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I'm gonna piggy back off of this. Apparently there's an unwritten rule that when the lights turn green, the first car turning left is allowed to go? How funny is that?
Forget NYC and LA. My friend taught his daughter to drive in one day in the mountains here in Colorado. He told her if they got to Our safely that they'd go on a shopping spree. They did both.
I'm a native NYer, but I've driven in so many places that were worse: Jerusalem, Taipei, the jungle in Costa Rica...
I'm gonna piggy back off of this. Apparently there's an unwritten rule that when the lights turn green, the first car turning left is allowed to go? How funny is that?
I thought that was called a "Pittsburgh left". Have you seen it in other places?
What jarred me coming to Seattle was getting honked at for not turning right on a red arrow - I think onto 405 from Coal Creek or something like that. Apparently in Washington state, a red arrow is equivalent to a regular red light as long as there's no No Turn on Red sign.
I thought that was called a "Pittsburgh left". Have you seen it in other places?
What jarred me coming to Seattle was getting honked at for not turning right on a red arrow - I think onto 405 from Coal Creek or something like that. Apparently in Washington state, a red arrow is equivalent to a regular red light as long as there's no No Turn on Red sign.
Seattlites do honk for odd reasons, but it's almost always a low cowardly honk. I prefer driving here than Denver or DC though.
Manhattan is a complete shock to the senses from a driving experience even for other big city drivers just due to the amount of people and vehicles sharing space. Still large cities with big cores like Philly, DC, LA, Boston etc.. one still need to be super aware and you best know how to parallel park... quickly.
Now in the grand scheme of things... NYC is a walk in the park. Had the "luxury" of being a taxi passenger in Manila, Philippines and I may have said a prayer or two
Do you think anyone that passes a driving test from the DMV in any of the states would be able to confidently drive and park anywhere in the United States?
I got my driver's license in Prince George's County, Maryland decades ago.
I have driven extensively in DC, Philly, NYC, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Miami, New Orleans, LA, San Francisco and many other cities. I do mean the surface streets, downtowns and residential neighborhoods in the core of these cities. As with anything, you develop confidence with experience.
I think large urban areas require a different skill.
I find cities that are lower density with longer blocks like Memphis tend to be the most reckless due to higher speed limits. I've seen speed limits in residential areas at 40 and 45 mph. That would never fly in a place like DC or even St. Louis.
If you take a Memphis type driver and put them in the middle of Manhattan, they stand a chance of hitting someone or getting terribly frustrated. They simply dont have the awareness to navigate such a large city.
When traveling to big cities, I usually like taking their transit when possible. Not only does one avoid traffic issues, it gives a good snap shot of what the city is like.
When I was younger I went on a road trip to California with a friend of mine. He was driving when we entered LA. The highway was 10 lanes wide, divers seemed to be insane. He pulled over because it was getting to him that bad and I drove through LA instead. To rural people like us seeing that was nothing short of culture shock. (Not just the traffic either) Since then I did several years as an over the road truck driver. I’ve seen every big city in America. I still believe LA is crazy beyond belief. Places like that don’t scare me but still I wonder how people who live there put up with it.
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