Driving in America - how hard?
Discussion
It's easy enough, especially in an auto. In fact the only time I found it started to get harder was in week two when I started feeling confident and stopped thinking about every little thing I did. That was when I was more likely to revert to habit and do something stupid like look the wrong way at a junction for oncoming traffic or something.
Oddly enough, looking at the inside rearview mirror and seeing what's over your right shoulder instead of what's over your left shoulder took a little adjusting to as well for me
Oddly enough, looking at the inside rearview mirror and seeing what's over your right shoulder instead of what's over your left shoulder took a little adjusting to as well for me
If you have a few spare minutes you might want to have a scan through these links that I found on the Indiana DMV website:
Traffic Signs and Signals
http://www.in.gov/bmv/files/Drivers_Manual_Chapter...
Vehicle Operation
http://www.in.gov/bmv/files/Drivers_Manual_Chapter...
HTH
Bertie W
Traffic Signs and Signals
http://www.in.gov/bmv/files/Drivers_Manual_Chapter...
Vehicle Operation
http://www.in.gov/bmv/files/Drivers_Manual_Chapter...
HTH
Bertie W
My company is based in Indy, as a consequence I spend a lot of time up there. It is usually cold and icey at this time of year, but it's been unseasonably mild so far in 2012.
Main thing that makes Indianapolis different to most (not all) US cities is the huge numbers of cops and their enthusiasm for writing speeding tickets. They are everywhere - marked and covert. Stick to the speed limit (paricularly around Fishers, Carmel, Noblesville I-69/465 on the east-side and on I-70 around the airport) - or get a radar detector.
There are plenty of roundabouts in Indianapolis - you must stop before entering a roundabout (rotary) - even if it's clear. Rolling through stop-signs is another easy bust, so come to a complete halt at stop-signs - this applies to right on red too, you must stop, before turning on red. Also stop or pull off the road for emergency vehicles - they expect you to stop, so they don't have to second-guess what you'll do next, so be mindful of that too.
On the highway, move-over law requires you to do just that, or reduce youre speed to 20mph below posted limit.
Driving in and around the city is easy - there is a good interstate beltway that is (in the main) well signposted - just beware of the traffic cops.
Main thing that makes Indianapolis different to most (not all) US cities is the huge numbers of cops and their enthusiasm for writing speeding tickets. They are everywhere - marked and covert. Stick to the speed limit (paricularly around Fishers, Carmel, Noblesville I-69/465 on the east-side and on I-70 around the airport) - or get a radar detector.
There are plenty of roundabouts in Indianapolis - you must stop before entering a roundabout (rotary) - even if it's clear. Rolling through stop-signs is another easy bust, so come to a complete halt at stop-signs - this applies to right on red too, you must stop, before turning on red. Also stop or pull off the road for emergency vehicles - they expect you to stop, so they don't have to second-guess what you'll do next, so be mindful of that too.
On the highway, move-over law requires you to do just that, or reduce youre speed to 20mph below posted limit.
Driving in and around the city is easy - there is a good interstate beltway that is (in the main) well signposted - just beware of the traffic cops.
I've driven in the States several times and never had a problem.
Only times I've ever worried about being on the wrong side of the road is coming out of a car-park or petrol (gas) station and going into a empty side street. Just for a second I sometimes think I'm on the wrong side.
Just remember the same as here, you sit nearest the middle of the road.
Only times I've ever worried about being on the wrong side of the road is coming out of a car-park or petrol (gas) station and going into a empty side street. Just for a second I sometimes think I'm on the wrong side.
Just remember the same as here, you sit nearest the middle of the road.
I don't know if this has been mentioned yet:
Four way stops. Basically there in no roundabout or traffic signal, the first car to arrive at the four way, gets right of way.
Watch out for the traffic lights, they aren't as visible as british ones, and are often suspended quite high.
You can turn right on a red traffic light.
I know the driving lisence bit has been mentioned. Keep it with you at all times. Even when not in the car. They ID you for booze if you have a beard and gray hair...
Rent a ford mustang. You wont regret it.
Four way stops. Basically there in no roundabout or traffic signal, the first car to arrive at the four way, gets right of way.
Watch out for the traffic lights, they aren't as visible as british ones, and are often suspended quite high.
You can turn right on a red traffic light.
I know the driving lisence bit has been mentioned. Keep it with you at all times. Even when not in the car. They ID you for booze if you have a beard and gray hair...
Rent a ford mustang. You wont regret it.
I guess it depends on where you're going.
I've only driven in California/LA, but I loved it. At first it was quite stressful as it was so busy and the freeways seemed like a 50mph gridlock, cars passing and being passed in all lanes, sitting 6 inches off your back bumper and pulling into your lane 6 inches from your front bumper. Strangely, after a day or so of it, it just clicked and I started to feel a lot more relaxed than I do on normal UK motorways. Hard to explain why exactly.
Anwway, I found this site before I went and found it very useful: http://www.caldrive.com/
I've only driven in California/LA, but I loved it. At first it was quite stressful as it was so busy and the freeways seemed like a 50mph gridlock, cars passing and being passed in all lanes, sitting 6 inches off your back bumper and pulling into your lane 6 inches from your front bumper. Strangely, after a day or so of it, it just clicked and I started to feel a lot more relaxed than I do on normal UK motorways. Hard to explain why exactly.
Anwway, I found this site before I went and found it very useful: http://www.caldrive.com/
After picking up your car, it'll take you probably 10-20 minutes of driving to get comfortable with being on the wrong side of the road. After that, it's a breeze. You'll have an auto and a sat nav.. so how hard can it be?
Keep a keen eye out for Stop signs. They can sometimes be in places you'd not naturally expect them to be, especially on out of town roads.
The 4 or 5 lane freeways can sometimes be intimidating. US drivers are not as... polite... as we are - don't expect to be let out when trying to change lanes. You have to be a little aggressive. Grr.
Go get 'em tiger.
Keep a keen eye out for Stop signs. They can sometimes be in places you'd not naturally expect them to be, especially on out of town roads.
The 4 or 5 lane freeways can sometimes be intimidating. US drivers are not as... polite... as we are - don't expect to be let out when trying to change lanes. You have to be a little aggressive. Grr.
Go get 'em tiger.
The only difficult thing is that it can be so wide open at junctions that its not immediately obvious which lights you need to be looking at and where the correct lanes track across the junction. But you get used to it. Other than that, its a piece of cake. Just much slower.
One thing I noted is that on a motorbike, you NEVER filter. Motorbikes hold their position in queues of traffic just as though they were a car. Try going up the middle and everyone goes into a fit of rage. I had a Mustang literally chasing me to vent his anger for doing no more than filtering past him. Sadly, the best option for escape from Mid-Western American lunatic was more frantic filtering, which lead to even more angry people. Exciting times...
One thing I noted is that on a motorbike, you NEVER filter. Motorbikes hold their position in queues of traffic just as though they were a car. Try going up the middle and everyone goes into a fit of rage. I had a Mustang literally chasing me to vent his anger for doing no more than filtering past him. Sadly, the best option for escape from Mid-Western American lunatic was more frantic filtering, which lead to even more angry people. Exciting times...
sebhaque said:
I think I'm getting an automatic
I'm guessing you know you need to press the brake pedal to shift it out of park? If it's a bigger car, the "handbrake" might be foot operated with a release lever under the dash on the left. They don't normally apply the handbrake in rental garages though.Learn the other controls before leaving the rental place - they're usually obvious but not always and you don't want to be wondering how to switch the wipers on if it rains. Normally headlamps are used if wipers are needed.
If you're driving at night make sure you have good directions - signs on main roads are usually OK but not so good off them. Distances are often in feet, so things come up 3x quicker than if in yards!
Not sure how they'll go on if it's freezing - most of my driving has been in Florida & California - but tyres on American cars are designed for high milage so I imagine cold weather grip will be poor.
I'm just back from a trip to the States...
I only drove on the wrong side of the road once
Coming off a freeway sliproad onto a city street, I aimed at what I thought was the right-most lane of a 4 lane road but what I thought was the edge of the road was the central reservation of an 8 lane road (through a suburb!) and there was a queue of cars facing me at the next set of lights. Oops! Luckily I had an SUV so drive across the curb onto the correct side of the road was easy enough.
As others said, sometimes it's hard to work out the lanes as they (at least in Vegas) didn't use white lines but clumps of cats-eyes every few yards.
They also don't have road signs for destinations so you have to know where you are going via the street names - which also aren't pre-announced so you really need to know the name of the street previous to the one you want so you can get in the appropriate lane.
In towns of any size even modest streets have several lanes and the right-most lane seems only to be used for people who are just about to turn off (and slow to almost a halt to do so) so everyone just cruises down the middle lane.
Finally... They seem to combine some of their zebra and 'green man' crossings with green lights for cars, so even if you have a green light you have to give way to pedestrians crossing in front of you.
I only drove on the wrong side of the road once
Coming off a freeway sliproad onto a city street, I aimed at what I thought was the right-most lane of a 4 lane road but what I thought was the edge of the road was the central reservation of an 8 lane road (through a suburb!) and there was a queue of cars facing me at the next set of lights. Oops! Luckily I had an SUV so drive across the curb onto the correct side of the road was easy enough.As others said, sometimes it's hard to work out the lanes as they (at least in Vegas) didn't use white lines but clumps of cats-eyes every few yards.
They also don't have road signs for destinations so you have to know where you are going via the street names - which also aren't pre-announced so you really need to know the name of the street previous to the one you want so you can get in the appropriate lane.
In towns of any size even modest streets have several lanes and the right-most lane seems only to be used for people who are just about to turn off (and slow to almost a halt to do so) so everyone just cruises down the middle lane.
Finally... They seem to combine some of their zebra and 'green man' crossings with green lights for cars, so even if you have a green light you have to give way to pedestrians crossing in front of you.
It's very, very easy, at least in the more "grid layout" type cities. Despite being on the "wrong" side of the road, once I've had half an hour to acclimatise, I find it much easier than driving in the UK.
Make sure you know how all-way stops works; the rules in the state you're going to passing on school buses; the speed limits; and what documents you have to carry with you. Be wary of right turn on red - you still have to give way to pedestrians.
Make sure you know how all-way stops works; the rules in the state you're going to passing on school buses; the speed limits; and what documents you have to carry with you. Be wary of right turn on red - you still have to give way to pedestrians.
I always imagine that the worst potential hazards when driving in America, are navigational ones....
Wind up taking a wrong turn in an unfamiliar town in the UK, and you might wind up in a pretty ropey area where you 'might not fancy leaving the car parked out all night'
Take a wrong turn in America, and you might find yourself, laying in the street, beaten to within an inch of your life, or with a bullet wound, having just had you shiny hire car and everything else removed from you....
Perhaps I watch to much American crime drama?
Wind up taking a wrong turn in an unfamiliar town in the UK, and you might wind up in a pretty ropey area where you 'might not fancy leaving the car parked out all night'
Take a wrong turn in America, and you might find yourself, laying in the street, beaten to within an inch of your life, or with a bullet wound, having just had you shiny hire car and everything else removed from you....
Perhaps I watch to much American crime drama?
Most of the main stuff has been mentioned. One thing I discovered is that the cop cars can detect your speed even if they are driving in the opposite direction on the other side of the freeway and in the states they won't think twice about driving straight across the grass chasing you down and smacking a ticket in your face. So basically try avoiding doing any light traffic law breaking because the cops are not friendly and they don't let anyone off!
If you think MLM's are annoying here - just wait till you get to the 'States. They all just sit on their fat asses, in their fat yank tanks like fat mobile chicanes. There is zero lane discipline.
You get fast nutters using all 6 carriageways to 'make progress'.
The trucks throw up alarming amounts of road spray in the wet and are very fast (compared to here)!!
When it rains, they all switch on their hazard warning lights.
Cruse control and A/C are a must.
You see cars/trucks with attachments for mobility scooters on the back which is pretty funny.
You get fast nutters using all 6 carriageways to 'make progress'.
The trucks throw up alarming amounts of road spray in the wet and are very fast (compared to here)!!
When it rains, they all switch on their hazard warning lights.
Cruse control and A/C are a must.
You see cars/trucks with attachments for mobility scooters on the back which is pretty funny.
Really good coverage of the main points from everyone in this thread, read it and read it again!
I want to Emphasize two things: Know the laws/guidelines regarding 1) following a school bus 2) being pulled over by police
From my experience of living in Ohio for a few years these 2 have by far the biggest consequences if you don't learn them beforehand and screw them up. Bare in mind that many roads in the states have multiple lanes in each direction, with different school bus guidelines depending on number of lanes and the state, so the school bus rule is a bit more complex than it first appears.
Also to add some of my own:
1) The grid system can make seeing traffic lights on east/west roads tricky at certain times of year, use caution if you cannot see the lights well.
2) Learn the turn right on red rule to avoid people behind getting pushy, but always check for "No turn on Red" signs before you go.
3) One way signs are small and less easily visible than ours in the UK, they can be easy to miss if you are careless.
4) Fixed speed cameras are rare in most states, but Red light cameras are reasonably common and the penalty can be steep if you run the lights.
5) Twisty country roads that seem like easy 50-60mph cruises for a while can suddenly have incredibly sharp low speed turns with limited warning, as well as massive cambers and extreme blind crests.
6) The lane priority on Freeways is less rigid than the UK, people will vary speed and undertake routinely, be aware.
I want to Emphasize two things: Know the laws/guidelines regarding 1) following a school bus 2) being pulled over by police
From my experience of living in Ohio for a few years these 2 have by far the biggest consequences if you don't learn them beforehand and screw them up. Bare in mind that many roads in the states have multiple lanes in each direction, with different school bus guidelines depending on number of lanes and the state, so the school bus rule is a bit more complex than it first appears.
Also to add some of my own:
1) The grid system can make seeing traffic lights on east/west roads tricky at certain times of year, use caution if you cannot see the lights well.
2) Learn the turn right on red rule to avoid people behind getting pushy, but always check for "No turn on Red" signs before you go.
3) One way signs are small and less easily visible than ours in the UK, they can be easy to miss if you are careless.
4) Fixed speed cameras are rare in most states, but Red light cameras are reasonably common and the penalty can be steep if you run the lights.
5) Twisty country roads that seem like easy 50-60mph cruises for a while can suddenly have incredibly sharp low speed turns with limited warning, as well as massive cambers and extreme blind crests.
6) The lane priority on Freeways is less rigid than the UK, people will vary speed and undertake routinely, be aware.
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