 | San Francisco Driving S.F. Reviews | 1 - 10 of 40 |  |
 Behold! The only honest SF
driver by Karnubawax
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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 San Francisco, CA, as
seen from my office by karenincalifornia
Not only do you have to watch out for pedestrians who cross against the light, cars pulling out of blind garages, other drivers talking on their cell phones, and double parked cars, you have to concentrate on which way the streets go, are they one way or two?
It's enough to drive you to drink (but don't drink and drive)... Leave a Comment
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 a challenge to those on
foot or driving by richiecdiscLeave a Comment
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 Above a steep S.F. street by SteveOSF
You park perpendicular to the curb on the hills and do a little mountain climbing out to crawl out of your car, always weary of the potential of the car door to slam shut, by a combination of gravity and wind, to deliver a substantial blow to an exposed limb.
Many big rigs have gotten stuck at the spot in the photo. They have three choices.
1: Move forward over the cliff and get stuck on the grade break (with front wheels on the slope, rear wheels on the relatively flat intersection, and undercarriage resting firm on the pavement).
2: Try backing blindly up the 21.6 percent slope that led them into this mess. Many loaded trucks can not so this.
3: Make a right turn onto the narrow sidestreet. It is 30 feet wide with valued parking on both sides. This maneuver will usually sacrifice a couple of parked cars.
If you are coming to town with a good size truck, don't be fooled by a rectangular street grid. Some of these streets are steep.
If you have a car, curb your wheels. Not only will this prevent runaways (I've seen some), but will also prevent a parking ticket for failing to do so.
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 I nearly got hit here at the
corner of Geary & 9th by mydreamquest
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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 And this is only a small hill by Rixie
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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Beware of street cleaning and parking time limit signs. Don't think it is your lucky day when you see a block with abundant parking in an overcrowded neighborhood. Watch for those signs. They are not often visible from your line of sight. They could be stuck in an overgrown tree, down at the bottom (or top) of a steep hills, or nearly completely faded. The City aggressively enforces the street cleaning tickets.
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California law states that pedestrians have the right of way. So when driving the streets of San Francisco, always be aware of pedestrians. Be especially careful driving around the Fisherman's Wharf area, near the Safeway store and Bay Street. Some step off the curb and in front of your car without any fear, maybe too overcome with the sights&sounds. Some are merely vagrants who stumble drunkenly down the middle of the road, unheeding of any danger. On Market Street, the pedestrians are not as clueless. Leave a Comment
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 by SunnyPotHillLeave a Comment
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In San Francisco, there's a very fine line between being "someone who rides a bike" and being "one of those crazy 'bike-people.'"
There are, unfortunately, many people in this town who take bike riding WAY too seriously, and think they're making some sort of 'stand for the Earth' by riding a bicycle. That's all well and good, but some of them take it too far - viewing cars and motorists as "the enemy" - and will openly challenge drivers in right-of-way situations. This is, of course, very very stupid.
I'm always amazed at the stupidity of many cyclists, who insist on riding without a helmet or, even worse, riding at night with no lights! Red light running is even more prevalent among cyclists than drivers.
As you can imagine, accidents occur frequently. I have seen many a car vs. bike accident, and I can tell you that in at least half of them, it was the cyclist's fault. But don't try to tell that to the 'crazy bike-people.'
You may have heard of "Critical Mass" - a large bike rally held on the last Friday of every month. It's been the scene of some bad fights in the past between idiot cyclists and motorists, though things have toned down quite a bit in recent years.
For your own sake, keep an eye out for cyclists.
P.S. Renting a bike can be fun - especially riding around Golden Gate Park, and double especially on Sundays, when most roads are closed to car traffic. But if you ride on the streets, please be very careful. The laws of physics are not in your favor! Leave a Comment
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