctions, so you need to know where you are going.

CaptainSlow

13,179 posts

211 months

Tuesday 2nd February 2016
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As said, STOP signs are compulsory over there.

Vipers

32,796 posts

227 months

Tuesday 2nd February 2016
quotequote all
davepoth said:
HRL said:
Get good at guessing how much fuel you'll need before you go to fill up.

Last time I went most of the petrol stations were prepay.
It did depend for me. Some accepted my UK debit card, most accepted my credit card, a few required a ZIP code typed in before they'd pump, and I think two of the two dozen I went in (east coast) required prepay.
I was surprised they only wanted your signature (which they didn't check against the card), didn't want the PIN unless it has changed, and of course they use Gallons not litres.

Apart have a good holiday, we did, throughly enjoyed driving over there.




smile

CrutyRammers

13,735 posts

197 months

Tuesday 2nd February 2016
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We drove from Nebraska to Vegas back in october. Easier than driving in the uk, much less on the roads, and it felt much the same really, except the roads are wider, and they have stupid low speed limit signs for any corner. Which I ignored.

Dave Brand

928 posts

267 months

Tuesday 2nd February 2016
quotequote all
On multi-lane highways you can pass on either side, so it's not a lack of lane discipline, it's what they are used to. Can be scary at first, but fine once you get used to it - you must always check your mirrors on BOTH sides!

Americans don't accelerate away from traffic lights - they just crawl away with speed increasing imperceptibly. On the other hand they generally accelerate up to the speed of the traffic when joining a motorway-type road.

Speed limit signage is bad. It's not uncommon to travel several miles after joining a road before seeing a sign, & there's no uniformity between states.
This may help:

http://www.speed-limits.com/

Rental companies will have satnavs available, but unless you're only going for a few days it's cheaper to buy one - if you already have a satnav, just buy the US map.

Paying for petrol: if the pump asks for a ZIP code my wife just gets the cashier to clear the pump & she then pays with her credit card. The US is gradually moving over to chip & signature, using machines similar to ours but with a screen similar to the machines used by courier services on which you can scrawl your signature. We did find a few last year which would would accept PIN verification - possibly they all will.

Now, the oddest tip of all: take a tyre pressure gauge with you! All US cars are required by law to have a tyre pressure monitoring system. It's quite possible that for various reasons you'll get a low tyre pressure warning (it's happened twice to me)which you can only clear by putting more air in. Most US gas station air pumps don't have a gauge, so unless you can borrow a gauge you're relying on guesswork. It's very unlikely that you'll find free air!

The USA is a very easy country to drive in; outside the big cities traffic levels are very low (our record, in Texas, is 35 minutes without seeing another car!) but it's a very big country - we British tend to underestimate just how big the USA is. To get an idea of just how big it take a look at this:

http://www.sarmonster.net/UK.htm

Truckosaurus

11,183 posts

283 months

Tuesday 2nd February 2016
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Dave Brand said:
...

Now, the oddest tip of all: take a tyre pressure gauge with you! All US cars are required by law to have a tyre pressure monitoring system. It's quite possible that for various reasons you'll get a low tyre pressure warning (it's happened twice to me)which you can only clear by putting more air in. Most US gas station air pumps don't have a gauge, so unless you can borrow a gauge you're relying on guesswork. It's very unlikely that you'll find free air!
Good point... I had a slow puncture on my last rental car and couldn't find a working air machine at any of the gas stations I tried (they all seemed to have charged anyway if they had been working). The rental even had an actual spare (although a space saver), the one time when you wanted a compressor pump instead.

I went to one of the cheap oil change places that was next to one of the gas stations and they pumped the tyre up for free and said that if I went to the local 'Discount Tire' shop they'd fix the puncture for free. Which they did. smile

Matt Harper

6,613 posts

200 months

Tuesday 2nd February 2016
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Dave Brand said:
Now, the oddest tip of all: take a tyre pressure gauge with you! All US cars are required by law to have a tyre pressure monitoring system. It's quite possible that for various reasons you'll get a low tyre pressure warning (it's happened twice to me)which you can only clear by putting more air in. Most US gas station air pumps don't have a gauge, so unless you can borrow a gauge you're relying on guesswork. It's very unlikely that you'll find free air!
Huh?

All US cars are not required by law to have TPMS. 2 of my vehicles would be illegal were this so.
Most US gas station air pumps do have a gauge built into the air-line - you either input the desired pressure on the keypad and it shuts off when it achieves it - or it has a pop-out gauge on the nozzle that indicates current psi before you switch the pump on (by inserting a quarter)