driving in the USA

nelly_2

I always think its a good idea to make a sticker for the back window saying " were from England, were on the wrong side of the road and were scared, dont hassle us"

Seriously though,

I got lucky I arrived at 11 pm in Florida so the roads were empty. One thing I was glad I did was fully research my route from the airport to the hotel before I left England.
That 1st drive is quite stressfull (wrong side of road, wrong side of car etc etc) so knowing where I was going helped a lot.

Also make sure you have cents on arrival, 50's, dollars for the toll roads, and leave them in the glove box, so there always handy,

The Americans seem to be much more patiant on the road then us, and remember at any one time, there are literally thousands of other English in exactly the same boat as you.

Heres a good site for directions tips etc;

Im presuming Orlando here

http://www.orlando-maps.info/driving_directions/default.htm

Esit one thing I know is it is illegal to drive without you license actually on you.

Lally

The thing I hate about driving there is that at junctions there is no right of way, they have a stupid 'who got there first goes first' rule.

Baz-Bee

Watch your speed. The Highway Patrol/State troopers who police the interstates just love to get you with their speed traps. I am usually very good at spotting these but got caught for $200 fine for doing 93mph just outside Salt Lake City Utah.

I would also say that the US road signs are not generally as good as ours. You often do not get as much prior notice of what turning/intersection is coming up until you are nearly on it.

Also on the major highways the junctions are not numbered like on our motorways, but on the mileage from the state border. So if you have directions that say leave at intersection 215, 215 is not how many intersections there have been to that point, but the miles from the state border. You just need to know whether you are counting up or down from the state border.

The other rule to remember is that in the US the odd road numbers go north - south and the even road numbers go east - west.

BlueVinney

Beware distances shown on signs to obstructions or hazards are in feet. So 'Intersection 500 feet' seems a long way to us as we think in yards or metres. Remember that would be less than 200 yards or metres.

Finishrich

Driving in the USA is quite straight forward. One tip though, if you're hiring a car find out how the windscreen wipers switch on before you set off on your journey. It's not much fun when the torrential rain suddenly starts and you can't find the dam thing :eek:

pavlovs_dog

lol@finishrich!!!!!!!!!!!!!

about the not reversing into parking spaces - do american cars not have rear license plates then?!

and is there much difference between a manual and an automatic?

Ginger_Pudding

pavlovs_dog wrote:

about the not reversing into parking spaces - do american cars not have rear license plates then?!

and is there much difference between a manual and an automatic?

I thought American cars had rear plates but not front ones , or have I got it the wrong way around? More than likely

Automatics are easy peasy to drive , put the lever into drive , put your foot on the gas and away you go.

Tojo_Ralph

Don't get suckered into hiring a bus!! Stick to a 4 door family car with aircon... You'll find its the best in traffic, cheap as chips to fill up, and you'll get to park it anywhere, especially the spaces the monster truck squad leave behind.

The biggest frustration with driving in the USA is that due to the non existance of any road craft, motorists pick a speed, pick a lane, and stick to it!!! Changing only when other motorists least expect it!!!

And they drive very slow by comparison to the UK. The Feds are pretty hot on the whole speeding thing, no grace given because it was 5-00am, you're miles from anywhere, the weather was dry, sky bright, nobody in sight, they'll still nab ya.

From a safety point of view, the biggest issues arise when you realise that the driving is the easy bit, remembering to look the right way is the tough bit, because at T junctions, crossroads etc, the traffic is always coming from the "other" direction to that which you' expect. So the golden rule is, If you are stationary, think hard before you move off. It's kinda easy to stop for a coffee, pull out of the car park onto a side road, straight into oncoming traffic. :eek:

On the speed thing to, speed limits can vary by night and day ..... If you end up in Moose country, the speed limit drops during the hours of darkness.

Another thing, road debris can be an issue, because our cousins across the pond are big on filling up their pick ups with crap, not securing it, and bounding alone losing it as they go

So to cap it all.... If your rolling alone the open highway at 50mph, relax.... If you are manouvering, pay real attention.

Baz_Bee_2

One other thing. If you park on the road always park facing the same way as the traffic direction. In most (all?) states it is illegal to park facing the oncoming traffic.

N9eav

I agree with a previous post. Look at the cars on offer in the parking area, and then negotiate an upgrade. There are some great things to drive. Me and the missus had a convertable last time for an extra £35 a week. Best fun in ages!!!!
Watch your speed, instant tickets are common place, and every patrol car has a speed gun in it!!!, They are not always as visible as ours.