Driving in the USA

[pinotnow]

I am starting to get anxious about the driving element of our summer trip to the USA. I have never driven there before and am the only adult/driver as it's me and my teens going.

One worry is navigation. We rely on my inbuilt Satnav at home and with roaming charges I don't think Google maps on our phones is going to be doable? Would a separate Satnav I bought here work? It's one of many worries...We're not driving a huge amount - from Philadelphia to Annapolis to York Town to Charlottesville/Shenandoah to DC, but I'm starting to dwell on it!

Any tips would be amazing!

This is good advice. Turning out of garages or parking lots or side roads is when you become most disoriented with side of the road.

I am in the US - most cars have satnav/GPS but I never use it . I use the app Waze instead.

@pinotnow I had an old Tom Tom sat nav that I uploaded north American maps to and it worked fine. Otherwise buy a US sim card, or e sim and use the phone.

Driving in the US is super easy. Just familiarise yourself with the rules. For example, a stop sign means stop. Not like here where you can keep moving if you can see the way is clear. You have to stop there. Also, you can turn right on a red traffic light if there is nothing coming (the equivalent to us being able to turn left on a red). It varies by state too, so check the rules for where you will be driving.

Have a great time, and book a car one size up from what you think you need. The incremental cost is negligible, but the space will be worth it.

You have several options above. Know that if for some reason all of those fail and you need a backup, you can pop into a store like Best Buy or a Walmart and purchase a GPS device. I just checked both stores nearest me and they had several in stock available for pickup. I was a bit worried it might be the kind of thing you could only get online at this point.

That makes me think they will be available at larger truck stops as well, though the prices there will be high. Truck stops aren’t just for trucks, they are just way-stations by the highway that can handle a ridiculous number of semi-trucks and cars in the parking lot. They vary in amenities but can include restaurants, a general amenities shop, a gift shop, an area with various snacks and food, restrooms, showers, and laundry. They are a staple of the American road trip.

I’m a very anxious driver and was pleasantly surprised at how much easier it is to drive in the US we had a massive 7 seater as well! Deffo look to get apple car play or android auto if you can, some good advice about data roaming and e sims on here.

Re: tolls, there should be an option to get an EZ Pass when you pick up the car. Do it, then you can just drive through the EZ Pass lanes and it’s all automated.

Also you can’t turn right on red everywhere - NYC, for example.

A quirk of US freeways is that sometimes the exit will be on the left (the overtaking side) rather than the right, so don’t be alarmed if that happens!

we were in the US last October and had an esim and just used google maps - with no problems
Might be an idea to see if there are lots of toll roads where you are going though?
we were in orlando, where there are loads, so we paid a daily charge when we picked up the car for tolls, which made things much easier

@HappiestSleeping :

"For example, a stop sign means stop. Not like here where you can keep moving if you can see the way is clear."

No, you can't!

I know someone who failed their driving test in the UK, for not stopping at a stop sign. It was their only fault, but it is considered a 'major', so the examiner had to fail them (and apologised).

Driving is so easy in the US and you’ll have a great time! What about getting an e-sim?

Driving is easy in the USA - big wide roads and less traffic than equivalent motorways here.

They are a bit wankerish in Philadelphia, but hold your ground.

Oh well, you could when I did my test (eons ago), so happy to be corrected there. It doesn't change the US rule though 👍

We have a stand alone sat nav with world wide maps, lifetime updates

Also a four-way stop is when the junction has stop signs on all roads. You proceed based on who arrived at the stop sign/junction first. If you encounter a roundabout (rotary here) presume that many people won't have a clue how it actually is supposed to work.

Driving in the US is a doddle. Big roads, logical grid systems, it’s easy. And I say that as someone that drives often in Miami.

I always wonder how Americans cope when they get to Heathrow and have to drive on the M25. It must be terrifying in comparison.

I’d upgrade to a car with a satnav, just to make it that bit easier.

I'm in the US. Most rental cars have built-in GPS systems. Not just so the customers can know where they're going but the rental car agencies can know where their cars are! Make a couple of extra copies of your car rental documents, keep them in your luggage and or purse. The places you are traveling have well built highway systems that give really good directions.

It is much easier to drive in the US than it is the UK. I understand why so many women on Mumsnet say "I don't drive". It's easier to use left hand drive in the US.

I like driving in the US, once I’ve got over the automatic thing (I usually bunnyhop around an empty mall to refresh my memory).

Our mobile package includes free worldwide roaming, so we were fine, but otherwise use an E-sim.

Not all cars will come with gps included; ours didn’t, but they should have the screens, We just attached our phones via Google auto to access the maps. I’d also download offline Google maps. I do like to know where I’m going in case of network fail.

Driving is easy, as they drive so slow. Do pay attention to freeway lanes; prepare to keep shifting over to either left or right.

Usually, at major intersections, there’s a ‘turn right on red’ sign, but otherwise be guided by other cars.

Be prepared for your car to be much bigger than you expect. We booked an intermediate for our trip last year, since it was the same price. We were given a Jeep Grand Cherokee and it was enormous. Again, I had to practice in an empty mall to gauge the size of the car, especially for parking. Everyone parks bonnet in (I like to reverse in), and with huge cars I can see why.

Driving is easy, as they drive so slow

I see you've never experienced traffic in the greater Chicago metropolitan area at 1am :-)

OP, familiarize yourself with basic rules of the road before you get behind the wheel. Some have been mentioned here -
4 way stops - proceed in order of arrival at the intersection.
Roundabouts / rotaries - keep right.
Freeways - slower traffic in right lane, faster traffic in left, don't sit in the left lane doing the speed limit if there are cars climbing into your trunk. Speed up or move over (always indicate lane changes)
Ambulance/ fire/ police - pull over as far as you can, and be careful when getting moving again.
Vehicle on shoulder with or without emergency vehicle attending - move over one lane to overtake; do not sweep past in the same lane Some states require this.
Right turn on red - stop at the light and count one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi and yield to any oncoming traffic AND pedestrians, who have the right of way. Check for No Right Turn On Red signage.
On ramps - speed up to enter the highway. Do not stop at the bottom of the ramp. Match your speed to traffic speed in the merging lane. Watch out for vehicles in the merging lane who are exiting at the next off ramp. On and off ramps can sometimes be close together. Grip your wheel and merge boldly but carefully. Have your passengers watch the traffic for you if they're responsible.
Off ramps - obey speed limit posted for off ramps.

Signs along highways will tell you what services are ahead and the exit number, plus how far ahead.
Signage is usually excellent.

I disagree re signage, they give direction but never miles to destination info which would be helpful.

Never overtake a school bus with flashing lights.

USA is like paradise for drivers compared to the UK. I absolutely LOVED driving in the US. We rented a SatNav with the rental car.

So unnecessarily dramatic. Thousands of Brits are still travelling to the US every day, we were there a couple of weeks ago, felt no different to any other time we were there, and we were in the Deep South. No one mentioned Trump.

OP double check what your provider offers, it’s only £2 a day with my provider in the US, every rental car we’ve had the last few years has had Apple car play (or similar) so we just did that.

Also laughing at the driving slow comments, truck drivers DO NOT drive slow and it takes some getting used to seeing massive haulage vehicles bombing down the outside line overtaking all in sight 😂

Lane management is pretty poor in the US, not sure if it’s not mandated or just cultural but it can become quite a free for all, but just stay right, but keep vigilant with what lanes you need, you can find you suddenly need to be 5 lanes over or your lane is about to veer off, if that makes you nervous take a few mins for familiarise yourself with your route before taking off.

I don't consider Trump's government 's appalling treatment of minorities, women and anyone else with a brain 'unnecessarily dramatic'. They fired scientists without notice illegally. They put tariffs on longtime allies. They utterly sold out and fleeced Ukraine. Brits travelling there should consider that every penny they spend in USA fuels that economy and that system. But as long as 'nobody mentions Trump' then you can continue with your ignorance. Awful .

I find driving very easy in the USA (and I’m someone who is not all that keen on driving my own car in Europe). Roads are wide and in most places in good condition, driving standards are comparable to here, automatic cars are easy to use.

Check your phone provider: I’m with O2 and on my tariff I have no extra charges when using my phone in the US, so just use my phone as sat nav. Otherwise, as others have suggested, get a e sim.

and ignore all the other rubbish. There is no requirement for you to do an in depth geopolitical analysis on your holiday destination. I have similar on Facebook.. one friend wailing about the US and how awful it would be whilst booking her AI trip to Turkey.

Oh give over. I understand not booking something but do you really think people who have spent thousands of pounds on holidays should cancel, likely losing a lot of money? You’re on the wrong thread if so.

I know people that just purchase a sim when they’re in the states and pop in to their phone (just make sure your phone is unlocked first). That’s if you don’t want to go the eSIM route - appreciate some people find it tricky and not all phones have them. Alternatively, you can hire satnav from your car rental place also.

I wonder what phone you have, what social media you use (apart from MN). What cleaning products you use, medications. Because majority of those things can be linked back to the US economy. Go have a nap.