Brief visit to Memphis (Central: neighborhoods, living, suburbs)

[gladt]

Hi. I visited Memphis briefly (2 hours) a few days ago and really thought that it is an underrated city! However, while driving up and down Poplar, both directions, I encountered some fools blantanly running red lights and almost lost my life in the process the 2nd time. I almost wanted to conclude that Memphis is a "lawless" city based on the driving habits there. Is this the norm for memphis? For people to speed through such a busy intersection 3 seconds AFTER the light has changed? I believe the intersection was Poplar and Mclean.
Other than that, Memphis has some great looking neighborhoods around that area.

[BlueAnais]

Outsiders frequently comments on how bad Memphis drivers are. I agree.

[JMT]

I absolutely LOVE Memphis and wouldn't mind living there again.

However, I will admit that Memphis drivers are pretty bad. I've never lived anywhere where so many drivers in the left-turn lane go ahead and turn left after the light turns red. I've lived and driven all over the world and never saw it nearly as much as I did in Memphis.

That being said, I also noticed that Memphis has very little traffic for such a large city. Aside a few roads out in the suburbs, driving in Memphis is a snap.

For those visiting Memphis, here are a few roads in the city that I think are worth the drive:

Belvedere Blvd between Central and Union
Central Ave, all the way from start to finish
McLean (is it Street?)
Peabody Ave from, say, Bellevue to Cooper.

And, of course, the Parkways, especially North Parkway and East Parkway. Bad drivers or not, Memphis has some beautiful drives. I spent many wonderful Sundays just driving around the city.

[DubbleT]

Originally Posted by JMT

However, I will admit that Memphis drivers are pretty bad. I've never lived anywhere where so many drivers in the left-turn lane go ahead and turn left after the light turns red. I've lived and driven all over the world and never saw it nearly as much as I did in Memphis.

I'll admit to having done that a few times. There are some intersections that stay busy enough, that unless you pull far enough out and then go when you you get the chance, you can spend a very long time waiting for traffic to clear. The red light runners coming from the other direction don't make it any easier either. It's crazy.
The thing that drove me up the wall while driving there was busy four way stops. So many people have no clue as to who has the right of way, and a good many of them apparently think it belongs to the guy turning left across traffic. Mass confusion!

My kids came out of drivers ed here not understanding how to negotiate right of way situations either, so maybe that explains a few things. OTOH they could spout off the fine and jail times for DUI without having to think twice about it.

[ComputerMan]

Outsiders complain about Memphis drivers, of course Memphis drivers also complain about how bad outsiders drive.

[TN-rox]

The lack of traffic makes up for the reckless driving yeah, its the norm