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Los Angeles by car


Los Angeles by car

Los Angeles is notorious for problematic traffic conditions on local highways, but visitors used to driving in most of the rest of the world will not find it especially bad. Many major car rental companies are located at LAX. Many spectacular natural areas surrounding the L.A. metropolitan area can be reached only by car. See the article about Driving in Los Angeles County for more information. If you are going to be driving, make sure you have access to extensive street and freeway maps or access to a GPS navigation system in order to navigate the myriad freeways and curving surface roads. The freeways can be confusing for visitors. It is recommended that you familiarize yourself with your chosen route prior to setting out on your trip and pay attention to traffic and road signs. "Carpool Only" lanes may be entered with two or more occupants in a vehicle. Listening to a radio station is helpful for any long trip through L.A. since most stations regularly disseminate traffic information during the daylight hours. KNX 1070 AM and KFWB 980 AM are the most frequent and cover the metropolitan area, including Orange and Ventura counties and the Inland Empire. Although L.A.'s traffic jams are legendary, the freeway grid provides for an effective movement of traffic and a variety of alternatives. Be sure to have an alternative route planned out in advance; many freeways run parallel to each other and serve as viable alternatives, especially in long-distance trips. If possible, use a passenger as your navigator. You may also check SigAlert or TrafficReport for current traffic information before your trip. As for driving on the street grid, most cities in the Greater Los Angeles Area (also called Southland) have well-maintained streets, but streets within the city of Los Angeles itself tend to have a lot of cracks and potholes (the city government spends about half of its annual budget on law enforcement, which leaves little for street maintenance). Wilshire Boulevard is particularly notorious for extremely bumpy conditions and requires extreme caution to avoid destroying the suspension of one's vehicle. However, over the years, the city government has installed sensor loops on most major streets and publishes real-time traffic speed maps online at . Also, most California cities have dedicated left-turn traffic lights at major intersections, allowing for so-called "protected" left turns, but most Los Angeles intersections do not have them, so they operate under the rule where one must yield to opposing traffic and turn only when it is safe. Some Los Angeles streets are so congested that it is impossible to turn until the traffic light reaches the amber (caution) phase. Therefore, it is customary in Los Angeles for as many as two, three, or four vehicles to creep into the middle of such intersections in order to turn against opposing traffic on an amber light (rather than only one vehicle, as is traditional elsewhere in the rest of the state and most of the country). If you are a first-time visitor, you may find yourself being honked at by other drivers (or honking at other drivers) until you become accustomed to this. Driving around downtown is especially frustrating to deal with. With the number of freeways meeting around the downtown area, it is important to be in the correct lane to get onto the correct freeway. Even without a large number of vehicles present, drivers still tend to go slowly in this area because of the numerous turns and exits. Many Los Angeles intersections have red light enforcement cameras, linked to sensor loops which are energized about a third of a second after the traffic light turns red. You will know the camera activated when it flashes its strobe light at you to obtain a clear view of your face (which is required along with a picture of the license plate to issue a ticket under California law). These intersections are sometimes marked in advance by signs and should be approached carefully to avoid a fine.

The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Los Angeles


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Los Angeles Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.

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