If you’ve been reading here for any length of time, you may have noticed that traffic and commuting are among my favorite ranting topics.

This is an interesting finding on that subject, via the On the Job blog – when given the choice between relocating and “extreme commuting,” a new study from Korn/Ferry International indicates that 70% of executives would prefer the latter alternative. “Extreme commuting” is defined as “traveling by plane to work and back each week or by car for more than 90 minutes one way” (emphasis added). Heck, that’s just a normal day on the freeway here in LA. It’s taken me 100 minutes door-to-door to get the 30 miles to work the last two mornings. (And I’m not an executive – just sayin.’)

If you’re not acquainted with the joys of SoCal driving – and I really don’t know how many “locals” come around here (other than the ones I know personally) – here’s something that may give you a little insight.

Via LA Observed, here are a few excerpts from a guide to Los Angeles’ unofficial rules of the road, per an article in the LA Daily News (comments added):

• If you’re waiting behind cars in a left-turn lane, never expect to go when the arrow turns green. The first driver in line will almost always be distracted and fail to notice that the precious green arrow is lighted until the last few seconds before it again turns red.Then the driver will punch the gas and get through the intersection – leaving the rest in line angrily muttering about dimwits until the next green arrow arrives. Expect the cycle to repeat. (And if you’re at an intersection that has a left-turn lane but no turn arrow – and there are plenty of them – only one car will get through the turn per cycle, and that won’t happen until the light has turned red again. Then someone six cars back will begin hitting their horn as soon as the light turns green, because they can’t see that there are still cars in the intersection from the last light cycle and that’s why no one’s moving yet.)
• When on the freeway in gridlock, don’t expect drivers to use their blinkers to signal when they want to change lanes. They’ll just slide over in front of you without any advance warning. Some of these lane-changers believe it’s pointless to use blinkers because other motorists are so steamed about sitting in traffic that they won’t let anyone get in front of them. So, it’s just best to cut them off. (There’s something to that. Letting another driver in ahead of you means that they might get there – wherever “there” is – first, and that can’t be allowed to happen!)
• Morning rush hour is from 5 a.m. to noon. Evening rush hour is from noon to 7 p.m. Friday’s rush hour starts Thursday morning. (Actually, ever since a lot of L.A. County offices went to 4/10/40 work weeks, some Friday drives aren’t quite so bad. The other stuff’s not exaggerated much, though – and that’s why I get up at 4:30 in the morning.)
  
• The minimum acceptable speed on most freeways is 85 mph. (Unless you’re in gridlock. Most of the time, the freeways are at one extreme or the other.)
• If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear-ended, cussed out and possibly shot. (That’s because red means stop. You only stop when you have to.)
• MapQuest does not work here. None of the roads are where they say they are, or go where they say they do. All of the freeway off- and on-ramps are moved each night. (Seriously, I get much better results with Google Maps than I do with MapQuest, especially for driving directions.)
• If you are in the left lane and only driving 70 in a 55- to 65-mph zone, you are considered a road hazard and will be flipped-off accordingly. If you return the flip, you’ll be shot. (My husband was once pulled over and ticketed for doing this. Since he was in Arizona at the time, he decided he’d better not make this argument. Yeah, the rules are different here.)

(However, we do have the rare day when driving is a joy. Usually, it’s a day when many other people aren’t going to work or school.)

The sad thing is that while these “road rules” are exaggerated, it’s not by all that much. But I’ve lived in other cities, and most of them have their own quirks that make driving an adventure. What makes driving special where you live?

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