jason194

• Share

Monday, 12 October 2009 at 20:07

Driving in America is a bed of roses provided you observe the traffic rules. Driving is a pleasant experience if you are adept at driving through the traffic. And traffic rules are voluntary but you are observed 24/7 by radar plus cops are there. You never know when a cop is following you in his omnipresent vehicle. When his siren is heard by the culprit, he stops and the cop calmly gives him a speeding ticket, no argument whatsoever. If you are going in a 80 mph or you are going too fast in a slow lane or for that matter for the violation of any traffic rules. At every cross section, you must stop and proceed, signal or no signal. This rule is voluntarily followed by all in cities or towns so that accidents are avoided. Vehicles are not making noise nor they emitting smoke so on highways or in a city the traffic is extremely silent. Most of the heavy vehicles follow European norms of Carbon emission that is why in spite of heavy traffic there is absolutely no pollution in USA. Drivers in USA have commendable restraint on themselves as regards honking, silence zone or no zone. In site of heavy and fast traffic, no horn is blowed though sometimes suddenly lanes are changed. You are expected to be deft in negotiating through the traffic. Wonderful is the word that comes mind seeing all this. That is why the distances are no longer cumbersome.
I have two times experience of driving along highways once my nephew drove me to San Diego single handedly, and my son and nephew drove me to Los Angelis. Every time we felt thirsty or hungry, we stopped at a gas station and enjoyed rest. To reach gas station we had to exit on the highway or freeway as it is popularly known in USA. In both cases we had experience of continuous driving for about ten hours with a couple of breaks for rest(rooms). Speed breakers is a concept totally absent on all the American roads. Even in cities like San Francisco with zig zag streets and steep decent or rising streets, no speed breakers are found on the roads. I remembered a slogan on Indian streets, “mental break is the best break.” American drivers stop well beyond the pedestrian crossing when signal turns red. Pedestrian is a king of American roads. If a single pedestrian is crossing in spite no signal they patiently wait and allow the pedestrian to cross the road. I nearly sobbed when I remembered the Pune traffic where they occupy public crossing and drive carelessly down the lanes, or mercilessly drive through the traffic on Pune-Satara road. As if they are in a hurry to meet their end.
Driving in USA is a happy experience. There are two giant bridges in San Francisco, Golden Gate bridge and Bay bridge, and both places there are tolls, thousands of vehicles are waiting patiently in queue, but not single horn is blown, nor there is sound of engines running. There is special fast track for drivers who pay toll through their credit cards on monthly basis. Really restraint is necessary for good driving skills.