Ingeneral,drivingamotorvehicleintheUnitedStatesofAmericaisawidelyvariedskill.Everystatehasitsownlaws,guidelines,andtypesofintimidationsonhowtohandletheircars.Therearesomebasiclawsthatgovernallstates,though:
Keepyourcarontheright-handsideoftheroad,unlessyouliketomeetinterestingpeopleface-to-facereallyfast.
KeepuptodateonallthelatestAmericancursewordsandgestures,asyouwillneedtouseand/ortranslatethemwhentravelling.
Learnindividualstatelaws.Forinstance,Delawaredoesnothaveaseatbeltlaw,buttheydon’tneedonesincenobodydrivesformorethananhourtherebeforehittinganotherstate,andallthesurroundingstatesdohaveseatbeltlaws.
Speedlimitsgiveyouanindicationofhowfasttodrive.Ifyougobelowthatnumberyouarelikelytoberearended.ThisdoesnotapplyinOhiothough.Ifyoudriveataspeedanywherenearthelimititwillbeassumedyou’vedonesomethingillegal,andwillbejailedaccordingly.
Trafficlights:greenmeansgo,redmeansstop.Amberiswheremostforeignvisitorshaveproblems.Innormalpracticeitmeansspeeduptomakethelightbeforeitturnsred.Also,ifyoucanseethetrafficlightforthecrosstraffic,anamberlightforthemmeansyoumayproceedbeforethelightturnsgreen,butdoitquickly.
FormanyyearsintheUnitedStatesithasbeenalawforthedriverandfrontpassengertowearseatbelts,butmanypeoplehaveignoredit.ButrecentlyinOhio,andprobablyalotofotherstates,alawhasbeenpassedallowingpoliceofficerstopulloverandfineamotoristjustfornotwearingtheirseatbelt.SowhentravellingintheStates,buckleup,notjustforyoursafety,butforwallet’ssafetyaswell.
Atlanta,GeorgiaDrivingEtiquette
Firstly,thehighwayshavesixtoeightlanes...ineachdirection.Apparentlyitisokaytoexitontherightfromtheleft-mostlane,aslongasyouaretravellingatleast80mph.Ifthepersoninfrontofyouisonlygoing70mph(thelegallimitis55mph)itisokaytoswerveoffoftheroad,aroundthe’offender’,andbackontotheroad,aslongasyoudon’tuseasignal.
Bewarned:Atlantaistheworstcityforrubber-neckingintheworld.Everyonedrivesfastunlessanythingremotelyinterestingishappeningontheothersideoftheroad,thenalltrafficslowstoasnail’space.
CaliforniaDrivingEtiquette
Treatspeedlimitsignsstrictlyasasuggestion,unlessthereissomeformofpoliceofficerorhighwaypatrolmanaround.
Inaright-of-waysituation,themostexpensivecaralwayshastherightofway.It’snotwrittenanywhere,it’ssimplyunderstood.
InLosAngelesCountyitisagenerallyacceptedrulethatthreecarswillpassthroughagivenintersectionafterthelighthasturnedred.Nooneseemstocare,sofeelfreetotakeadvantageofthis.
ChicagoDrivingEtiquette
DrivinginChicagoislikedrivinginaDragRace.Youmustslamthegasimmediatelyorriskbeinghonkedat.Conversely,ifyou’rebehindsomeonewhoshouldbegoingwhentheyarenot,itisyourknowndutytolayonyourhornforatleastfivesecondstogentlyremindthemtomovetheircar.Turnsignalsareonlyforusewhennooneisbehindyou.
FloridaDrivingEtiquette
InFloridayoubasicallyhavetwokindsofdrivers:relativelyyoungexecutive-typesandreallyoldold-timers.Thismakesforgeneralchaosforthefollowingreasons.
Theelderlydriverstendtoownenormous,powerfulluxurysedans,but,paradoxically,tendtodrivethematextremelyslowspeeds-usuallypayingverylittleattentiontowhat’sgoingonaroundthem(thisincludesthecolouroftrafficsignals,noticingthelanechangesoccurringneartheirvehicles,thestrangewayinwhichtheirgaspedaliseitherputentirelytothefloorornotdepressedatall).Atthesametime,theyoungexecutive-typedriverstendtohaveslightlysmaller,sportierandevenfastercars-oftenluxuryconvertibles,andtendtodrivethemextremelyfast,recklesslyandwithoutemployingturnsignals.Largeintersectionsareparticularlyproblematicduetothefactthatno-onecanseemtoagreewhenthesignalshavechanged.
Floridaisalsofulloftouristswho,despiteneverhavingdrivenabroadbefore,havemadeittheirquesttofindDisneyWorld,eventhoughtheirhotelisclosertoJacksonvillethanOrlando.
NewJerseyDrivingEtiquette
IfyoufindyourselfinNewJerseyyouwillencounteraphenomenonknownas’psychicdriving’.Themassesofmotoristswillbethinkingforthepersonaheadofthemandrespondingaccordingtowhatthepersonaheadshouldbedrivinglike.
Psychicdrivingisamarvellousphenomenontobeholdwhenitworks.Youwillseehundredsofcarszoomingalongmakingtheexactsameturnsandspeed-upsandslowdownsallinunison.IfyouarenotfromNewJerseyandhappentobedrivingthereforthefirsttime,thiscanbeaterrifyingexperience.
NewYorkCityDrivingEtiquette
Neveruseyourturnsignalwhenyouwanttochangelanes.NewYorkCitydriversrespondtothisbycongestingthelaneyouaretryingtogetinto.Onlyuseyourturnsignalforturns.
OregonDrivingEtiquette
Whenattemptingtochangelanes,Oregondriversneversignal.Furthermore,theymovefromlanetolaneataspeedroughlyequivalenttothatofasnailwithaherniapullingaVolkswagen.
Evenworse,whenfacedwithayellowwarningsignbearingthephrase’rightlaneends’,Oregondriversinvariablyzipintotherightlaneandstandontheaccelerator.Thisresultsinlargeblursofspeedingmetalzoomingpasttheout-of-statedriverswhohavesmartlymovedintotheleftlaneandgenerallyalsocauseslargefitsofyellingandobscenegesturing.
ItseemsthatallhighwaysinOregonweredesignedbymentally-inhibitedapesmakingpaintsplattersoncanvas.Asaresult,manyhighwaystwistandturnandhaveoddly-placeddivisionsinthemiddlethatsplitonehighwayintotwowhichthengototallyoppositedirections.Thereisneveranywarningofthesedivisions,andyouoftenendupinthelanefurthestfromtheoneyouneedtobein.Asaresult,itiscustomaryfordriverstospeedtowardstheconcretebarriersignifyingtheendoftheexitwhiletryingtoforceotherdriverstoletthemin.Theotherdriversneverdo,sotheexitingdriveralwaysendsupsmashingviolentlyintotheconcretebarrierorslammingontheirbrakesandleaningontheirhorninavainattempttoconvincethebarriertomove.
PittsburghDrivingEtiquette
OnepeculiarthingthedriversinPittsburghliketodoisnotgowhenthetrafficsignalturnsgreen.Itseemsthelocaletiquetteisforthefirstvehiclewaitingtoturnlefttohavetherightofway,thentrafficmayresumeatitsusualfreneticpace.Itcanbequiteembarrassingtonotknowthisruleasthesecondvehicleinline.Thelightturnsgreen,youhittheaccelerator,youhitthecarinfrontofyouandyouhaveaverydifficulttimeofitintrafficcourtexplainingwhyyourammedintotherearofanothercar.
Equallydangerousisbeingthefirstvehicleinaqueueataredlight.Thelightturnsgreenandyoubegintogostraightthroughtheintersectiononlytofindthatthepersonontheothersidehasturnedleftintoyourpath,assumingyouwouldnotdrivethroughagreensignalasperPittsburgh-etiquetterules.Thatcollisioncanbeequallyembarrassingbecausethetrafficofficerwillinvariablyfindyouatfaultforcausingtheaccidentbydrivingthroughthegreensignal.
StLouis,MissouriDrivingEtiquette
StLouishasthehighestratioofstopsignstoresidentsintheentireUnitedStates.Youwouldthinkthiswouldmeanstoppingearlyandoften,butthisisnotthecase.Insteadofactuallystopping,onemustmastertheskillofslowingdownenoughtoallowtheothercarattheintersectiontocrossbeforeyouattemptyourcrossing.Ifyouactuallycometoastop,madnesswillfollow.Allcarswillstop,andbeingthefriendlyMidwest,everyonewillwaveeveryoneelseon.Ifallthecarsdon’thiteachotherheadon,thedriverwiththeleastvaluablecargoesfirst.
Signallingappearstobeoptional.Unfortunatelyiftheoptionistaken,itisusuallyduringoraftertheturniscompleted.
TexasDrivingEtiquette
DrivinginTexasissimple.Therearetwospeeds-stop,andgoveryfast.Goveryfastshouldbereachedassoonaspossible,whichmeansthateveryonefloorsthegaspedalwhenthelightsturngreen.It’saspeedthatisoftenmaintainedforaslongaspossible,whichmeansthatmanyTexansbrakeverylateandveryhard.Thesteeringwheelisn’tnecessarilyameansforchangingdirection,infactit’sahandilypositionedarmrest.Sometimesitseemsasifitismandatoryunderstatelawtomakeallturnsone-handed.Everyonedrivesintheoutsidelaneuntiltheyneedtomakeaturn,thenthey’llcutacrossalllanesoftraffic.Infact,anymanoeuvreshouldmadeatthelastpossiblemoment.
Havingsaidallthis,whendrivinginTexasyoumaynoticethefolksareveryfriendlyonthelongstretchesofhighway.Theywillevenpulloverontotheshoulderonthesideoftheroadtoletyoupass.ButthesesamepeoplewillramyouintothepostifyoumeetupwiththemonI-20enteringDallas.Onceyougetontheoverpassesallbetsareoffandyou’reonyourown.
InthetownofCorpusChristi,Texas,forsomereason,mostoftheshopsliningthestreetshavetheirownentrances,butyoucannotgetfromoneshoptoanotherwithoutgettingonthemainroadfirst.Thismeansthatthereissomeonetryingtogetonthemainroadeveryfivefeet,andasaresult,nooneonthemainroadwantstoletanyoneelsein.Therearetwopopularstrategiesforgettingontothemainroad,bothofwhicharesuretodrawafewshotsfromtheconcealedhandgunsthateveryoneisallowedtocarry:
Slowlypulloutintotherightlaneoftraffic.Youshouldbegoingslowenoughthatyoucoverlessthanthreeorfourinchesperhour.Inafewdaysyouwillbefarenoughoutsothatsomeonewillhavetoeitherletyouin,orhityou.
Pulloutintoanylaneoftrafficassoonasyoufeelyouareready.Makesureyouarelookinganywhereotherthantheroad,suchaslookingataninterestingtree,oratthefloorbehindyourseat.
