People in LA are pretty nice for it being the 2nd biggest city

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by montréaliste

Montreal like NYC has no turn on red, and it is usual for drivers to be impatient and turn before a ped crosses, even on narrow streets in Montreal. The fact that there is a dedicated green light for right turns for cars that doesn’t placate drivers’ impulses is telling.

The compounding of pedestrian/cyclist/car/truck driver is sometimes hairy when they come together with little discipline to boot, and confusion or visibility issues.

Ah, the no turn on red in NYC. A classic.

NYC is a massive troll when it comes to driving, it's just how the universe works. IF you NEED to take an exit or a certain road... on that day... on that time... that road will be closed due to construction or man hole repair, and so your forced to take a detour to just get to a block that's 500 ft away, and it will take you 20 minutes. Doesn't matter what day or time it is. If you said you need to go to a portion of Queens 5 months from now, the day you need to be there, some construction will be occurring on the one road you need to be in.

The issue with the no turn on red is big in Brooklyn. Because there's always a damn truck that needs to make a left, and the lights... the lights... are green for like 3 seconds. Than your back to waiting. And just when you make that right, some old guy in a walker decides to cross. He doesn't wait for it to be red... no... he crosses when its your right away.

Honorable mentions to double parked trucks that always double park with no warning. NYC driving can be massively frustrating. It's not even the high traffic but the little things that make it frustrating.

Lastly, bathrooms are rare, unless you go into a McDonalds or Starbucks and so, if you park, since there's no parking available, ever... you'll get an orange enveloped ticket. You could be in NYC's equivalent of the Chernobyl exclusion zone, no people in any directions but if you park 1 ft past a fire hydrant, and are only gone for 30 seconds, you'll find an orange ticket envelope waiting for you. Yes... they are that quick and sneaky, the ticket maids.

[10023]

Originally Posted by dave8721

Its pretty necessary considering the amount of super slow drivers who love to just hang out in the left lane.

Well, this is much more rare in Europe than the US too.

I have tried to introduce the German custom of blinking your brights behind a slower car in the left lane a couple of times as a way of politely asking them to get the fuck out of the way, but American drivers rarely seem to understand.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by chris08876

Ah, the no turn on red in NYC. A classic.

NYC is a massive troll when it comes to driving, it's just how the universe works. IF you NEED to take an exit or a certain road... on that day... on that time... that road will be closed due to construction or man hole repair, and so your forced to take a detour to just get to a block that's 500 ft away, and it will take you 20 minutes. Doesn't matter what day or time it is. If you said you need to go to a portion of Queens 5 months from now, the day you need to be there, some construction will be occurring on the one road you need to be in.

The issue with the no turn on red is big in Brooklyn. Because there's always a damn truck that needs to make a left, and the lights... the lights... are green for like 3 seconds. Than your back to waiting. And just when you make that right, some old guy in a walker decides to cross. He doesn't wait for it to be red... no... he crosses when its your right away.

Honorable mentions to double parked trucks that always double park with no warning. NYC driving can be massively frustrating. It's not even the high traffic but the little things that make it frustrating.

Lastly, bathrooms are rare, unless you go into a McDonalds or Starbucks and so, if you park, since there's no parking available, ever... you'll get an orange enveloped ticket. You could be in NYC's equivalent of the Chernobyl exclusion zone, no people in any directions but if you park 1 ft past a fire hydrant, and are only gone for 30 seconds, you'll find an orange ticket envelope waiting for you. Yes... they are that quick and sneaky, the ticket maids.

Banning turns on red is kind of a no-brainer in NYC, though. Drivers would otherwise need to block the crosswalk in order to to see if traffic is clear to safely make a right turn.

[chris08876]

^^^

I wish they increased the timing of the lights though. They so short. When I use to drive in the city for work, Brooklyn was always a nightmare to drive in. But I swear those light timings are terrible. Thing just turns green and than rapidly to red.

I'd rather drive in Manhattan than Brooklyn. Its actually less frustrating.

I like Queens for driving (my 2nd favorite borough).

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by 10023

Well, this is much more rare in Europe than the US too.

I have tried to introduce the German custom of blinking your brights behind a slower car in the left lane a couple of times as a way of politely asking them to get the fuck out of the way, but American drivers rarely seem to understand.

They're probably not paying attention, or purposely ignoring you.

Germany seems more heavy-handed in enforcing the no driving in the passing lane rule, though. It's dangerous on the autobahn.

[10023]

^ It’s dangerous anywhere. So is driving slowly (or at the speed limit) in the passing lane.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by 10023

^ It’s dangerous anywhere. So is driving slowly (or at the speed limit) in the passing lane.

I probably should have said that Germany thinks of safety responsibility differently than here in the U.S. We put a lot of emphasis on speed here; it is overwhelmingly the most enforced traffic rule. Having no posted speed limit on large sections of the autobahn means that other violations get targeted for enforcement more often.

[Xing]

Originally Posted by chris08876

Sounds like Los Angeles has more left lane hoggers than the Northeast, and that's not good!

To be fair, I think the issue is most severe just outside of LA. People in the city tend to drive better.

[ChrisLA]

Originally Posted by chris08876

Sounds like Los Angeles has more left lane hoggers than the Northeast, and that's not good!

I don’t know if that’s true, it really depends on where you are in the metro area of LA. I don’t seem to notice this so much when I’m driving in central LA, or even the Inland Empire, or Orange County. Now if you’re in the west San Fernando Valley closer to Calabasas along The 101 freeway and through Thousand Oaks all the way up to Oxnard well you better expect it because there are a lot of slow drivers camping out in the fast lane. I can’t imagine this happening on the 405, or the 110 freeway going into downtown LA.

[ChrisLA]

Originally Posted by 10023

Well, this is much more rare in Europe than the US too.

I have tried to introduce the German custom of blinking your brights behind a slower car in the left lane a couple of times as a way of politely asking them to get the fuck out of the way, but American drivers rarely seem to understand.

Oh I’m sure most Americans understand what it mean, it’s just that many take offense to it and will even drive slower. I think the younger generation feels like you can’t tell me what to do and then there is road rage. I see it every day, driving habits have changed dramatically since I started driving 39 years ago.

[10023]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I probably should have said that Germany thinks of safety responsibility differently than here in the U.S. We put a lot of emphasis on speed here; it is overwhelmingly the most enforced traffic rule. Having no posted speed limit on large sections of the autobahn means that other violations get targeted for enforcement more often.

People drive in a manner that makes it safe to drive faster.

And again, the drivers are just better. Not inherently of course, but the standards are much higher. I don’t know the stats for Germany, but expect they are similar to the UK. In England only 40-45% of people pass their driving test on the first try, and another 15% or so on the second attempt (like making partner at Goldman, they generally tell people that if they fail twice it’s probably not worth trying again). So basically 60% of the population (at least the people who try to get a licence) are deemed worthy of driving, and the rest have to take the bus, tube, cycle, Uber, whatever.

This would never work in the US where people are totally reliant on cars outside of a few cities, of course, but obviously telling 40% of people that they’re just not a good enough driver to get a licence results in much better drivers on average.

[proghousehead]

^prob why the driving test in NYC is significantly harder than most locales in the USA.

[JManc]

Driving NYC (esp. Manhattan) is worse than a triple root canal. And then there are the pot holes everywhere. Half of the suspension on my old Civic is till on the FDR somewhere.

[hauntedheadnc]

Originally Posted by JManc

Driving NYC (esp. Manhattan) is worse than a triple root canal. And then there are the pot holes everywhere. Half of the suspension on my old Civic is till on the FDR somewhere.

But think of the stories you get to tell. I can truthfully say I've driven through and then all around Times Square, and not only that but I had to accidentally kidnap my husband's mother in order to do it.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by hauntedheadnc

But think of the stories you get to tell. I can truthfully say I've driven through and then all around Times Square, and not only that but I had to accidentally kidnap my husband's mother in order to do it.

I had to pee into a Monster energy can drink while stuck on the Cross-Bronx the day before Memorial Day. Was traveling from a client site in Long Island, and of course, no one was moving, at one point for 10 minutes straight. Nearest bathroom was less than a mile away but we weren't moving. Anyways, used a razer to cut a hole into the can, as to not result in a laceration and I missed. All over the jeans, hands, while stuck on the Cross-Bronx. And I didn't have (because I was in a work truck) tinted windows. So timing was essential. And also throwing out the can, littering.

From Deer Park Long Island to Central NJ took me 4 hours. Four horrible hours. It was also hot as hell, and the AC didn't work as much, and when your on the Cross-Bronx, two congested lanes either way, so a below-grade confined space full of Civics with garbage bags for windows and truckers.

[proghousehead]

Originally Posted by chris08876

I had to pee into a Monster energy can drink while stuck on the Cross-Bronx the day before Memorial Day. Was traveling from a client site in Long Island, and of course, no one was moving, at one point for 10 minutes straight. Nearest bathroom was less than a mile away but we weren't moving. Anyways, used a razer to cut a hole into the can, as to not result in a laceration and I missed. All over the jeans, hands, while stuck on the Cross-Bronx. And I didn't have (because I was in a work truck) tinted windows. So timing was essential. And also throwing out the can, littering.

From Deer Park Long Island to Central NJ took me 4 hours. Four horrible hours. It was also hot as hell, and the AC didn't work as much, and when your on the Cross-Bronx, two congested lanes either way, so a below-grade confined space full of Civics with garbage bags for windows and truckers.

The car pee is an art form in itself. Oh the stories I wish I could share.

The longest I was stuck in traffic was 4 hours from the corner of Broome street and Broadway until the Holland tunnel entrance. That’s less than a mile. Maybe half a mile (not certain). 4 fucking hours. Granted it was a Summer evening on a Friday. But still. Mercifully, all the street carts along the route kept me well fed (halal hot dogs) and hydrated (cokes) throughout the ordeal.

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Funny a Chicagoan would bring up driving in LA...

Some time ago, I read online about (hehe), a Chicagoan complaining about driving in LA. AND, he brought up how he wonders why many LA drivers, while turning right on a green light when the pedestrian signal also turns to "WALK " and the pedestrian is on the opposite corner and starts to cross, walking towards the turning car, that the driver just doesn't go, but instead waits for the pedestrian(s) to finish crossing before making the turn. He said that pisses him off.

Well, in California, you MUST wait for the pedestrian to finish crossing before making your turn. If you don't, and a cop sees you, they can give you a ticket. My dad has a friend who got a ticket for that reason.

And actually, in many busy parts of the city of LA, many drivers actually DO gun it and turn right even though pedestrians are approaching in the crosswalk with a walk signal. Drivers in the suburbs and in the less busy parts of LA usually do wait for the pedestrian to complete crossing before making the right turn.

Note that when a pedestrian is crossing on the walk signal but is walking AWAY from you, towards the opposite corner, you don't have to wait for them to reach the other side before you make the turn. I usually wait until they're almost to the middle of the street before I make the right-hand turn, or if it's a wide street, I wait until they clear one lane before I make the turn.

I thought that was just the case with yellow (school) crossing sidewalks, no?

[10023]

Originally Posted by chris08876

I had to pee into a Monster energy can drink while stuck on the Cross-Bronx the day before Memorial Day. Was traveling from a client site in Long Island, and of course, no one was moving, at one point for 10 minutes straight. Nearest bathroom was less than a mile away but we weren't moving. Anyways, used a razer to cut a hole into the can, as to not result in a laceration and I missed. All over the jeans, hands, while stuck on the Cross-Bronx. And I didn't have (because I was in a work truck) tinted windows. So timing was essential. And also throwing out the can, littering.

From Deer Park Long Island to Central NJ took me 4 hours. Four horrible hours. It was also hot as hell, and the AC didn't work as much, and when your on the Cross-Bronx, two congested lanes either way, so a below-grade confined space full of Civics with garbage bags for windows and truckers.

Yikes. That sucks.

I have definitely peed on the side of the LIE before but I had someone else in the car to man the wheel.