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 | San Francisco Driving S.F. Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 41 |  |
 | |  |  | Driving S.F.: Caution: we are rotten drivers! | Tip Rating:   |  |  | |  |
San Franciscans have a reputation for being really lousy drivers. Having lived here virtually my whole life, I can say that it is a very well-deserved reputation. It's not like in Boston with aggressive drivers. Quite the contrary - if you're driving aggressively, then at least you're paying attention! No, San Francisco drivers are just clueless. And the advent of the cell phone has not helped matters. 9 out of 10 times you see someone doing something really stupid in a car, they are on a cell phone! And if you are one of those people who drive yapping on your phone, don't assume that I'm talking about the other guy! Chances are you've been in several close calls and were too busy gabbing away to notice! Shut up and drive! In San Francisco, a yellow light means drive like hell, because the light's about to turn red! Red light running is a way of life here, unfortunately, and you should exercise caution both driving and walking - especially in the Castro District, where drivers are notoriously stupid (even by SF standards). Things have definitely become more uncivil on the roads in the past decade. The primary cause is that many freeways were torn down because of earthquake damage, and, thanks to SF's liberal squabbling and Willie Brown's cronyism, it is now 15 freakin' years later and all that traffic is still choking city streets! The Octavia Street off-ramp and boulevard project has relieved some of the pressure, but if you drive in the northeast quadrant of the city, you should expect heavy traffic. Leave a Comment
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| | | | Driving S.F.: The San Francisco Right Hook | Tip Rating:  | | | | |
First of all: in the USA, it is legal for drivers to make a right turn even when there is a red light. In Boxing, Philadelphia was made famous with Joe Frazier and the "Philadelphia Left Hook" punch. Well in San Francisco, the impatient, young professional population is known for having the San Francisco "right hook." What I mean is that San Franciscans are constantly driving in a hurry looking for a parking spot and often make right turns very quickly. While walking here on Judah and 9th Street, I nearly got "hit' by a San Francisco driver turning impatiently right having nearly not noticed me. Be careful especially on intersections where there will be cars making right turns. Another area where I nearly got hit by a car was on Pine and Sansome Street. This is an especially dangerous intersection because Pine is one way and Sansome is one way. One way streets that have right turns going onto other one way streets are where people run the greatest risk of getting hit by a car. San Francisco drivers are also bad because, well, they aren't San Franciscans. Those of you who are tourists, if you need to read a map, please pull over in the name of safety. As pedrestrians, look at drivers who appear to be on the cell phones while driving, younger drivers distracted by friends, young professionals in a hurry, and tourist drivers driving while reading maps. You'll notice a lot of drivers doing other things than driving. Be careful about them. I once saw a woman driving while putting on her make up!!!! It's a zoo in the roads of San Francisco. Always be careful when crossing streets. I almost forgot, another risky area are down hill streets where a car can turn right. Leave a Comment
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| | | | Driving S.F.: Curb Your Wheels | Tip Rating: | | | | |
San Francisco is a city of steep hills. Sometimes you wonder why parked cars (on grades even more vertical than the one in the photo) don't flip downhill, one after the other, like dominoes. When parallel parking on a hill, remember to set your hand brake tightly and curb your wheels, i.e. when facing downhill, turn the wheels sharply TOWARDS the curb, and when facing uphill, turn the wheels AWAY FROM the curb. If you have trouble remembering which direction is correct, think "Whenever possible, hit a pedestrian." That is, turn the wheels so that if the car were to roll, it would move away from the street. Leave a Comment
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San Francisco
on March 19, 2004
on October 30, 2006
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on December 17, 2005
