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Advice Wanted On Driving In The States

  • 30-09-2004 12:22am
    #1
    corm500
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 863 ✭✭✭


    Hi there,

    Going to the States on my honeymoon in February. Will be staying in L.A (Hollywood) for a week. Then travelling to Las Vegas. Anybody got any tips on driving in L.A or Vegas. It will be my first time time driving outside of Ireland. How long should it take to adjust to driving on the other side of the road ?

    Any advice or tips welcome

    Corm500


Comments

  • #2
    por
    Closed Accounts Posts: 568 ✭✭✭por


    corm500 wrote:
    Hi there,

    Going to the States on my honeymoon in February. Will be staying in L.A (Hollywood) for a week. Then travelling to Las Vegas. Anybody got any tips on driving in L.A or Vegas. It will be my first time time driving outside of Ireland. How long should it take to adjust to driving on the other side of the road ?

    Any advice or tips welcome

    Corm500

    From my experiences most streets in LA are wide, multi laned and divided or are oneway, so the chances of vering onto the other side are not as big as you might think. But be careful on non marked or smaller rds. Should not take more than a few hours to get used of. You will be getting an automatic I presume so banging your hand off the left hand door (looking for the gear stick) will not be a problem.


  • #3
    mcguiver
    Closed Accounts Posts: 627 ✭✭✭mcguiver


    Just remember to stick to speed limits, stop at stop signs and dont roll back even an inch... they will pull u in.
    Please note State troopers have no sense of humour!!!!
    If memory seves me correct in L.A. you can take a right turn at a red light if the way is clear.
    On hills Park in line with traffic with your wheels turned to the kerb or you get a fine, and watch the signs for street cleaning days... they will tow you !!

    Driving is grand, a few days to stop going to the wrong door... and then you'll be doing the same when you get back to Paddyland... otherwise enjoy the trip :-)


  • #4
    Borzoi
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,876 ✭✭✭Borzoi


    corm500 wrote:
    It will be my first time time driving outside of Ireland. How long should it take to adjust to driving on the other side of the road ?

    Any advice or tips welcome

    Corm500

    It doen't take long to adjust

    My tip was always to keep the driver towards the middle of the road, and the passenger to the kerb


  • #5
    daymobrew
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,571 ✭✭✭daymobrew


    When I moved there I put a bright sticker on my steering wheel saying something like "Keep Right =>". Generally not a problem when other cars are around - you'll quickly encounter 'obstacles' if you try to drive on the left.
    Worst time is when coming out of a shopping centre or a junction with no traffic lights. Remember that traffic is coming at you from different directions i.e. nearest traffic is coming from the left (the right here - think about it).

    Automatics are easy. Just keep your left foot out of the way. Don't be like Stallone in Rocky with left foot on brake and right on accelerator.

    Freeways have good signs, generally listing the next 2 or 3 exits and the distance to them (the National Roads Authority should copy this). There are normally 4 lanes on the freeways - the middle two are probably the easiest.
    The hardest thing about some freeways is some on/off ramps. Put the foot down when getting onto a freeway to get up toward 65 as soon as possible - no 35 mph merging like here.
    In the San Francisco area there were a few exits which were right *after* on ramps!! You have cars entering trying to get up to 65 with those exiting trying to slow down. And some of the on ramps were very short (unlike the super long ones here, which are nice).

    If you miss a freeway exit or miss a turn on a surface street don't worry. Don't swerve across multiple lanes - leave that for the locals. Go to the next junction, get in the right lane and do a u-turn (generally an individual light for this).

    LA freeways can be very busy during rush hour. You can encounter stop-n-go traffic at those times, and random times outside this.

    If you wanted to see a TV comedy being filmed (i.e. be part of the live audience) look at http://www.audiencesunlimited.com
    I went to see 'Friends' one time. We queued from 3pm until 5pm (that is *with* a ticket, which doesn't guarantee anything). We left the taping at midnight and they still weren't finished. It was an interesting and unique experience - I don't know anyone else who did this.
    No guarantees which episode/date you'd get but worth a try. Best if you know someone in the US who can be your postal address.

    When my sister and her friends drove to Las Vegas they were on the wrong side of the road for ages. There was no one around.

    Put up the rental car maps so you can see the freeways around. Use http://maps.yahoo.com to plan other journeys. Very helpful site.

    Good luck and congratulations.
    Finally - February may not be very warm (though warmer than here). Bring the jumpers and rain jackets.


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