In America, or actually in Los Angeles, the legal age to drive is 16. So I have been driving since I was a junior in high school. Obviously, when I go to places that I have been to before when I was little (i.e. Downtown Disney or South Coast Plaza) I am driving by instinct... I don't even look up the direction, I just kind of follow where my heart tells me to go or by recognizing the familiar buildings around it. For this, I am quite amazed by human's long-term memory. In addition, I do believe that having a sense of direction is hereditary, both of my parents have a great sense of direction. Yet, the driving experiences this time around is quite different because I am no longer a teenage and I am much more active around LA County (as oppose to the OC before.) I honestly think the number of cars has increased significantly in the past few years, thus driving on freeway isn't as pleasant (and safe for that matter.) I also have to break through my reluctance of learning to parallel park. I have had multiple experiences of getting stuck on freeway due to roadblocks either through constructions or by the police because there was an accident ahead.
Unfortunately, I'm not a stranger when it comes to car accidents. I have been in 4 total, 2 when I was driving, 2 when I was in someone else's car. A note to make is that ALL of these accidents were caused by someone else. This shows that even when you are obeying all the law and being extra careful, that doesn't mean that someone else is. Hence, this is why I think driving is a dare. You are out on the road on a dare to see who you will meet on the street today. Whenever I see people doing dangerous cuts and swirling all over the freeway, I let out a cold sweat for them.
Tips from my personal driving experiences:
1. Never handle (or even touch for that matter) your cellphone when you're driving (or even stopping at a red light.) If you need to pick up the phone when driving, wear an earphone or turn on the bluetooth in your car. If you are not familiar with the streets, get a GPS (I recommend Garmin), don't rely on Google Map on your phone. With that said, don't text either... I think the recent AT&T Campaign has really gotten to me.
2. For some area in LA, certain intersections has restrictions on what time you can and cannot make a left turn, U-turn, etc. Watch out for those instructions by the traffic signs, otherwise, people will honk at you like crazy. (But when they do, stay calm, you'll get used to it. LA people are very impatient... especially around traffic hours.)
3. Parking patrol in the LA area is very aggressive (by the way, when I say "LA" I mean areas like downtown LA, West LA, Hollywood, Beverly Hills.) So always double, if not triple, check the parking signs before you leave your car because I have gotten 2 parking tickets so far because I didn't read the warning signs carefully. From personal experiences, if stores/restaurants have valet services, just go for it. It's not worth spending over $50 on a parking ticket when you only have to pay (max) $10 for valet, right? Also if you don't have a front license plate, go get one before you come to LA... 2 of my friends got ticketed for it. Citation fee doubles link for your reference.
4. Always look behind your shoulder when making a turn. This action always freaks out people from Taiwan, but it's because in Taiwan there's so much traffic and cars travel so closely so the chance of you missing a car is less frequent. But in LA, cars travel at a fast speed and the roads are much wider, so it's common for a car to be in your blind spot.
5. Avoid driving behind/near big trucks. I have had to avoid some random metal plate that fling out (or bounced off) of a truck when I was driving home one night. It was so dangerous because I had made a sudden swerve to avoid it. Although the metal plate chipped off a part of my bumper, but I'm grateful that was all the damage it had done.
6. It's actually faster to drive on the freeway even if there was traffic on it, as oppose to driving local (especially when you are in the LA area.) The reason being, the freeway is usually the fastest shortcut to your destination so... just stuck it through! When you change to local, often times you have to deal with heavier traffic with all the traffic lights. Look on the bright side, LA radio station understand the misery of LA commuters so usually during traffic hours there will be upbeat music playing non-stop and on Fridays they will even have special Friday DJ remixes.
7. Last but not least, Los Angelians CANNOT drive in rain, because
In closing, never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly ;)
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