Submitted by Cedric Hughes on Wed, 04/07/2010 - 14:38
Many British Columbians spend part of their vacation breaks on Interstate 5 (the I-5), the 2,222.97 km long US highway that originates at San Ysidro (San Diego), California, and ends at Blaine, Washington. Through Washington state and Oregon, the I-5 traverses or links to most of the major cities and smaller urban centres, and likewise through California, the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area.
The I-5 offers lots of variety for the adventurous motorist, but when it connects into the LA freeway network to become one of the biggest freeways in the world, the driving experience becomes…shall we say ‘uniquely challenging’.
Here are some tips from a number of websites about driving safely on the LA freeways:
1. You will need to be completely focused on your driving, aware of as much around you as you can possibly take in, diligent about navigating, and patient.
2. Plan ahead, plot out your route and keep the directions handy. You will be contending with ‘a bushel basket's worth of highway numbers,’ multiple lanes, and right and left exit lanes. Use an online map aid like MapQuest and check these directions against a paper map to learn about alternatives.
3. Theoretically you can take it slow and easy in the farther right lanes customarily used by slower vehicles. However, you need to merge with the traffic and attempt to keep up with the flow. And be forewarned: when traffic is moving, drivers regularly exceed the posted speed limits.
4. If you have passengers, you can use the high occupancy vehicles (HOV) or carpool lanes. Sometimes this lane separates from the other lanes. Keep your eye on the signs.
5. Expect to encounter drivers weaving in and out of traffic at high speed, tailgating, and zigzagging across many lanes, including the carpool lanes.
6. Restrain your reactions—honking, light flashing etc. — to this type of driving behavior. The LA freeway driving experience has incited many dramatic incidents of road rage.
7. Exiting the freeway will usually involve changing lanes. However common, not signalling is not legal. Use your mirrors and shoulder-check the lanes on both sides to make sure a speeding car or motorcycle is not coming up fast behind you. In California, motorcyclists can and do change lanes between lanes.
8. Avoid rush hour driving, which generally means avoiding the freeways between 6 and 9 am and 3 and 6:30 pm. Some people say add at least an extra hour to both times. Some say the only reliably clear time is 10 pm to 5 am.
9. Check out www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/metrola.htm, California's transportation web site, for updates on freeway conditions, including accidents and road construction.
10. Tune into AM 640 or AM 1070 for traffic information on Los Angeles/Ventura/Orange county freeways.
11. A "sig alert" means that all lanes are closed for that freeway. You will need to exit it and find an alternative route.
12. Cell phone use while driving is illegal.
Have a nice day.
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