driving in the usa

[Elfaba]

what's folks experiences with this?

enjoyable/scary/essential??

whereabouts in what states??

any tips for stateside driving?

[djtoast]

i've only driven in california / nevada / arizona.

found it easy enough even in LA - drivers were uniformly polite and courteous everywhere i went, FAR more so than here. you'll get beeped if you're turning right and forget to GO (if safe) when the light is red, but that aside it's a doddle. the roads are all huge and cars are pretty much all autos so there's less to think about in terms of controlling the thing, making adjusting to driving on the wrong side easier.

the east coast however looks a bit hairy: more like charing x at rush hour on a friday from what i've seen.

it's a big place and having a car will certainly help you see more, don't be scared by the thought of problems and miss out.

[Elfaba]

see im going to florida in September and whilst navigation does not concern me because i used to stay there and have been numerous times since, I have always had someone else drive me about there - its the actual driving on the opposite side of the road, and using an automatic over there that concerns me. (I've never driven an automatic further than round a car parking lot!)

im staying in Orlando for the first part (well, lake buena vista area) which doesnt concern me because its possible (although not easiest/best) to get about by bus, however I'm going down south to visit my folks the second week and feel bad asking them to make a 10 hour round trip to come get me, when their work schedule's going to be pretty bad. I also dont like the lack of the independence of having my own car. I've booked one with a special cancellation waiver in case i crap out of it as it is, but just a bit wary now.

my sisters just back from the states and she said that she found the drivers to be really aggressive and didnt enjoy the driving there, which has kinda put me off a bit

it's the first time I've really been able to afford to drive over there.

I dont intend on doing any inner city driving in downtown orlando or miami or anything, so I'm figuring thats not just as bad, i guess.

whats other folks experiences?

and how hard/how long does it normally take to get used to an automatic having always driven a manual car?

[djtoast]

oh yeah, have a look at what hertz have available at the major airports, but make sure you do it in private, it'll make you make... noises...

here's just a small sample; prices shown are for a week but they WILL haggle (a lot!) if you wanna upgrade once you're at the counter; i got an XK8 convertible for £212 for a week when I was in california - that's a £70,000 car here, so quite a bargain

[Fremlin]

An automatic is really simple to adjust to, I drove quite a bit in Canada last year and it was fine. Driving on the right doesn't take much getting used to either. The only thing I found weird was being on the different side of the car and remembering that the bulk of the car is on my right as opposed to the left.

[Elfaba]

cool cheers

yeah I'm booked with Budget, and at present its been suggested that the car will either be a Ford Focus or a Chrysler Sebring or something of similar size/standard. We dont really need anything bigger to be honest, its just me and my friend - and we're not even bringing stuff over for my folks now, its just our own luggage.

id love a big monster of a car, but its too expensive the now . That and the largest car I've owned is an old shaped megane - everything else has been a 206, new mini or a 107! lol The car's are defo better and nicer over there, without a doubt. my mate who stays in tampa has a big convertible 4x4 and its awesome!

[djtoast]

driving an auto when you're used to a manual is absolutely fine; obviously you use your right foot for both brake and accelerator (same as in a manual) and simply don't use your left foot.

you will find your left arm reaching for the gearstick (and cos you'll be on the other side of the car, you'll bump it off the door) and you will find your left foot flapping about when you pull up at a "give way line" to put the non-existent clutch in, but in practice that won't actually cause you any problems. it's not like you'll hit the accelerator instead of the brake or something that's actually DANGEROUS rather than simply embarassing

you may meet the odd aggressive driver, as i say i saw NONE in the west coast and MILLIONS in the east coast but even then it was just beeping and lane cutting, no drive by action with bullets spraying etc - be as courteous as you can and you'll be fine. enjoy!

as for the size of the car, remember that roads are MUCH bigger there. and you don't need to get something big but it might be fun to get something a little different from what we get here.

if you're going to florida, don't get a convertible (the sebring sometimes comes as a convertible), you'll fry

[Elfaba]

hehe cheers

yeah its a bugger trying to put your seatbelt on again in the middle of the day with how much a parked car heats up over there without branding yourself on the metal! Think I'll get a windscreen guard to keep it cool

aye i am quite a cautious and courteous driver - I've been involved in a couple of bad crashes (neither of which were my fault) which have dented my confidence a wee bit and i think that that's the main problem.

I'm quite confident and happy and comfortable in Florida in general and like I say comfortable with the geography of it - and I've never seen any trouble in relation to drive bys etc etc, so that doesnt phase me, just the cutting in lanes and undertaking as well as overtaking etc

[djtoast]

i was really nervous on the way into LA cos i'd heard how bad traffic was and i just didn't find it bad at all; nothing compared to the M25 or central london traffic.

tell you what though, the motorways around toronto are terrifying - 95% of the traffic seems to be 1,000 tonne logging trucks doing 200mph, with about a six inch gap between them. apparently it's all american truckers driving through canada from chicago up to maine / upstate new york cos it's actually a short cut compared to staying inside the US. not fun at all.

anyhow, i'm sure you'll be fine, strap a croc to the bonnet and you'll get a wide birth!

[Elfaba]

Originally Posted by djtoast

anyhow, i'm sure you'll be fine, strap a gator to the bonnet and you'll get a wide birth!

heh fixed