Thoughts on California, Part 6

Click here for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.

Whose dumb idea was this, anyway?

This was the thought I had when we lived in Minnesota, and we would go to the Twin Cities area for something....and on the entry merge ramps, going onto a highway, would be...a traffic light! Did I not learn in driver's education—and from my parents—that the whole purpose of the ramp was to get up to highway speed so that one could safely and easily merge into the freeway traffic? Does having to stop partway along the ramp somehow make this safer or easier?

Someone (clearly not a Republican) apparently thought it would be a good idea to regulate the flow of traffic onto a highway by letting one car at a time go down the ramp. Never mind the fact that a yield sign or two could generally be enough.

In Los Angeles, the same dumb idea was seen again. The main difference between here and the Twin Cities is that in L.A., the ramps are generally shorter! Nothing like a little challenge for the out-of-town driver....

In short, it speaks poorly of the government when ideas lacking in common sense are promoted as policy. I think this is another example. Note also which political party dominates in these regions....Hmmm....

Thoughts on California, Part 2

Before going to California last week, I was told by several who had already been there that driving on L.A. freeways was, to put it kindly, adventurous. I wasn't particularly worried about this; since I have relatives who live in NYC, I have driven there on many occasions—and that could be described as "adventurous," too.

We put nearly three hundred miles on that Mustang we rented (see Part 1, below); of course, much of that was on freeways. Here are some observations:

• The basic driving manners of LA and NYC drivers are essentially equal: Inconsistent use of turn signals, quasi-random lane changes, general desire to go as fast as possible, etc. The primary difference between the two is that LA drivers have more room to maneuver. Many LA freeways have 5-6 lanes in each direction; NYC is generally limited to 3.
• Traffic jams are common in both cities and can happen on any freeway at any time.
  
• Parking in either city is not cheap.
  
• Los Angeles: 300 miles, no tolls. Enough said.
• The most obvious difference? The typical NYC car is a beater—if it gets a few new scratches today, it will annoy the owner but not otherwise affect his day too much. [There are in NYC the exceptional sports cars, BMW's, etc, but they are indeed exceptions.] The typical LA car is much newer, and scratches on it would probably trigger severe unhappiness. There is a much higher percentage of newer cars, convertibles, sports cars, etc. in LA. I also think there are more foreign cars, too. VW bugs seemed ubiquitous.
• Second most obvious difference: LA motorcyclists are more common, and will generally carve out a lane between lanes, passing between two vehicles not 4 feet apart to get by them, if so desired...and it seemed a frequent desire at any speed less than the speed limit. NYC motorcyclists recognize that this is a sure path to suicide, and generally only do it if the traffic is stopped...so it does happen somewhat regularly, come to think of it.