Hiya,
Just booked my hols in Florida for October, got a dodge charger on reserve from Dolllar, can't believe how cheap it is to hire a car over there, anyway, i wanted some forst hand advice on driving over there, a few guides on the internet state that it is pretty simple, I have only driven abroad once and that was france for 1 day!
I'm stopping on International Drive and arrive in MCO (orlando int) apparently its the left turning that can be a little tricky,
Any advice or tips appreciated!
Jon
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Four way stops- come to a crossroads with 4 junctions- whoever got there first has priority! Sounds hard in practice it's easy.
Police- if you get stopped then don't make any sudden hand movement- keep your hands on the wheel where they can be seen and stay in the car until instructed otherwise.
Road rage-needless to say don't get involved in a country where many people carry firearms
Freeways- doesn't mean you can weave in and out of traffic like a maniac
Speed-much slower overall in many places and far less cut and thrust in general.
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Other drivers are exceedingly polite generally, far more so than over here.
There can often be a multitude of road junctions all converging at once e.g. spaghetti junction type things, which can be confusing.
I took my Tomtom with me this year for the first time (as it's old had to download the USmaps) and it was a godsend. I understand you can hire Satnavs from the hire companies.
Lorries on freeways will be doing the same speed as you.........which i didn't mind too much until it rained!
Don't get out of the car if you inadvertently drive into a poor area....their gang culture and crime problems make our 'oiks' look like saints.
Have a good holiday, not long come back from Texas and California, but want another holiday now!
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AS OH points out, pathetic mimsing is the norm and thought quite respectable. Americans are remarkably friendly and hospitable as a rule. You are very unlikely to be shot. The police don't always get jokes (bit like here really).
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Thepolice don't always get jokes (bit like here really).
can i tell you the one about the Skoda?
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I said they don't always get jokes Wp, not that they never do... :o)
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Try airline network .com
prices include insurance etc.
One way rental vegas to san diego chrysler 300 for one day £26
Dollar direct $ 259
No connection other than satisfied customer after previous advice from backroomers re this company
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Hadn't driven abroad for 20 years until a fortnight in Florida last year.
It's a doddle just take it steady and sensible. ID is mostly a car park anyway!
U-turns are fun and turning left on red lights is interesting ..... it helps to follow others for a while. Everywhere is well signed and the roads are generally wide and the drivers completely passive.
Try to take some quarters with you for the auto toll booths if you are using the toll roads.
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U-turns are fun and turning left on red lights is interesting ..... it helps to
I think you mean taking a right on a red, not a left.
But be warned the pedestrians have the right of way crossing the highway when turning on a red.
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Forgot to mention-
Do not overtake a school bus when it's lights are flashing- it's an offence.
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And don't hesitate in a intersection - went there three years ago with friends, he was driving, I'll never forget the shouted comment from a female driver "You on death row .....hole ??!!!."
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Right on red is the norm but watch out for stop on red signs.
If you see this then you must stop even if turning right and wait for green.
Not sure about specifics in Florida, I've driven New York and north eastern states, California and Nevada.
I was driving in New Haven and amazed how easy it is to accidentally end up in the wrong area, only 3 blocks from the respectable (Yale) Uni.
If you get down to alligator alley strictly adhere to the roadsigns with regard to no stopping, gas stations and (not sure if this one applies in Florida) air con use. That is one road I'd really like to drive one day.
Otherwise it's pretty straightforward (let's face it, with George Dubya as an example it can't be rocket science).
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Well you all know what I meant!!
And one other thing -
A lot of the gas stations (got that right!!) use credit cards only at the pumps. Trouble is you authorise them with a ZIP code - 'I don't have a ZIP code' doesn't seem to translate into a meaningful phrase when said to an American.
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Jon - did you book directly with Dollar? I just wondered if it seemed cheap because you haven?t got all the necessary insurances?
I?ve driven many times in Florida, never once experienced any road rage and the driving there is very easy.
My top tips would be:
1) Make sure you know how to turn the wipers & lights on before you leave the car hire depot. You really don?t want to be wondering where the wiper switch is if you get caught in a typical Florida shower while you?re doing 65 on a toll road.. I?m not sure if lights are mandatory with wipers, but everyone does it.
2) Many of the tolls are straight through for tags ? you have to deviate off to the right to go through a manned toll. Apparently they don?t worry about tourists going through the tag ones anyway!
3) Be careful turning onto roads out of parking lots etc, that?s where it?s easy to end up driving the wrong way.
4) Go with the flow ? on open roads most traffic (inc trucks) drives at very similar speeds. Don?t drive much slower and certainly don?t drive faster than everyone else. There are a lot of Police about and they?ll park low down in central reservations and laser traffic from some distance.
5) When you get fuel (apart from the credit card issue ? ours always worked OK, but I believe you can use the hotel zip code, or go into the kiosk first), you flip the nozzle holder up to start fuelling.
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further tips
Find out how to turn the internal lights on as some operate via the instrument dimmer.
I found the fuel cap remote release button in the glove compartment.
Beware of having any alcohol or their container in the cabin
On a a two lane road with gravel shoulders do not undertake a vehicle awaiting a left turn.
Some rules vary by state so beware.
In some places you must park nose to the kerb or risk a ticket.
Be alert to non orange turn indicators on the rear of US cars.
Looking at the drivers B pillar when reversing is not cool :-)
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Beware of having any alcohol or their container in the cabin
Snigger. That's right. If you want to drink out of a can or bottle, not just in a car, the vessel has to be modestly clad in a brown paper bag.
The United States is full of po-faced teetotaller ex-alcoholics and religious maniacs and honest ruffians getting completely blotto on substances quaffed out of brown paper bags.
God's own country.
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In some places you must park nose to the kerb or risk a ticket.
That's certainly correct in Florida, and it's because cars there are not required to have front number plates. The lack of front plates make cars look much better there than in the UK - I couldn't figure out why at first.
We got warned by a trolley collector in supermarket car park about parking nose out - I'd done the usual thing of driving through a double space.
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Depending on the car you get, be aware of how different the handling characteristics can be to European Cars. I drove a Pontiac Grand Prix 3.8 in Canada several years back and that was ok and seemed to handle the extremely snowy and frozen conditions quite well (winter tyres no doubt).
On another occasion I spent a few days driving a Buick Le Sabre 3.8 around backwoods Louisiana. Whilst an adequate cruiser, the complete lack of steering feel was astonishing, there was a huge 'dead-zone' around the straight-ahead position so the car seemed to wander all over the lane on the interstates. Slip roads were incredible, it was possible to get the tyres squealing and the car almost sideways so easily. The lack of grip and the wallowy suspension made for a really poor drive - quite predictable once you got used to it, but shocking when used to driving a Mondeo that would take the same corners at twice the speed with no drama.
As others say, watch out for the state troopers on the interstate and local town cops when off the highway. Brits I know that were pulled for speeding in Louisiana all got away with it by being terribly british and apologetic, ie hamming it up. They may be wiser to this in Florida though!
As an aside, at least Florida doesn't 'allow' drink driving in the same way as Louisiana - in the latter, bars had drive thru windows! Seemingly everybody was drink driving out there. So when that Dodge Ram with a gun rack cuts you up, you also know there is every chance the driver is juiced up too. Makes any road rage urges surprisingly easy to quell.
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Hiya Just booked my hols in Florida for October got a dodge charger on reserve from Dolllar can't believe how cheap it is to hire a car over there
I would echo what was said above about hiring 'over there'.
It is much cheaper to hire a car for Florida from the UK.
Car hire seems cheap from USA websites because it doesn't include insurance. This is because many USA motorist's insurance policies allow them to drive rental cars and be covered.
You can hire a Dodge Charger class of vehicle from firms in this country(agencies for Dollar/Alamo/Budget) from about £120 a week with full insurance -CDW, SLI, UMP etc.
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>> Hiya >> Just booked my hols in Florida for October got a dodge charger on reserve from >>
Is that a real snorting monster of a gangster's Charger or some feeble modern equivalent, Cardew?
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Also a key thing I notice is that there is much greater courtesy shown by drivers to pedestrians in the few places in the US where there is some interaction between the two (ie any street which might resemble more of a "high street" type street or in car parks etc). If pedestrians are walking along the sidewalk/pavement on a main road and then cross a side road to continue the traffic from the main road turning into the sideroad seems to give almost always give way unless there is some signal control to the junction and Walk/Don't Walk signage to the pedestrians. I actually believe this is a traffic law that pedestrians on sidewalks have priority unlike here.
Also the size of junctions over there can be intimidating. Often there can be 2 or more lanes all doing the same turning manouever. Just track from your starting lane (eg nearest to the centre reservation) to the same lane in the direction you want to go. Take it at the same speed as others.
Alot of their driving is a hell of alot more easy to deal with than UK driving. It really is down to so many people driving autos...slowish smooth accelleration, cruising along and steady braking. Even people in flash powerful cars will not be racing about...
The other thing is rush hour there can be quite heavy...ie in 5 or more lanes of traffic and they often tailgate quite badly....just keep calm and adjust your speed slowly.
Also pay attention to road signs...they are not signposted anything like here. They tend to indicate the name of the cross street from a highway "eg exit 12 - Peach Tree Boulevard South" but it won't say anything about where that road leads to. Few of the signs actually are labelled with an area of town or a specific destination unless it is an obvious and big.
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Exits (Off ramps) from some highways are often indicated at very low speeds e.g. 20mph.
These are often very tight bends so best to obey the sugested speed in a soft sprung US motor.
Get some maps. Just be aware that some exits are very very close together and sometimes on the left.
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A piece of advice I'd give you, which I'd strongly advise you to bear in mind, is to be very careful of right-angle crashes at junctions, especially if you are pressing on a bit.
If somebody is waiting to turn left across your path at the lights you're approaching, BE COVERING THE BRAKE. Only the other day, near where I live, a woman turned left in front of a fire engine on its way to an emergency call. Now these things are about 20 foot high with sirens blasting and a light show straight out of close encounters, and the accident happened on a dual carriageway of 6 lanes in total. How on earth she failed to spot the guy is beyond me. I'd say roughly once a week, somebody turns across my path.
If you're in the right-hand lane approaching lights and you see somebody in the side road who wants to turn right, remember they are usually allowed to right turn on red, except in NY. What will often happen, is they will wait until you are right on top of them, before pulling out slowly (the speed kills message has sunk in there but not one about observation!). This is less common than somebody turning right across your path at the last minute but it happens to me at least once every 3-4 weeks, so be careful!
Have fun and keep the above in mind, and you should be OK!
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I spend lots of time in the US. Generally, driving here is so easy you could probably do it with your eyes closed. In my experience the standard of driving in Florida would indicate that this is what a lot of people do. I would offer the following advice:
1. Keep money handy for the toll roads. It can really add up, some of the roads in the south of Orlando cost $5 to use. Damn annoying when you realise you're driving in the wrong direction.
2. Be careful when driving around shopping malls. Pedestrians frequently have automatic right of way and are inclined to step out in front of traffic without looking.
3. Don't forget your iPod. Driving here can be very boring once the novelty of the scenery has worn off, and the Dodge Charger has a socket for connecting an MP3 player to the car stereo.
4. Watch out for speed traps on the freeways. Normally this consists of a black Ford Crown Victoria hiding on the central reservation under a bridge.
5. Signposting can be very confusing. This is an observation rather than a piece of advice as I'm not sure what you can do about it. Major routes are frequently only indicated by small signs appearing out of nowhere which are easily hidden behind a truck you are overtaking at the time. It's also not uncommon to drive for a long time without seeing any signposts at all which can be disconcerting. A lot of rental cars have an electronic compass in the rearview mirror which I find very useful.
6. Always check your blind spot before moving from the outside to the nearside lane on freeways as people will tend to creep up your nearside.
7. Always make sure you are telephoning whilst driving as this is expected. Also, don't leave too big a distance between you and the car in front as not tailgating will mark you out as a pinko foreigner in the same way that using the indicators for lane changing will.
8. Do visit the Kennedy Space Center whilst in Orlando as this is a fantastic (if expensive) day out. The Saturn V rocket is quite breathtaking. It's also worthwhile going to the trouble of seeing a Shuttle launch live if there's one scheduled for the time you're there. This was easily the most amazing thing I've experienced with my clothes on.
Enjoy Florida!
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enjoyed that Bagpuss....
PU without his Mod Hard Hat on !
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6. Always check your blind spot before moving from the outside to the nearside lane on freeways as people will tend to creep up your nearside.
Excellent advice. Americans *love* hiding in your blind spot
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Much more relaxed style of driving than the UK.
Road rage not absent, but not as prevalent, ie not every day like in the Thames valley.
On freeways, changing lanes can be an annoyance to other drivers as they are not taught to change lanes like we were for overtaking.
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I would add a couple of comments about signs:
1) In built up areas as you approach a set of lights at a croassroads, the name of the road that you're crossing will normally be hanging from the lights facing you. If you want to check the name of the road that you're on, then your navigator will have to glance right or left to see the sign that's hanging above the other road.
2) Out of town, any distances marked on junction signs, road works etc, are usually in feet. This threw me at first because when driving I think in yards, so the junction's only a third of the distance away that I thought it was.
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Thanks for all the superb advice, I think I'm going to invest in the USA map for my tom tom and hope for the best, to answer a few of the questions, we booked the car hotel and flight through an agent and asked for platinum cover on the hire car, this was tank of fuel, any driver and full cdw and something else, the reason i wanted a charger is I'm not big on convertibles and i am in love with the original charger of the general lee fame, i know the new one is nothing like it but it makes me feel better about it anyway.
I've been reading some of the websites with directions and how to drive over there and as everyone says sounds quite simple, i think its just the first time i have to do a left across 4 lanes!
Thanks again guys, i feel a lot happier now!!
Jon
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i think its just the first time i have to do a left across 4 lanes!
I would not worry about such left turns as you are going with the flow.
What is a more difficult to do is swop a lot of lanes in a short distance due to megers and exits often being very very close together.
It is a few years since I was in Florida so I cannot recall the scene there.
I mention it as it was a regular requirement coming off IIRC 6 lanes on the San Franciso Bay Bridge to merge with the road joining on the right and then needing the first exit on the right.
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If you have your wipers on make sure you have your lights on. Check very carefully the insurance they offer you. They will try fo flog you extra that you don't need and its expensive. All roads in florida are N.E S.and West except the one through Orlando! Watch the speed limits as they have no sense of humour and suggest getting a really good map.
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Been stopped a couple of times for speeding in the US - combination of the "right" accent and that actor fellows bewilderment always got me out of it.
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Hi Guys
Just returned yesterday from the US, I can honestly say after the 1st day it was a joy to drive in the US, alot easyier than i imagined, big roads really help, no roundabouts to deal with and the interstates are great roads, up to 5 lanes saw very little traffic and everyone seemed to have a much calmer way about driving over there, I felt alot more relaxed with having a powerful auto (Dodge Charger 3.5l) but its so true what everyone says about the usa built cars handling, it was awful, squeeled at every corner, i guess they build for comfort over there,
Only things i found tricky at first was the lateness of the signs compared to here, literally you get an EXIT NOW sign for your junction, but as said once you know where you are going very easy, even minor roads are duel lanes and junction have up to 6 lanes for just a normal road, the turn on red for a right is a god send, why we don't do that i don't know, I think the grade of driver in the UK is better than the US, saw alot of people on mobiles and trucks overtaking me at 70!
I think the also dela with acidents and road works better than we do, instead of closing the motorway for 3 hours like our friendly rent a cops do, they simply have signs telling you to move the wreckage onto the verge, roadworks were all done at night, no coning off lanes, just a state trooper there with all his lights on, alot better.
Ih yeah got to mention, they are all moaning about fuel prices, I put in $20 which is about £10 and if half filled the charger tank, brilliant i told an american gut it cost around $100 to fill a car up over here and he didn't belive me! Most Gas stations also don't have diesel so i'm wandering if they have to come round eventually!
Thanks again for all the advice before i wnt, it came in very helpful the 1st night!
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i told an american gut it cost around $100 to fill a car up over here...
I'm surprised he didn't belt you one for calling him that ;-)
Glad you enjoyed your holiday!
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