Hey Guys,

I'll be visiting to USA soon. I already have my international driver's license. But I am not aware of traffic rules in USA. Does any one know from where I can get information regarding traffic lights, speed limit of car etc? If you people have some ideas, please help me.
But be true to your word, as I don’t want it to be “blind leading the blind”

Thanks for your time.

[title edited to be more descriptive]

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Colleen,

Mark, welcome to the Slow Travel Talk forums!

What state are you visiting, traffic laws vary by state, so it would probably be easier to refer you to some websites if we new where in the US you're visiting.

Mark, try www.dmv.org. You can choose the state you will be visiting. Click on the state, then click on "More" and then look for "Driver's Handbook" (available in several languages) for the laws pertaining to that state.

beth

Hi,

In the United States every state has its own rules. That means 50 sets of rules. Speed limits are posted on all highways.

regards,
sheryl

It's not simply the states that have their own rules. So do the cities. There are some features of driving in New York City that are unique to New York City (famously, no right turns when you have a red light), and don't apply elsewhere in New York State.

That said, I've driven all over America and found very little variation in traffic laws. I wouldn't feel obliged to read more than one DMV book even if I was traveling to more than one state.

Regarding traffic lights:

Red = STOP
Green = GO

Solid yellow: Green is about to turn red, slow down

Flashing yellow: Slow, proceed with caution


Flashing red lights: Danger ahead

Flashing lights + school/children sign = Slow down to posted speed.

You don't say where you are coming from, but you should also know that -- in general -- passing on a two-lane highway is not popular, making U-turns is very often forbidden.

quote:

here are some features of driving in New York City that are unique to ... (the city)

.
Hmm! I'm wondering whether it might not be a good idea to suggest to someone not familiar with NYC (especially Manhattan) traffic to just avoid it altogether, if possible. Doesn't it really take practice and skill, as well as a sense of humor?

Ann

It certainly takes patience, and getting in and out of New York is always tricky. The bridges and tunnels are not well signed.

That said, I find it quite easy to drive in NYC. Either you're not moving, or the lights are all with you and zip along empty boulevards as if you were in the Nevada desert. And the numbered grid makes it next to impossible to get lost in most of Manhattan.

Parking costs so much and public transport is so good, it doesn't make sense to be there with a rental car unless for some reason you just have to, and sometimes those reasons exist.

quote:

Originally posted by AppalAnnie:

quote:

here are some features of driving in New York City that are unique to ... (the city)

.
Hmm! I'm wondering whether it might not be a good idea to suggest to someone not familiar with NYC (especially Manhattan) traffic to just avoid it altogether, if possible. Doesn't it really take practice and skill, as well as a sense of humor?

Ann

There are a lot worse cities than NYC. San Fransisco, LA, Houston and Dallas just to name a few.

I just hope the OP has experience driving in traffic if going to those cities. I've been driving through most of those cities off and on all of my life and I still cringe at the thought .

Something to bear in mind when it comes to 50 different sets of rules for 50 different states: when I was in Atlanta GA (I live in Tennessee) I drove across a median (which is illegal) and got a $136.00 ticket. I told the cop that the guy in front of me did it and he responded, "well, I didn't SEE him." And then I said I was from out of state and he said that that didn't matter. It was my responsibility to know the traffic rules of the state in which I am driving.

So there.

Sorry to go a bit off-topic, but Earline, this makes me very curious. Are you talking about a median strip on a divided highway or just a double yellow line? Do you mean that in Tennessee it's actually legal to drive across a median (other than at an intersection or a cross-over cut)? That would be pretty unusual. Or that in Georgia you can't cross a double yellow even to turn? Or something else entirely? Thanks for satisying my curiosity!

quote:

Originally posted by Earline:
when I was in Atlanta GA (I live in Tennessee) I drove across a median (which is illegal) and got a $136.00 ticket.

It could be worse. In those days, at the LBJ exit Preston turned into an asphalt road but the rest of Preston was divided. Where it turned into the asphalt road the divider was more of a sidewalk in the center of the road.

I was getting off the LBJ onto Preston and noticed a man looking at his car in the center of the road. The car was length wise with the "sidewalk" and all four wheels were off the ground.

The only thing I could figure was, he must have just come off the same exit I came off of and made an immediate left hand turn, putting him on the wrong side of the road, panicked and tried to cross the barrier. Had he only gone another 50 feet he would have been on the undivided section of Preston.

quote:

Are you talking about a median strip on a divided highway or just a double yellow line? Do you mean that in Tennessee it's actually legal to drive across a median (other than at an intersection or a cross-over cut)? That would be pretty unusual. Or that in Georgia you can't cross a double yellow even to turn? Or something else entirely? Thanks for satisying my curiosity!

Once one enters the state of Georgia, there are signs seemingly every 300 feet saying "do not cross median". That means anything that is built up between the two opposing lanes of traffic. Not a double yellow line. (that in itself is illegal). In Tennessee they don't beat you over the head with it the way they do in Georgia. It's probably still illegal -- I don't know and since I got my license here I haven't read the traffic rules handbook for Tennessee either.

You can't be ticketed for NOT doing something that is legal to do!

So if you have doubts about whether something is legal in a particular state (e.g. right turn on red after stop, U turns, crossing medians, etc.) just DON'T.

Sometimes state maps will have their unique traffic rules printed on them, and AAA guide books usually do, but I agree driving in the US is pretty similar everywhere.

You should try to get the AAA (American Automobile Association) guide books anyway, for the sightseeing info and hotel/restaurant listings. If you are a member of an affiliated automobile assn. in your own country (NZ, Great Britain, others?) you may be able to take advantage of courtesy services at US AAA offices which are all over. (This includes emergency services, too.)

Do be careful of your speed limit as you approach populated areas (towns, villages, cities) and especially school zones. This is where you are most likely to get speeding tickets.

And in some places, as soon as a pedestrian steps off the curb (whether in a cross-walk or not), they have the right-of-way. So watch out for "jay-walkers."