How to Drive In The City

Have you been driving in the city for most of your life? You're in a big shock once you drive in the city; the traffic is ten times worse, the roads are extremely narrow with tons of potholes. Parking is a massive pain not to mention expensive.

If you've been driving in a suburb you're probably spoiled by the nice big lanes and smooth roads. Streets in the suburbs of California sometimes have 5 or 6 lanes. You're going to be in for a shock because cities like L.A have many roads with only 2 lanes! Yes, the city has more people and the streets have less lanes! You can imagine the traffic and congestion; it can take half an hour just to travel a mile.

The key to parking in the city is to look for "street parking", these are the spaces without the meters. Be on the lookout for signs though, don't park there if the signs forbid and don't park at red curbs or if it says "truck loading only". Enforcement is strict and some places will not hesitate to tow your car! If you need to park in a garage or public parking structure expect to pay at least ten bucks. Meters are a pain because they are usually only good for two hours at a time and you have to keep coming back to put quarters in the meter.

Be prepared to parallel park in the city; parking spaces are extremely scarce and if you are lucky enough to find a spot chances are you'll have to parallel park so you better brush up on your parking skills before you arrive in the big city.

It's almost near impossible to make a u-turn in the city. You either have to make one illegally (which I don't recommend) or you have to go around the block which takes forever due to the traffic. In the suburbs it's so easy; you can u-turn pretty much everywhere and there are even signs which indicate when you can make one.

In the city you have those left turns where you have to move up three quarters of the way and yield to traffic and you can drive when it's clear or when the light turns red. There isn't much of that in the suburbs; you just turn when the "arrow" turns green. It's much more hectic and stressul in the city when you have to yield.

Yes, driving in the city can be difficult and complicated. Luckily most cities also offer excellent mass transit so you can get a day off when you don't feel like dealing with parking and traffic.

by : Jacqueline Star