Driving in the USA

TwoShedsJackson

Anyone have general hints or advice on driving in the US, or particularly in the Boston and general New England area? Going to be doing a bit of driving on holidays there in a while and apart from the obvious of driving on the wrong side of the road and having to drive an automatic, anything else radically different from Irish driving I should know about?

Max_Damage

You can turn right at a red light provided the way is clear at a junction.

Alun

Max_Damage wrote: »

You can turn right at a red light provided the way is clear at a junction.

That's only in certain states though isn't it?

Always make sure you come to a complete stop at STOP signs. The cops are extremely keen on that one.

Never, ever overtake a stopped school bus (or possibly any kind of bus for that matter).

Cionád

If a school bus is stopped, you must stop also, even if you approaching from the other direction afaik.

Henry Ford III

I've always found driving in the USA fairly easy tbh.

One peculiarity is at a 4 way junction of equal priority. First to arrive goes first.

On the multi lane highways overtaking is possible on either side, so be extra vigilant using mirrors etc when changing lanes.

Many US drivers do not indicate, but with Irish driving experience that'll not be a new thing for you!

real_484

Drove all around LA, Vegas, and San Fran during summer. I found GPS a God send, esp for finding hotels or getting onto the right interstate. It saved a lot of time and hassle.

Same as above, turning on red light, four way junctions, obey speed limits, and expect to be cut up. Legal to undertake on motorways also and can get done for droving too slow. You have to prepay for petrol which can be a drag. The only other problem I had was adjusting to driving when we got home.

keefg

Bring or hire a decent satnav

lynchie

Max_Damage wrote: »

You can turn right at a red light provided the way is clear at a junction.

AND there is a not a "No Turn on red" sign. And if i'm not mistaken, its illegal to do it within NYC unless there is a sign permitting it.

Also, dont even think about overtaking a school bus if its parked and has its stop sign out.

MercMad

One thing I always do if I have a rental car is remove any of their stickers, though in the US I believe sometimes the licence plate gives it away !

Steve

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Many US drivers do not indicate, but with Irish driving experience that'll not be a new thing for you!

And when they do, the indicator = flashing brake light on US built cars.

The laws differ greatly between states, get a list of local laws from the hire co. (assuming you're hiring)

Most places, alcohol must be in the 'trunk', so be careful if you pop to a 7-11 for a 6-pack.
In some counties it's illegal to transport alcohol as all in a car - mostly in the south though.

You have to have license + insurance details with you at all times.

Most of all, don't pi$$ off the cops - they WILL put you in jail.

Evil_Clown

Another quick tip, especially if driving interstate is to keep the ashtray full of quarters, for the tolls

biko

Tbh I find driving in US easier than here. Signposts are easy to read and everything is accommodated for cars.
*Don't speed. There's police everywhere.
*Make note of what others are doing (right on red etcetera).
*If stopped by police, remain in car with hands on wheel until asked to do something else. Immediately tell them you're a tourist.
*Relax and enjoy the drive

GavMan

On an aside, has anyone ever driven accross america?
I'm thinking of going over for 2 weeks or so, meetin mates in San Diego for 2/3 days, driving to NYC and spending another 2/3 days with more mates.
Anyone got any idea how long that drive would take? I'd be pretty much a straight run with only limited stops for food, gas and sleeping.

Alun

biko wrote: »

Tbh I find driving in US easier than here. Signposts are easy to read ...

Have to disagree there. They have an aversion to using symbolic signage, and as a result some signs can be very "wordy".

workaccount

MercMad wrote: »

One thing I always do if I have a rental car is remove any of their stickers, though in the US I believe sometimes the licence plate gives it away !

Why? Is it so ppl don't go....pfffft tourist...like we do with L plates?

astraboy

TwoShedsJackson, I'm betting you are doing BIS and on an internship? The Boston thing gives it away. I've done the 6 months and went again last summer, did plenty of driving.

Once you are over 21 you can hire a car/van/suv if you need extra space for weekends away. Boston drivers are notoriously impatient, you do need your wits about you driving in the city. The highways are great, and the cops are not too strict on the speed limit on the highway(outside of the city!) as I'm sure you can see already. Once you are around 80mph you should be fine, though I often went far faster and was never stopped. Other states like Vermont and New Hampshire are stricter then Mass.

If you are stopped for any reason just be courteous to the cops and you will be fine, do not argue or you are brining more trouble on yourself.

Also, make sure to keep you license on you at all times when driving, otherwise if stopped you are considered "unlicensed".

You can overtake on the inside lane on the highway, which means you can move into the lane moving the fastest if you wish to make progress.

Turing right on red after a full stop can be done unless there is a sign saying "no turn on red".

Finally, make sure you go away as often as you can, we drove to Toronto, down to Delware, Rodhe Island, Connecticut, and Cape Cod is a must see. If you get a couple of car loads of people you will have a great time, and driving is a real pleasure over there. What kind of car did you get BTW?

tricky D

Be careful on the bigger roads in the warmer weather. There can be lots of metal and rubber debris from blowouts strewn on the road. I actually experienced a truck blowout while there. I had just joined the freeway and was accelerating through 60mph (limit 70), when a big truck passes. When it was about 50 metres ahead one of the right rears blew - something like a grenade throwing debris everywhere including at the windscreen. Me and the car in the next lane slammed on the brakes and then exchanged some of those frightened and 'that was way too close' looks. Scary indeed.

Another one is that in traffic, I found they can change lane very suddenly, sometimes without indicating and also into much smaller gaps then we might expect.

Big +1 on the school bus warning. I think some even have some gate kind of device which can swing out to block all traffic in both directions. Never saw it in action, but can't think of any other application for it.

You do have your International Driver's License?

I hope you enjoy driving (VA and MD mainly) there as much as I did, despite the blowout episode.

colm_c

GavMan wrote: »

On an aside, has anyone ever driven accross america?
I'm thinking of going over for 2 weeks or so, meetin mates in San Diego for 2/3 days, driving to NYC and spending another 2/3 days with more mates.
Anyone got any idea how long that drive would take? I'd be pretty much a straight run with only limited stops for food, gas and sleeping.

Shouldn't take that long, but unless you're taking your time you won't enjoy it, and it would be much cheaper to fly!

According to google maps 1 day and 18 hours non-stop:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=san+diego&daddr=nyc&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=37.819897,88.242187&ie=UTF8&z=5

Mayshine

GavMan wrote: »

On an aside, has anyone ever driven accross america?
I'm thinking of going over for 2 weeks or so, meetin mates in San Diego for 2/3 days, driving to NYC and spending another 2/3 days with more mates.
Anyone got any idea how long that drive would take? I'd be pretty much a straight run with only limited stops for food, gas and sleeping.

I drove around america - Chicago - Boston - Miami - San Diego - San Fran - Las Vegas - Denver - Chicago.

Why you would want to do what you propose is unknown to me It'll take you 3/4 days to drive across that route without much stopping and there is far too many interesting things to see on the way (esp the scenery in the west). Since you only have 2 weeks and you plan to spend nearly one in NY/SD then you are not going to have enough time to enjoy the trip. Since you just want to straightline it you'll be more bored, more tired and poorer (in both time and money) than flying

Once you get east of the rockies it is the most boring drive you'll ever do. Mile after mile of straight flat road. You'll have trouble with the rental company also. They are not big fans of cross country drives if they even allow it.

With 2 weeks it would be cheaper and more prudent to fly

Balfa

Like people have said, it varies so much from state to state... I don't know if this is just a Texan thing, but on more rural parts of interstates, the "service road" (read the first paragraph of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_road to get an idea) is sometimes two-way. If this is the case, traffic entering and exiting the freeway always gets right of way. It's kind of complicated to explain, but when it happens, you'll want to be ready for it. Nearly caused my dad a big problem when he was over visiting me.

And again, the schoolbus thing... If they're stopped with flashing lights, don't drive past them from either direction!! Also, the drivers of schoolbuses must, by law, treat every railroad crossing as a stop sign, even if there are no lights, gates or train present. Be prepared for that.

Navigating freeways close to the city centre can be headwrecking for those not good at navigating. There can be freeway exits on the LEFT side! And frequently at junctions between two large freeways, the road you're on might branch into two (or more!) with the three left lanes staying as I-635 and the three right lanes magically becoming part of loop 12 (or whatever equivalent might exist in Boston). Keep your head up, pay attention to the plentiful and useful signs and overhead lane markings, and having a co-driver is always useful

Yeah, signs are very wordy, which sucks, but at least they exist

There are tons of small differences but they're more curious, or sometimes irritating, rather than dangerous. If you plan for plenty of time to get where you're going, you won't have to get anxious when you suddenly find yourself on the wrong freeway going in the wrong direction, and just camly take your time and turn around at the next suitable exit, or pull into a car park and recover your wits if need be.

unkel

Plenty of good advice out there. The most important one:

biko wrote: »

*If stopped by police, remain in car with hands on wheel until asked to do something else. Immediately tell them you're a tourist.

unkel

TwoShedsJackson wrote: »

apart from the obvious of driving on the wrong side of the road

They actually drive on the correct side of the road

Our man in Havana

Also there is absolutely no need for an international drivers licence. The full Irish/EU licence is accepted by hire companies and police throughout the USA and Canada.

Save yourself the bother of having to go to the AA in Dublin for something that is effectively useless.

TwoShedsJackson

unkel wrote: »

They actually drive on the correct side of the road

Thanks for the advice people - the school bus thing is good to know, thanks, and we will definitely be hiring a sat nav with the car we get. We're staying four days in Boston and only then hiring a car for ten days driving and sightseeing in the rest of the New England area. Driving in Boston looks pretty nightmarish and the city seems small enough to walk/use public transport anyway.

Hertz will rent us a Mazda 6 (or similar) for 11 days for 367 Euro, this includes a satnav and a Collision Damage Waiver and Liability Insurance Supplement both of which seem pretty essential. This seems a lot cheaper than a few other quotes I got, just wondering do people reckon this is a decent rate - with a couple of hours driving a day we want something comfortable and nice to drive, obviously

Steve

TwoShedsJackson wrote: »

Hertz will rent us a Mazda 6 (or similar) for 11 days for 367 Euro,

Doesn't sound bad. Internet prices are always the cheapest.

Try following car rental links from the airline website you are flying with - there are sometimes hidden deals to be found.

Our man in Havana

That is ok and Hertz are very good. It is the law in all states that the Collision Damage Waiver and Liability Insurance Supplement be included in any quoted rates. You need both of these to legally take a car on the road.

Another important thing: when you get into the rental car for the first time open the glove box and check that the vehicles registration document and insurance cert are there. If not do not take out the car. It will save a world of trouble later if stopped by the police or god forbid you have an accident. If the police stop you the first things they will ask for are Driving Licence, Registration, and proof of Insurance. It is most important that these documents are in the car from the start.

You will find the sat nav a godsend. I agree driving in Boston is only for the suicidal or the very stupid. The mazda 6 is a fine automobile and you will enjoy driving it.

Max_Damage

With Hertz, you can rent a Shelby GT500!

astraboy

Bond-007 wrote: »

I agree driving in Boston is only for the suicidal or the very stupid.

Yep, constant horn blowing and middle finger salutes are standard in Down town Boston! As in any other country watch out for the taxi drivers, they can be crazy.

Cionád

TwoShedsJackson wrote: »

Hertz will rent us a Mazda 6 (or similar) for 11 days for 367 Euro,

An Italian guy in my class rented a Zafira here in Ireland last week for 390 euro for ONE DAY! I couldn't believe it. He got his moneys worth though cause a stone flew off the back of a truck and smashed the back window.

Our man in Havana

What rip off company was that? Was the hirer under 21?

TwoShedsJackson

I'll raise my own thread from the dead to let you know how we got on

Driving in the US was generally great, picked up the car at Logan Airport in Boston, we got a Ford Taurus which was pretty huge (we drive an Astra here so to say it was somewhat bigger would be an understatement), 3.5 litre engine, leather upholstery, cruise control etc. etc. - really comfortable to drive. Need I add MPG was not it's strong suit, I'd be shocked if we were getting more than 22-24 MPG.

Car performed well until an engine warning light came on after about a week, but we just went to the nearest Hertz office and they exchanged it straight away for another full size with sat nav - got a Mercury Sable that time which must be a Ford also as the interior was pretty much identical in every way.

Driving an automatic for the first time was great, just concentrated on keeping both hands on the wheel for the first half hour and was used to that in no time, as for driving on the right hand side, that was surprisingly easy to get used to, most of the time you can see you'll hit someone head on if you drive on the left so that does a good job of reminding you

Found drivers over there to be generally corteous, very good at giving way when they should etc., no major aggression apart from on I95 (the main New York to Boston road) - there they were fairly mad.

Parking this beast of a car was no problem, the spaces there are enormous, no matter how badly we thought we'd parked any time, we'd open the door and there was at least of foot of space to the lines on each side, and this was not a small car Parking it here would have been a whole different story.

The roads are mostly in great nick, we were on a few rural ones that brought Ireland to mind but main roads usually have two or three lanes and we found the best thing to do on the three lane or more roads was to get in the second one from the right so we didn't have people merging straight in, and anyone who wanted to go faster could use the left lane.

Despite warnings of speed limits being strictly observed, the limit of 65 on the interstates is roundly ignored, we usually did about 70 on them and were regularly passed on both sides by people doing 75-90. Only saw about three traffic police and they mostly seemed to be hauling in black kids on motorbikes from what I saw.

Now the Hertz Neverlost (ahem) satnav was a bit of a let-down. It's fine for getting from one urban area to another but in town it was crap for two reasons: it only has an overhead view when the 3d view that you drive 'into' and can see the coming turn is far handier, and combined with that, it zoomed in to a 1/4 mile resolution when a turn was coming up which meant that you were invariably on top of the turn before you could see the route arrow going that way.

However, sign posting and lane signs and such are vastly superior there so all in all we only took about five wrong turns and it does re-route you automatically plus we were in no major rush so no harm done there, it was a bit frustrating though.

All in all, throughly enjoyed driving there