Driving in California

[AngiTN]

That doesn't sound too bad. You get on the 5 and you're done. No freeway changes needed. Just get into the car pool lane when it shows up and stay there until Disneyland. Just be prepared to drive about 75-80+ MPH in the car pool lane so you don't get a line of anxious people behind you.

Thanks for the encouragement. Driving fast isn't a problem. Folks here drive 75-80 on our highways. The good and bad side of no commuter traffic, we drive fast.

 

[melni]

Thanks, everyone! I feel a lot better after reading everyone's comments. I live in a relatively small town but have driven a lot in Dallas (and once I drove in Times Square on a Saturday night--there may have been tears for that one!).

 

[3DisMunchkins]

I've driven from San Diego to DL and LA with no problems. Traffic was slow moving at times even during the days. My one word of advice and something I'll never forget is watch for the motorcycles. Not just one, but almost all of them feel that it is ok to drive between the lanes of traffic when traffic is slow. They zip through the cars to get futher ahead. Scared me to death everytime one came up beside my window!

 

[AngiTN]

I've driven from San Diego to DL and LA with no problems. Traffic was slow moving at times even during the days. My one word of advice and something I'll never forget is watch for the motorcycles. Not just one, but almost all of them feel that it is ok to drive between the lanes of traffic when traffic is slow. They zip through the cars to get futher ahead. Scared me to death everytime one came up beside my window!

Oh yeah, good reminder. Seems some idiot thinks that it's a good thing to make that legal in CA (probably other states too). I think it's a good way to get folks killed, but what do I know.

When we drove from San Francisco to Yosemite that freaked DH out for the first 50 miles or so

 

[got2sammies]

The drive from San Deigo to DL is not bad.. I dont mind driving and really had no problem.. The one thing that confused me was the motorcycles being allowing to weave in/out beside the car.. They can not do that here in Va..Just like in Va 60mph means drive 80.....

 

[VandVsmama]

We are planning a trip to southern California this June, mostly for Disneyland, but there are other places we'd like to visit. Most of all, we really want to go to the San Diego zoo. Would it be super stressful to rent a car and drive ourselves?

Whether or not it would be super stressful to rent a car and drive yourselves to the San Diego Zoo depends on one's point of view. If *ANY* freeway driving in ANY part of the US really stresses you out, then yes...driving on southern CA freeways will be stressful, too.

If you are used to driving on the right side of the road (i.e., you're not from the UK, Ireland, Australia, or other countries that drive on the left side of the road), then chances are you'll be just fine. A couple of things to consider:

1. "rush hour" is relative. In the mornings, it can start before 6am and go even past 9am. In the evenings, rush hour is in full swing by 3:30.
2. Southern California has millions of residents. Pretty much all of them have cars. Freeways are how people get around. Public transportation isn't very good.
3. All of the freeways have several lanes. In certain sections, there are 5-6 lanes going each direction. So 12 lanes of traffic in total.
4. I've found it helpful to ** NOT ** rely on my smart phone's map software while *I* am driving and there is no one else in the car to navigate...mostly because the smart phone becomes a distraction. I prefer to look up the directions on Mapquest or Google Maps ahead of time and I print out the directions old school style.
5. If you get turned around, just exit the freeway. Most freeway exists in southern CA have a gas station close by. Stop and ask for directions just like your mama told you to way back in the day.
6. Except don't exit the freeway in Inglewood, CA along the 405 freeway. Really horrible neighborhood.
7. Google Maps shows 2 ways to go from Disneyland to the San Diego Zoo: (1) go on I-5; or (2) go down I-15. I-15 is less congested, but takes 30 min longer without traffic.
8. In the middle of rush hour, drivers in the middle of LA & Orange County traffic on the freeway will, generally speaking, signal that they are changing lanes and that is your clue that they ARE moving into your lane and you better give them some room or there will be a collision. As a result, everybody just sort of gets used to going 45-70 mph (top speed varies depending on traffic volume) with what feels like the whole world tail-gating you.
9. Heaven forbid, but if you do get into a fender bender, the rule of thumb on CA freeways is to move the vehicles to the right hand shoulder as quickly & safely as possible. Don't block the lane of traffic unless your car is totally disabled or someone is seriously injured. Here in Arizona, many people will just keep their car there in the middle of the road...they get out of their cars and there they are, standing in the middle of the freeway or intersection exchanging insurance information with the other driver(s). It still baffles my mind since I grew up in northern CA and lived in Southern CA for 6 years.
10. There are lots of toll roads, but those same toll roads are free for vehicles carrying 3 or more people. So this can save you time from being in bumper to bumper traffic.
11. even if you drive on the freeway at 10:00 pm, there will be a fair amount of cars on the road...leaving you to wonder sometimes, "Where are all these people coming from & where are they going?" Yep, they all live in the LA/San Diego basin and it starts from Santa Clarita and goes all the way to the Mexico border in one large concrete jungle (with a few stretches of open green spots in between).
12. YOU CAN DO IT! It's not as scary as it sounds. Once you get on the freeway, pick a lane you're comfortable in and stay there. Pay attention to freeway interchanges so you don't do what I did one time...and in an attempt to drive from Temecula to Santa Barbara, we ended up at Magic Mountain instead of on the 101 back to Santa Barbara. LOL! That was a bit of a detour because my southern CA native husband was asleep & I was driving and not paying attention to the freeway interchange with 101, 134, and 170 freeways.

 

[VandVsmama]

I meant to also add....

If you do get lost or turned around on the roads, have no fear because you are on vacation and if you're a little late to your destination, it'll be ok.

And...
All over California (this generally happens in LA & in SF bay area; not so much in other parts of CA), the directions may have you get on Highway ___ going northbound, but you know from your car's compass (or you can just tell based on landmarks & where the sun is) that you are NOT going north...you are going east (for example).

Leaving you to wonder....wait, did I just get on the wrong freeway? I don't want to go east, I want to go north! Hence the importance of using directions that you know about ahead of time.

Case in point:
in the SF Bay Area, there's Hwy 101 N & 101 S. In San Jose, 101 N & South-bound intersect with 280 N & 280 S. However, for a portion of 280, you are actually travelling east/west.

I ran into this myself when mapping our route from Disneyland to Big Bear because we will be going to Big Bear Lake in the mountains for a couple of days at the tail end of our trip.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I've driven from San Diego to DL and LA with no problems. Traffic was slow moving at times even during the days. My one word of advice and something I'll never forget is watch for the motorcycles. Not just one, but almost all of them feel that it is ok to drive between the lanes of traffic when traffic is slow. They zip through the cars to get futher ahead. Scared me to death everytime one came up beside my window!

This is called lane splitting and is legal in CA (in fact, this is the only state where it is legal).

 

[Nonsuch]

This is called lane splitting and is legal in CA

Motorcycles will generally lane split between the number 1 and number 2 lanes.
So when in the number 1 (fast lane) or carpool (HOV) lane it's a good idea to keep toward the left, to allow more space from bikes

On the subject of carpool lanes:
Only enter and exit on a dashed line, treat the double yellow as a solid barrier.

 

[sheetz]

[*]even if you drive on the freeway at 10:00 pm, there will be a fair amount of cars on the road...leaving you to wonder sometimes, "Where are all these people coming from & where are they going?"

LOL! This is a question I get from people from out of towners, even those from fairly large cities. I guess the positive way to look at it is you'll never feel alone driving on the freeways, even at 2am.

 

[bookgirl]

My last visit to California was in 2000.

Stayed at a Comfort Inn in Anaheim. Drove from LAX to Anaheim and back, took day trips to San Diego, Studio City, Beverly Hills, New Port Beach and Sunset Strip.

This was before GPS and before I even thought knew about message boards.

I didn't really have a problem. Only three things I remember was sometimes the road/exit was called one thing going one direction and something else in the other direction. Second, their on ramps had traffic lights. I stopped on one and my passengers freaked out until I showed them the red light. Third thing was that I got turned around and ended up in one of those neighborhoods in the Hollywood Hills. Very dark, no streetlights, narrow twisty roads and lots of dead ends that turned out to be driveways.

Don't know if it's still that way but back then it was weird.

San Deigo was the easiest drive, straight south on the Interstate and they there are signs directing you straight to the zoo. Don't think I even hit main part of town before I exited and arrived at the zoo.

As for traffic, no big deal. I had driven in Houston where rush hour is 24 hours a day, both ways. In California it was the same only you were doing about 5 miles an hour. In Houston it was at 80 miles an hour. I'd take California driving over Texas any day. PS, I do a lot of Dallas driving as well, still thought California was easier.

 

[tarheelalum]

One thing people from out of southern California need to know is if you are in the number 1 lane or a single carpool lane, you need to step on the gas and move it. You need to speed or you are going to make everybody behind you get about 12 inches off your bumper and blow on there horn and make gestures with their fingers towards you. People get very angry at people who drive slow in the fast lane. If you don't want to drive fast, which is understandable, then move over to the 4, 5 or 6 lane but be careful driving on the right side of the freeway around rush hour because off ramps tend to back up on to the freeway in some locations and traffic basically stops around there and that can be very dangerous. Try not to drive during rush hour and your drive will be MUCH less stressful.

 

[ClosetDisneyJunkie]

You made me laugh - maybe that shows how bad we can be back here at home ! But I seriously came home with that impression. Those 4 way stop signs confused me a little and whenever I hesitated someone would just wave me through no honking, yelling or the rude finger hehe.

In Seattle we all sit at the 4 way stop and wave at each other for 20 minutes before someone just finally goes There are times when I prefer LA.

I actually like driving down there. Not in gridlock, obviously, nobody likes that, but when traffic is moving it really moves. People are generally pretty decisive.

It can always be stressful driving where you aren't certain where you are going. One thing to keep in mind: unless you are driving down the Santa Monica Pier (and you probably shouldn't...) there are no roads that will just dump you straight into the ocean if you make a wrong turn. If you miss an exit, re-route on your GPS and course correct, it's not the end of the world. I find that when I keep that in mind, the driving experience is less stressful when I don't know exactly where I am going.

 

[Twinkledust]

As far as I know, the toll roads are never free, regardless of how many people are in your car. If that were the case, there would be many upset FastPass users who have been over charged.

 

[CruzTerri]

Ok, here's my two cents. When traveling on a highway (or freeway) slower moving traffic should ALWAYS move to the right (oh yeah it's CA law too) to allow faster moving traffic to pass safely. That also applies to anyone who is in the carpool lane(s). If you are not traveling at the speed in which the traffic behind you wants to, you should move out of the way when it is safe and legal to do so.

At a four way stop, if two cars stop at the same time, the driver on the right has the right away. When there are four cars there, someone will usually wave or flash their lights. But you have to figure out who it's for LOL

I have seen people who at the last minute decide that oh that's their exit and across many lanes to exit the freeway. Please don't do that. Just use the next exit and get back on to come back. It's much safer and less stressful for everyone. For you, your passengers and for all the other drivers that had to slow down to accommodate your erratic driving. They will all thank you.

FYI - the comment about Inglewood is SPOT ON! Not a good neighborhood at all.

 

[AngiTN]

Ok, here's my two cents. When traveling on a highway (or freeway) slower moving traffic should ALWAYS move to the right (oh yeah it's CA law too) to allow faster moving traffic to pass safely. That also applies to anyone who is in the carpool lane(s). If you are not traveling at the speed in which the traffic behind you wants to, you should move out of the way when it is safe and legal to do so.

Question, seeing how we have no traffic we do not have car pool lanes so I have never used one. I have seen them around in other cities. Are they not on the far left lane? If you move over to let some pass because you are driving too slow doesn't that put you right smack dab on the fast lane for single driver cars? Driving fast isn't a problem for me, I'm sorry to say (since speeding is illegal and all), so I don't for see it to be a problem but it did make me curious about the logistics of a slow car moving over into the fast lane

 

[CruzTerri]

Question, seeing how we have no traffic we do not have car pool lanes so I have never used one. I have seen them around in other cities. Are they not on the far left lane? If you move over to let some pass because you are driving too slow doesn't that put you right smack dab on the fast lane for single driver cars? Driving fast isn't a problem for me, I'm sorry to say (since speeding is illegal and all), so I don't for see it to be a problem but it did make me curious about the logistics of a slow car moving over into the fast lane

Hmm, well, then I would guess you would keep moving to the right to get to those slower lanes

 

[TheLanes]

Question, seeing how we have no traffic we do not have car pool lanes so I have never used one. I have seen them around in other cities. Are they not on the far left lane? If you move over to let some pass because you are driving too slow doesn't that put you right smack dab on the fast lane for single driver cars? Driving fast isn't a problem for me, I'm sorry to say (since speeding is illegal and all), so I don't for see it to be a problem but it did make me curious about the logistics of a slow car moving over into the fast lane

Some of the carpool lanes have two lanes so use the right one. If you're not comfortable doing the speed of everyone else in the one lane carpools, exit at the earliest chance (since sometimes they are separated by concrete barriers), and move to the lane you're comfortable in.

Speeds in carpool lanes without much traffic is usually 70-80.

 

[spellhex]

I lived in LA for four years and have made many road trips to Disneyland and San Diego.

If you can, avoid 405. The joke among locals is that it's called 405 because it takes "4 or 5 hours" to get anywhere using it.

The FastTrak lanes are free to vehicles with 2+ people, but only if you have a FastTrak box. Otherwise, you get a ticket. Both FastTrak and Carpool lanes in SoCal have entrances and exits (i.e. you can't always immediately get in/out of one) so keep an eye out for that.

When driving surface streets in Los Angeles (especially downtown LA), you'll notice that there are a lot of unprotected left turn lanes and little opportunity to turn left due to traffic. So there's an unofficial rule that three waiting cars from the left turn lane can basically run the red light.

There are parts of I-5 (particularly in LA County) that have very narrow lanes and no left shoulder. If you feel uncomfortable driving 70-80mph only six inches from a concrete barrier, please get out of the fast lane instead of going 50-60.

Motorcyclists split lanes often, driving between lanes of traffic pretty fast. Make sure to keep an eye out for them.

Inglewood was known as "Inglehood" in college. However, it also had the Costco everyone went to and an In-N-Out, so we went there anyways. Bad, but not too bad. If you're on 110, I wouldn't exit anywhere south of the Exposition Blvd exit. That's the heart of South Central LA and ghetto as hell.

Once you get out of LA, driving 5 is easy. You can tell the difference in quality of road the instant you cross the LA to Orange County border, it's hilarious. But really, 5 after LA is really quite beautiful. Goes right by the ocean at points.

 

[lorijohnhill]

Another thing to note with the carpool lanes in SoCal is that there are specific entrance/exit points. In Sacramento you can enter and exit the lane as you wish, but in the southern part of the state it's more like a separate road in some parts. Just be sure to read the signs and you'll be fine.