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Looking for tips for driving in the USA? You came to the right place! Everything you need to know about driving in America is just here!
If you come from anywhere but North-America and go to the USA, you might be surprised by some of the driving rules in the USA.
We all assume that driving is roughly the same everywhere and there is no massive differences but yet, the United States do it differently!
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There are a few things that might surprise you. Nothing we can’t deal with but it’s always better to know it and understand it. It will avoid you some problems.
First of all, it is important to say that road and traffic engineering in the USA is spot on! It’s been very well thought. A few things will surprise you at first but when you think about it, you’ll realise that everything has been conceived in a very user-friendly way.
Americans use the car as the main transportation. Public transport, except in very big cities like New-York, is very limited. If you want to get around, you need a car.
Also, the USA is a huge country. There is room to build this road infrastructure and when they started, a couple of centuries ago, there was nothing. This means nothing to be bothered about or having to work with.
In Europe, we have a lot of odd road designs because we had to work with old Romans roads or medieval streets. In the USA, they built everything from scratch, exactly as they wanted and they did a great job at it.
Here are a few tips for driving in the USA that will make your life easier.
1. You drive on the righthand side of the road in the USA
Let’s start with an easy and famous one. If you come from continental Europe, you won’t care much about this one.
If you are from the UK or Australia though, that’s something to be aware of and careful about.
In the USA, you will drive on the righthand side of the road.
This means the steering wheel is on the lefthand side of the car.
Ultimately, things are the same, just on the other side.
There is no quick way to get used to it.
Some people are more disturbed by that than others. Ultimately, there is nothing to stress about. It’s not that difficult.
The only thing you need to remember is to stay on the right.
Most of the time, you won’t even notice you are driving on the other side of the road.
The problem usually becomes more obvious when you need to turn at an intersection.
When that happens, just remember or even say out loud ‘”right side”.
When cars are in front of you (which should be most of the time), just follow them. No need to stress.
If you are the first car in the line, that’s where you will need to remember.
If you are truly stressed about that, I would recommend writing or draw something on your right hand.
As you will see it on the steering wheel, this should help you to remember which side to go.
2. You can turn right at a red light
This is one is from far the main difference with any other country. Going at a red light? I know, this sounds insane.
This goes against everything we’ve been told before! But yet that’s a great rule! Super handy.
It’s been introduced in the ’70s after a petrol crash in order to reduce petrol consumption.
Basically, if you are at a red light and want to turn right, you only have to check that nobody is coming on your left.
If it’s free, you can go. If someone is on your left though, you have to stop.
Their green light has priority onto you and so it should.
Remember, we drive on the right-hand side of the road in the USA.
This means that if you turn right, cars can only be coming from your left.
You won’t be cutting the road. This means that if nobody is on your left, technically there is no point in waiting and blocking traffic. You can just go.
As a matter of fact, you have to go. If you don’t the drivers behind you will get very impatient because they expect you to go.
3. State laws
Even though the fundamentals rules such as on which side we drive are countrywide, most of the driving laws are actually to a state level.
This is very important especially if you are going to drive in a different state.
The same thing, if you drove in the USA before and are now going somewhere else, do not assume it will be the same thing.
Road state laws change drastically from one state to another!
For example, in Florida, you are allowed to text while waiting at a red light. In other states, you could almost go to prison for doing such a thing.
Just bear in mind, almost nothing is a countrywide rule.
In order to make sure you are not making any mistakes, it is safe to check the rules of the state you are going to on the official website.
Once you arrive and start driving, you will notice that there are a lot of signs telling you the state laws.
You will be reminded of them all the time so don’t worry too much if you don’t remember everything. Speed limits are also set by the state.
Just keep an eye on the signs and you will be all good.
4. Streets names are numbers
All American cities have the same setup. It’s divided into two parts south and north with the central avenue in the middle.
Avenues are horizontal and Streets are vertical.
In order to know where you are located, you just need to start counting from the middle point which would be central avenue and 1st street.
Knowing that the distance between two streets or avenue is about 100m, called a block.
Therefore if you are at the corner with 5th avenue north and 2nd street, you would need to go 200m east and 500m south to reach central.
This comes particularly handy for your sense of orientation.
Basically, whenever you need to go somewhere, you will always have an idea of where it’s located.
Some streets do have actual names like in Europe but it’s pretty rare.
In Europe, we built our roads over 2000 years, it was then easy to come up with names that would be a good reflection of the street.
In the USA, everything was built very quickly. It would have been hard to come up with that many names at once. The number system came in as very handy.
5. Most cars are automatic
Driving in the USA is pretty straightforward.
It’s always straight which means you can either go straight, turn at 90 degrees or do a u-turn.
There are lights at every intersection which means every block. As mentioned earlier, a block is 100m.
This means that you always drive straight but have to stop every 100m. For that reason, automatic cars come in very handy and in fact, became the standard in the USA.
Everyone drives an automatic and it’s actually almost hard to find a manual.
If you hire a car, they might offer a cheaper rate for a manual car but believe me you will want an automatic.
Even if you love driving manual cars, the USA are just not a good place to do so.
You won’t get the enjoyable elements that come with a manual but will get all the hassle.
6. Traffic Indications are painted on the road
Another thing Americans are really good at when it comes to driving, is the on-road markings.
Every sign you can think of will also be painted on the road.
This includes speed limits, directions, stop signs… everything!
Also, they use different colours for different meanings.
The yellow lines, for example, are meant to show the limit between the two driving directions.
A white line would only indicate the lane limits.
This means that you can have for example 5 lanes on each side with white lines and a big yellow one in the middle.
Some roads can be very wide with up to 16 lanes altogether, this yellow line is very handy as you always know you are on the side you should be.
Remember, we drive on the right side, this means that the yellow line should always be on your left. If it’s on your right, you are doing something wrong!
7. Gas Stations Are a Bit Different
This might not be the biggest problem you will have in the USA but it’s worth mentioning as it will surprise a few Europeans.
Petrol is pretty cheap in the USA and is counted in gallons. So when you see the prices, $2 is for a gallon so 4.5 liters. You can fill up your tank for less than $30 sometimes!
You can pay with cash or card:
If you pay with cash, you need to go inside first and ask for the amount you want to be credited on the pump you parked in front of. $20 should be a good place to start, $30 if your tank is almost empty.
Once you paid, it will be credited on the pump and you can go and put whatever you want in for a value of $20. It will automatically stop once you hit the $20 mark.
If you don’t end up using the full amount, just go back in and they will give you back the money not used. There is no point in trying to fill your car first, it will just not work.
Always go inside first if you are paying in cash.
If you are paying by card, the pump will only take a credit card. Credit cards are the norm in the USA and in most cases, a debit card would not work.
Petrol stations are one of these cases. If you are paying with a credit card, just put it in and follow the instructions.
You can put as much as you want in, there is no cap, the exact amount will be deducted from your card. If you wish to pay with a debit card, you will generally need to do the same process than for cash and go pay inside.
They need to block a certain amount to be sure to be paid. They will re-credit it on your card if there is something left.
Some pumps will take your debit card directly however it’s pretty rare.
Secondly, it’s a fairly insure thing to do.
There is always the chance that your card would get copied and then money being stolen from you. If that happens on a credit card, you can claim it back to your provider.
If it’s on a debit card, this money will just be lost. Not that I want to be pessimistic here but better safe than sorry.
Another thing to note (as funny as it may sound) but most of the time the pipes at the pump are very short. This means you need to make sure to park on the same side than your petrol trap.
In Europe, we generally can go all the way around. This can happen in the USA too but it’s pretty unusual so just check where your petrol trap is otherwise you could end up crediting a pump and then realise you need to both move your card and go back in for them to change the pump.
8. There aren’t many speed cameras
Speed cameras in the USA are pretty uncommon compared to Europe or Australia.
You won’t see many if any. That having been said, this does not mean there is no law enforcement!
Generally, there are police cars everywhere, ready to catch you if you are speeding.
They will chase you and pull you over if you were speeding. Believe me, you do not want to try that so just be careful.
9. You can overtake on both side
Although it’s not an actual written rule, this is common practice. In the USA you can overtake on the left as much as on the right.
This is a pretty good technique to improve traffic as this means you will never be stuck behind a slow vehicle on the wrong lane.
But yet this is something you need to keep in mind. Just always check mirrors on both sides as a car can be coming from anywhere.
10. A stop is a stop
As silly as it may sound I will still put it there. When there is a stop, you need to fully stop your vehicle before going.
If this sounds obvious to you, perfect you are on the right track! But I’ll still explain my point.
When there isn’t a traffic light, there is a stop.
Very often you get really good visibility on the intersection and can appreciate that nobody is coming so when you get to the stop, you might be tempted to just slow down and keep going. Do not do that.
Always mark a full stop.
The American police is intransigent with this. A stop is a stop whether you could see for the past 2mins nobody was there or not.
As mentioned previously, police cars can be hidden anywhere. If they see you doing that, they will pull you over and fine you.
11. You must stop for school buses
Again, this is something you won’t be familiar with if you are from Europe but school buses are a big deal in the USA.
You can easily spot them as they are yellow (yes, just like in the movies). When they are on the move, there is nothing to worry about.
The thing you need to be careful about is when they stop to drop off or pick up the kids.
When a school bus stops, you need to stop as well.
This is the case even if you are not in the same lane.
When the school bus stops, everyone stops. That’s as simple as that.
Even if you are 3 lanes down.
The school bus will put its lights on so it should be quite obvious that something is going on.
But it is important to know that as it’s not something we really do in Europe and it can be confusing at first.
Also, if you don’t stop, you could get a fine. We want to avoid that.
12. Speed limit signs don’t have a red circle
This is not exactly a tip but something to be aware of.
In Europe, UK and Australia, the speed limit signs feature a big red circle. There is a white background, the number written in black and surrounded by a red sign.
This is how we know what the speed limit is and that it is mandatory. In the UK for example, we can sometimes see ‘recommended’ speed signs and they don’t have this red circle.
That’s how you know it’s not mandatory.
Well, in the USA, you won’t see that red circle. Speed limit signs are just black and white (or yellow).
It’s really important that you understand this is the speed limit as it can be mistaken for something else.
They are not as obvious as the signs you are used to and you could miss them without realising it.
Although this list is not exhaustive, it should give you a good idea of what it is like driving in the USA and what are the rules.
Just remember, everything is very well thought so you will be just fine!
13. Exit numbers on the highway are determined by the number of miles
In the UK or France, exit numbers on motorways use following numbers. There is exit 1, followed by exit 2 and so goes on.
In the USA, the exit number corresponds to the number of miles from the beginning of the road. This means that you can have Exit 63 followed by Exit 71.
When you think about it, it’s actually a very good system and it’s a great way to know how many miles you have left (or have already done) but it’s important to be aware of it.
You may miss your exit if you don’t know about this system as you would be waiting for more exits.
Please note that exit numbers reset at state borders so if you are driving interstate, you will see some changes.
14. Don’t use your phone while driving
This is something that is not relevant just for the USA. I would give the same advice for every country in the world but it’s worth mentioning it anyway.
Restrictions on the use of mobile phone vary between states.
As previously mentioned, Florida allowed texting while waiting at a red light but this is quite rare. Most states completely prohibit the use of mobile phones and the fines can be heavy.
You can find a summary of the restrictions here.
That said, as it can be hard to follow when you change state, it’s better to assume that you are not allowed to use your phone. It will keep you out of trouble as well as keeping you safe.
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