First timer driving in the states - anything to worry about?
Discussion
pedestrains will just walk out in front of you and youre expected to give way , nearly had a few of em lol
stop signs - you really have to stop
car pool lane- 2 or more passengers and you can use the outside lane marked with a diamond logo , although watch it in heavy traffic as you might have to cross about 5 lanes of other traffic to exit 10mtrs after the road sign
gas- pay first ,you can lock the trigger on until it fills it
stop signs - you really have to stop
car pool lane- 2 or more passengers and you can use the outside lane marked with a diamond logo , although watch it in heavy traffic as you might have to cross about 5 lanes of other traffic to exit 10mtrs after the road sign
gas- pay first ,you can lock the trigger on until it fills it
steveo3002 said:
car pool lane- 2 or more passengers and you can use the outside lane marked with a diamond logo , although watch it in heavy traffic as you might have to cross about 5 lanes of other traffic to exit 10mtrs after the road sign
Not sure how widespread this is, but the Sheriff's deputies actually physically sit at the entrance to the car pool lane South of Boston and eyeball every car to ensure compliance! steveo3002 said:
pedestrians will just walk out in front of you and youre expected to give way ...
That's another thing, Jaywalking, the act of crossing the road incorrectly, it seems to be a crime but no-one could explain it to me fully when discussing it with locals (Truck = King of Small Talk)It seems to be that if there is a traffic light junction in the vicinity you are meant to use it and only cross on the Green Man/Walk signal.
The Cops can and do issue tickets for such things.
Obviously it can't apply to small residential streets and/or huge long main roads without junctions nearby but no-one knew the cut-off point.
I have driven over there a few times and its fine, main thing is to have a Sat Nav as nothing worse than being lost with a limited frame of reference.
I would rather be from the UK driving in the US than the other way round, our roads arent perhaps as logically laid out, tend to be narrower and more bendy, plus we have roundabouts which to Americans are like stairs are for Daleks.
Imagine the terror then of American colleagues being driven in an Evo down country lanes by a guy who can drive a bit and knows the very bendy roads ! they didnt want a repaet jorney.
I would rather be from the UK driving in the US than the other way round, our roads arent perhaps as logically laid out, tend to be narrower and more bendy, plus we have roundabouts which to Americans are like stairs are for Daleks.
Imagine the terror then of American colleagues being driven in an Evo down country lanes by a guy who can drive a bit and knows the very bendy roads ! they didnt want a repaet jorney.
J4CKO said:
I would rather be from the UK driving in the US than the other way round, our roads arent perhaps as logically laid out, tend to be narrower and more bendy, plus we have roundabouts which to Americans are like stairs are for Daleks.
Made me chuckle. I had to take some yanks to a place near hemel hempstead and hemel has a magic roundabout. Thought to be the answer to congestion. They worked so well, that only two exist in the entire of the UK 
Either way, the yanks were mesmerized by the magic roundabout! [quote]Imagine the terror then of American colleagues being driven in an Evo down country lanes by a guy who can drive a bit and knows the very bendy roads ! they didnt want a repaet jorney.
Only other thing I would add to driving in LA, is that there is the lane discipline that we are used to on large motorways. IE, lane 3 isn't the fastest lane. Lane 1 could be doing 5, lane 2 70 and lane 40. Can be a bit daunting when you use it for the first time.
+1 for picking up the car after a first night at a nearby airport hotel
It's a 10-hour fight to LA and an eight-hour time difference. Add on an hour or so to get off the plane and through immigration, plus another hour to get your car and your body clock is going to be fubar.
Not a good condition in which to drive a strange car, on the strange side of the road, in a strange country.
Jet lag means you will be up early the next morning and feeling MUCH better.
Apart from that driving in the US is very easy compared to the UK and Europe. Straight wide uncongested (mainly) freeways and roads, a much lazier approach to driving, and easy to get from A -B. Sat nav will help with lane positioning for exits.
watch out for the "this lane must exit" signs
The biggest challenge for the first day or so will be making left-hand turns - then your brain clicks in and its a piece of p*ss.
Doesn't do any harm to stick a post-it note on the dashboard in front saying "DRIVE ON THE RIGHT" for the first day or so.
First time I drove in the USA and on the right was in LA in the pre-sat nav days. Much easier now with Google Maps etc
It's a 10-hour fight to LA and an eight-hour time difference. Add on an hour or so to get off the plane and through immigration, plus another hour to get your car and your body clock is going to be fubar.
Not a good condition in which to drive a strange car, on the strange side of the road, in a strange country.
Jet lag means you will be up early the next morning and feeling MUCH better.
Apart from that driving in the US is very easy compared to the UK and Europe. Straight wide uncongested (mainly) freeways and roads, a much lazier approach to driving, and easy to get from A -B. Sat nav will help with lane positioning for exits.
watch out for the "this lane must exit" signs
The biggest challenge for the first day or so will be making left-hand turns - then your brain clicks in and its a piece of p*ss.
Doesn't do any harm to stick a post-it note on the dashboard in front saying "DRIVE ON THE RIGHT" for the first day or so.
First time I drove in the USA and on the right was in LA in the pre-sat nav days. Much easier now with Google Maps etc
Edited by audidoody on Wednesday 19th August 11:00
bakerstreet said:
J4CKO said:
I would rather be from the UK driving in the US than the other way round, our roads arent perhaps as logically laid out, tend to be narrower and more bendy, plus we have roundabouts which to Americans are like stairs are for Daleks.
Made me chuckle. I had to take some yanks to a place near hemel hempstead and hemel has a magic roundabout. Thought to be the answer to congestion. They worked so well, that only two exist in the entire of the UK Either way, the yanks were mesmerized by the magic roundabout! [quote]Imagine the terror then of American colleagues being driven in an Evo down country lanes by a guy who can drive a bit and knows the very bendy roads ! they didnt want a repaet jorney.
I agree though, in the US the roads are long, wide, straight and normally multi lane. The biggest thing to concentrate on is the constant stop start traffic lights. It would be a lot more daunting for a foreigner coming to the UK and being happy driving on our roads.
Roundabouts are hard enough without throwing traffic lights on roundabouts into the mix. We've had to learn a sixth sense about what lane someone "wants" to be in rather than trusting that they are indeed positioned correctly.
toon10 said:
Roundabouts are hard enough without throwing traffic lights on roundabouts into the mix. We've had to learn a sixth sense about what lane someone "wants" to be in rather than trusting that they are indeed positioned correctly.
Junction 28 of the M62 (Tingley) is terrible for thisI was going to start this exact thread as next month I'll be driving San Francisco - LA - Las Vegas - San Francisco, I've never driven in the US before, but lived in Europe for a while, so used to driving on the right. Got a Dodge Challenger booked, which is going to be a bit of a shock to the system coming from my MR2 Roadster.
Freeways around LAX can be very busy multi lane jobs, not so much of a problem apart from lots of junctions on top of each other, sometimes you get very little notice of the exit you need.
Car pool lanes are great, but again be ready to exit them at the specific exit points (you can't just change lane wherever you like, there is a raised divider) if you need to exit.
Not sure if anyone has mentioned being able to turn right on a red light if nothing is coming from the left ... LOVE that, we should have similar on left turns in the UK.
Oh, and as every car likes to remind you, Objects In The Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear
Car pool lanes are great, but again be ready to exit them at the specific exit points (you can't just change lane wherever you like, there is a raised divider) if you need to exit.
Not sure if anyone has mentioned being able to turn right on a red light if nothing is coming from the left ... LOVE that, we should have similar on left turns in the UK.
Oh, and as every car likes to remind you, Objects In The Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear
Craikeybaby said:
I was going to start this exact thread as next month I'll be driving San Francisco - LA - Las Vegas - San Francisco, I've never driven in the US before, but lived in Europe for a while, so used to driving on the right. Got a Dodge Challenger booked, which is going to be a bit of a shock to the system coming from my MR2 Roadster.
Last time I was i Florida I hired a Challenger (not the full fat V8 though). It feels totally normal given the sheer size of the roads out there. I think it would feel a lot more intimidating driving one on UK roads!menguin said:
Eh? So if a school bus is letting kids on/off, you have to sit behind it? Even if it pulls into a layby?
You are supposed to stop in BOTH directions for any school bus with flashing lights. When stopped for passengers, a sign will swing out from the side of the bus, or flashing lights will be activated, and it is illegal to pass the bus in either direction. 
School bus traffic stop laws: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_bus_traffic_s...
PurpleTurtle said:
Freeways around LAX can be very busy multi lane jobs, not so much of a problem apart from lots of junctions on top of each other, sometimes you get very little notice of the exit you need.
yeah, and don't expect to be able to drive up the off ramp at highway speed either, Many of them if they exit after the road and loop around back to the right side of the cross street will be sharp tight loops which need to be taken at 25-30 mph max with no room for slowing on the off ramp, so you will have to get into the right lane and drop anchors all the while the car behind you is coming onto the highway from the previous entrance with their foot to the floor to get up to speed and not looking in front of them as they are trying to change lanes.But lets be honest here, when i say they wont be looking in front that's not really true as many Americans seem to drive with the attitude of its not my problem if its not in front of me with many of them relying on their lane change assist sensors as a substitute for peripheral vision, As such expect them to change lanes in front of you with barely the space for a cigarette paper between you, or if they are behind, get arsey or go up the inside if you leave a sensible gap before pulling in after passing something.
ViperDave said:
PurpleTurtle said:
Freeways around LAX can be very busy multi lane jobs, not so much of a problem apart from lots of junctions on top of each other, sometimes you get very little notice of the exit you need.
yeah, and don't expect to be able to drive up the off ramp at highway speed either, Many of them if they exit after the road and loop around back to the right side of the cross street will be sharp tight loops which need to be taken at 25-30 mph max with no room for slowing on the off ramp, so you will have to get into the right lane and drop anchors all the while the car behind you is coming onto the highway from the previous entrance with their foot to the floor to get up to speed and not looking in front of them as they are trying to change lanes.But lets be honest here, when i say they wont be looking in front that's not really true as many Americans seem to drive with the attitude of its not my problem if its not in front of me with many of them relying on their lane change assist sensors as a substitute for peripheral vision, As such expect them to change lanes in front of you with barely the space for a cigarette paper between you, or if they are behind, get arsey or go up the inside if you leave a sensible gap before pulling in after passing something.
the number of lanes can be daunting at first. I use this bridge quite a lot,
15 travel lanes and 6 shoulder lanes, it is the widest motor vehicle bridge in the world by number of lanes. My GPS helpfully tells me which lane to be in. Especially useful when it turns out you need a left exit
15 travel lanes and 6 shoulder lanes, it is the widest motor vehicle bridge in the world by number of lanes. My GPS helpfully tells me which lane to be in. Especially useful when it turns out you need a left exit
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