Guidelines for driving in Austin, TX
So yesterday Kirsten mentioned an article about how Austin has some of the worst drivers (she probably mentioned it after I whined that yet again someone had almost killed me on the road...). I went ahead and Googled "Austin has the worst drivers" and found the following blurb on the Austinist:
http://www.austinist.com/2007/06/15/austinites_rank.php
Being that I'm a true Austinite, I thought I would impart, in all my 13 years of driving here, some handy guidelines on how to navigate the streets and highways of ATX....
Some driving guidelines for Austin….
1. Never look in your rearview mirror while backing out of a parking space. Nobody will be backing out at the same time you are, right? And forget someone walking behind your car – if they see the reverse lights, they’ll stop…
2. If someone puts on their blinker to merge on or change lanes, immediately speed up. It’s an unwritten rule in Austin that you are never supposed to let anyone in your lane.
3. Never put your turn signal on if you want to turn right into a parking area or driveway – the people behind you are supposed to know that if your brake lights briefly come on you may or may not be turning.
4. If you are on your cell phone in your Ford Expedition or F350 Double-Cab or Chevy Tahoe (or Hybrid Prius, we have a lot of those), you must slow down at least 10 to 15 miles below the posted speed limit. If you can, start migrating into another lane as well.
5. If you are driving in the left lane of the highway and are going the posted speed limit (silly driver!), DO NOT move over to let faster traffic go by. By damn, they should be going the speed limit too, and you need to let them know.
6. If you are at an intersection, turning right on red, make sure to turn not into the free lane, but the lane that has a car coming. If you hear screeching and see a large bumper in your rearview mirror (if you happen to look), don’t worry, they probably needed to slow down anyway.
7. When it rains, you must not go more than 30 mph. Anywhere.
8. If you are on Capital of Texas Hwy (also called Loop 360), please use the shoulder if you are in a hurry and don’t want to wait in traffic. Those other cars waiting in the long lines don’t have anywhere better to be – your time is definitely more important.
And my final guideline…..
Perfect the “What did I do” look and corresponding shrug. You’ll use it a lot.
http://www.austinist.com/2007/06/15/austinites_rank.php
Being that I'm a true Austinite, I thought I would impart, in all my 13 years of driving here, some handy guidelines on how to navigate the streets and highways of ATX....
Some driving guidelines for Austin….
1. Never look in your rearview mirror while backing out of a parking space. Nobody will be backing out at the same time you are, right? And forget someone walking behind your car – if they see the reverse lights, they’ll stop…
2. If someone puts on their blinker to merge on or change lanes, immediately speed up. It’s an unwritten rule in Austin that you are never supposed to let anyone in your lane.
3. Never put your turn signal on if you want to turn right into a parking area or driveway – the people behind you are supposed to know that if your brake lights briefly come on you may or may not be turning.
4. If you are on your cell phone in your Ford Expedition or F350 Double-Cab or Chevy Tahoe (or Hybrid Prius, we have a lot of those), you must slow down at least 10 to 15 miles below the posted speed limit. If you can, start migrating into another lane as well.
5. If you are driving in the left lane of the highway and are going the posted speed limit (silly driver!), DO NOT move over to let faster traffic go by. By damn, they should be going the speed limit too, and you need to let them know.
6. If you are at an intersection, turning right on red, make sure to turn not into the free lane, but the lane that has a car coming. If you hear screeching and see a large bumper in your rearview mirror (if you happen to look), don’t worry, they probably needed to slow down anyway.
7. When it rains, you must not go more than 30 mph. Anywhere.
8. If you are on Capital of Texas Hwy (also called Loop 360), please use the shoulder if you are in a hurry and don’t want to wait in traffic. Those other cars waiting in the long lines don’t have anywhere better to be – your time is definitely more important.
And my final guideline…..
Perfect the “What did I do” look and corresponding shrug. You’ll use it a lot.
posted by Texas Blondie @ 8:32 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home