|
Interesting differences in road usage between us and the States, they can turn right on red lights and overtake on any side on freeways:this greatly reduces the road rage as there cannot be lane hoggers. The roads are usually wide but the downside is the long long wait at lights and the pay for fuel before you fill and then queue again for your change. however at $1.80 I would gladly queue 3 times over here. The road tolls can be a pain as they crop up regularly until you get to know an area.
|
Sorry for answering any thread you dare post, but it's all so fresh in my mind too ;)
The petrol I found to be great, since I paid with a credit card it was just a case of swipe, fill, then press a button for the receipt, no queuing, simplicity itself.
I did spot a strange phenomena on the freeways. Despite the different overtaking rules, they still seem to have a large amount of middle-lane hoggers, I assume because it's the simplest lane to stay in. It obviously doesn't cause as much of a problem as over here though.
On one 5-lane road going into LA the slowest lane was the middle lane, then the lane on each side of it was slightly quicker, and the outside and inside lanes fastest of all. The two towards the left, furthest away from on and off ramps were faster than their two opposites. This meant that faster people who joined, slowed down to move right, slowed down again to join the middle, then accelerated up into the next two lanes.
The only toll I paid was to go over the Bay Bridge, but obviously that'd vary from state to state.
The other thing I noticed was that films mislead us. I expected every road to be a cacaphony of horns blaring, but I'd say that actually horns don't get used any more frequently over there than here. The difference is that, if someone DOES use their horn, then at least ten cars in every direction feel the need to beep back!
|
|
Oh, forgot to say, I think the right on red rule works brilliantly. When I remembered to do it, at least :o
|
|
|
|
Barney,
This has been covered in the Backroom a number of times.
I would be the first to agree that driving in the USA is generally less stressful than UK. The long wait at traffic lights can be infuriating especially in light traffic. However a couple of points on your post.
You cannot overtake on both sides on the freeway. It is illegal in the USA to overtake on the right(i.e. undertake) although the practice is widespread. However it is one of the main causes of the tailgating that is so prevalent in the USA. If you leave anything like a reasonable gap between the car in front(and by reasonable I still mean less than the '2 second rule') you will be 'undertaken' and that vehicle will fill the gap in front of you. Hence cars in the outside lane close up to prevent this happening. Far from preventing 'road rage' it is one of the main causes of the phenomenon.
If you think 'road rage' is less in the USA do a Google search and see how many are killed in motoring disputes. Lot more guns and knives carried!
If you pay by credit/debit card you do not have to pre-pay at the booth for fuel. Even if you intend paying inside with cash it is not always necessary to pre-pay. I spend several months in the USA each year and always pay by cash. Almost without exception I fill the car and then go to the booth to pay. To pre-pay or not is at the discretion of the till operator and you will usually find that they consider older people driving a newish car less likely to do a 'runner'. My 20+ year old son on the other hand always has to pay beforehand even if he is driving my(rental) car.
|
|
US drivers are very polite because they are afraid of being shot!
|
The polite drivers are the ones who aren't armed themselves. 8-).
Right turns on red isn't nationwide, some areas don't allow it and it is usually marked if it isn't.
Undertaking may be illegal, but I have yet to hear of anyone being done for it. I know everyone will disagree with me, but I find undertaking to be easier and thus safer than having to move across 2 or more lanes to get to the proper lane to overtake a slower car in the middle lane. There are also lots of drivers who like to appoint themselves as speed control wardens meaning they move over to the left (would be your right)lane and sit there at the speed limit or under it. No amount of tailgating or high beam flashing will make them move over so you either undertake or sit behind them for the duration.
|
|
No road rage in the US. We were in Chicago last week and a driver was shot dead after arguing with another motorist after the baseball game (rumours were it was a White Sox fan who attended a Cubs game, but I later heard this wasn't the case). The interesting one is if you are a pedestrian. The walk sign illuminates when the right turning traffic has a green light. The right turning traffic has to give way to any pedestrians crossing, what it does mean is the lights are never all on red to allow pedestrians to cross thereby keeping the traffic flowing. I also noticed in the suburban areas all the crossroads have stop signs - no one has priority - you approach the junction slow down and then proceed if safe to do so. It appears to work in slowing vehicles on the long straight roads in residential areas.
|
|
I did have an 'incident' while I was driving through San Luis Obispo. I was travelling straight across a light controlled crossroads, and my light was on green. A man started crossing the road, from my left, so I continued through, since he was still three lanes away from me, and since I was on green, I assumed he was on red. From his interesting response (jumping around, waving arms, miming throwing something violently at the car) I get the feeling that these crossings didn't have light controls for the pedestrians, and that they just automatically get priority if they're on the crossing. Can anyone shed light on that?
|
BazzaBear,
"I get the feeling that these crossings didn't have light controls for the pedestrians, and that they just automatically get priority if they're on the crossing. Can anyone shed light on that?"
I have had exactly the same situation a couple of times and questioned some American friends about this. I understand that all pedestrian crossings(called crosswalks) are controlled by lights at junctions where there are traffic lights. When a motorist turns right at a traffic light he should give way to pedestrians on a crosswalk. When the motorist has a green light to go straight ahead he should not have to give way to pedestrians as(in theory) they would be going against a red light/don't walk indication.
However apparently there have some incidents where pedestrians incorrectly using crosswalks have been hurt and subsequently won damages on the grounds that the motorist could, and should, have avoided hitting them. Case histories involve claims that the pedestrian lights were out of order and that the injured party was physically handicapped and therefore moved slowly. This has led to an(incorrect) assumption by some pedestrians that if they start crossing well before a car arrives they have priority.
I am told by these American friends that this has become quite an issue in some areas and some militant pedestrians deliberately 'take on' motorists. Their advice was very firmly to give way to any pedestrian.
|
|
|
|
I also noticed in the suburban areas all the crossroads have stop signs - no one has priority - you approach the junction slow down and then proceed if safe to do so.
These are 4 way stops - you're suppossed to go in the order in which you arrive.
My boss drove around me around San Jose a few yrs ago - generally other drivers did the right thing but he treated them as Give Way's.
|
|
|
The interesting one isif you are a pedestrian. The walk sign illuminates when the right turning traffic has a green light. The right turning traffic has to give way to any pedestrians crossing, what it does mean is the lights are never all on red to allow pedestrians to cross thereby keeping the traffic flowing.
Was in Paris for a couple of days at the end of last month - noticed that most crossings there work like this. Have noticed it before in Italy, too. Bit disconcerting when you're used to nothing moving when the green man is showing!
Ialso noticed in the suburban areas all the crossroads have stop signs - no one has priority - you approach the junction slow down and then proceed if safe to do so. It appears to work in slowing vehicles on the long straight roads in residential areas.
Ah, four-way stops. I was in Seattle a few years ago and saw 4 cars all reach one of these at the same time. Forget four people all meeting a mini-roundabout at the same time, this was far more fun. AIR they all got out and took a minute to agree who would go first! (It was a quiet area...)
|
|
|
Daveyjp,
"I also noticed in the suburban areas all the crossroads have stop signs - no one has priority"
If there are no priority signs at a 4 way junction you proceed in the order you arrived(and stopped) at the junction. A sort of 'first come first served' if you see what I mean.
C
|
|
|
|
"Right turns on red isn't nationwide, some areas don't allow it and it is usually marked if it isn't."
One thing that catches a lot of people out, even US citizens is that in San Francisco, LEFT turns on a red light are permitted as long as you are turning into a one way street.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I like the decent size parking spaces they have.
|
|
At four way stops the first person there has priority, but there have been occasions where more than one car reaches it at the same time. In that situation I was told that the car on the right has right of way, but what usually happens is the first person to move away from the stop is the one who goes through first. "He who dares, wins" certainly holds true in this situation.
|
|
|
|
