Driving in the US
Just a quick aside and then we will resume our usual broadcast.
I drove to work today. Well, I did it at 9pm, but I drove there anyway since I need to practice for tomorrow morning. It is 29 miles from where I am living to work. That’s 46 km, or 30 minutes at an average speed of 60 mph (96 km/h). The speed limits on the interstates here are 65mph or 70mph (112 km/h) but everyone does about 5mph over the limit as usual.
I really enjoy driving here in the US. Even though I keep using the windscreen wipers to try indicate and I always grab to my left for the gear / hand break, driving on the right-hand side of the road is not all that difficult. I just need to keep reminding myself and I am ok. It turns out that two facts about American drivers really helps a lot:
a) They are quite courteous. Surprisingly, they seem to be very forgiving and accommodating on the road, this is most likely due to the second fact:
b) They are, often multitasking while driving. You think people using cellular phones while driving in New Zealand is bad? Hah! Think again. Fast food, mobile phone, you name it, they have them in their ear or their mouth (not necessarily respectively). This means some of them can have a tendency to drive rather erratically, so they forgive a jet-lagged little kiwi drifting nervously on the right hand side of the road in his teeny tiny “compact” car. The size of American cars is something else entirely, I will elaborate on that later.
This rather laid back approach to driving all works because the roads are generally very good… as long as you know where you’re going. The signposts are quite cryptic and they will often refer to roads by a number rather than a name. The road markings also appear to be optional in many places. Many is the time I nearly ran a stop street because I didn’t see any lines on the road.
There are some weird rules, though, the strangest is the rule that says you can run a red light. Yes, you heard me. If the traffic light is red and you’re turning right, then treat the intersection like a stop street and go on through if the coast is clear. It makes me feel a little guilty every time I do it.
On either side of the interstate there is a road called a service road, this has on-ramps and off-ramps every few miles or so, meaning you can get off the interstate at any time and carry on along the service road. So, if you made a mistake you can hop back on without any worries, or bypass the interstate altogether. The one scary thing about this, though, is there are no (repeat, no) traffic lights or any other features of the road to stop traffic hurtling off the interstate at 75mph. Traffic coming off the interstate gets right of way so you just better watch out or you may get creamed by an 18 wheeler.
Doug: I will post images of humorous American road signs as soon as I get my bearings, okay?
July 21st, 2006 at 8:21 pm
Oh the red lights on the turns…their right turn which is same as a left turn here. I remember the driver doing that picking a bunch of us up from the airport. These kiwi and aussie uni students on their OE, literaturely SCREAMED! Oh my god, did you see that… he just ran a red light?! Does he know how to drive…etc.
Later I learned, like you do now, that it is legal to do that.
Looks like the highway on Dallas is not as bad as the ones in Los Angeles. There you have the on ramp and about 200-300 metres later is the off ramp on the right. (or feels like a very short distance, as on coming to the on ramp you can see the off ramp ahead)
Now it may sound ok but in peak hours, it may just happen that before you can manage to squeeze through to other lanes…. oops here comes the off ramp. Better luck next time.
So it often is quite a battle that they are used to. Poor little me not used to this kind of driving was praying for my life.
Once you come back to Nz, you will find… why the hell is everyone driving SO SLOWLY!
:-)
July 22nd, 2006 at 8:34 am
In SA the speed limits on highways are 120 km/h.(Mike’s kind of speed).
Coming to NZ I was very happy to see the “Top” speed limit on NZ roads are 100km/h.(My kind of speed or slower).
The give way to the on coming traffic when you both want to turn left, it’s was something new for us to learn, driving here in NZ.
Looks like each country are quiet different. I think I will get muddled up to drive on the “wrong side” of the road in America. I rather take the bus, train,get a lift or a taxi the first few months before I started to drive in America.
I can only say to you Steve is:- “You just recently got your drivers lic and you are so BRAVE to drive in America. Well done!!! You are one ahead of me”.
Please put a photo on your website of the car you are drivng. Thanks Steve!!!
Regards
Cornelia
August 3rd, 2006 at 7:54 pm
Hi Steve,
The idea of turning (left) on a red light, treating it as a give way sign, is considered here from time to time. Melbourne has it but only on specified intersections which are signposted accordingly.