Highway Interchange

[santaman2000]

An interstate (motorway) interchange in Dallas:

"For all my friends and family that have never ventured to Dallas, Daalis, or Dallus, here is an aerial view of one of the major mix masters (highways intersecting) that is fairly close to where we live.

TRUE STORY! Driving in Dallas......
First you must learn to pronounce the city name. It is DAL-LUS, or DAA-LIS depending on if you live inside or outside LBJ Freeway.
...
Next, if your Mapsco is more than a few weeks old, throw it out and buy a new one. If in Denton County and your Mapsco is one-day-old, then it is already obsolete. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. (Frisco has screwed everything up.)

Dallas has its own version of traffic rules... "Hold on and pray."
There is no such thing as a dangerous high-speed chase in Dallas . We all drive like that.

All directions start with, "Get on Beltline," which has no beginning and no end. (It REALLY DOESN'T!!!)

The morning rush hour is from 6 to 10. The evening rush hour is from 3 to 7. Friday's rush hour starts Thursday morning.

If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear-ended, cussed out and possibly shot. When you are the first one on the starting line, count to five when the light turns green before going to avoid crashing with all the drivers running the red light in cross-traffic.

Construction on Central Expressway is a way of life and a permanent form of entertainment. We had sooo much fun with that, we have added George Bush Freeway and the High Five to the mix.

All unexplained sights are explained by the phrase, "Oh, we're in Fort Worth !"

If someone actually has his or her turn signal on, it is probably a factory defect. Car horns are actually "Road Rage" indicators - and remember, it's legal to be armed in Texas ..

All old ladies with blue hair in a Mercedes have the right of way. Period. And remember, it's legal to be armed in Texas ..

Inwood Road, Plano Road, NW Highway, East Grand, Garland Road, Marsh Lane, Josey Lane, 15th Street, Preston Road all mysteriously change names as you cross intersections (these are only a FEW examples). The perfect example is what is MOSTLY known as Plano Road . On the south end, it is known as Lake Highlands Drive, cross Northwest Highway and it becomes Plano Road, go about 8 miles and it is briefly Greenville Ave, Ave K, and Highway 5. It ends in Sherman ...

The North Dallas Tollway is our daily version of NASCAR. The minimum acceptable speed on the Dallas North Toll Road is 85 mph. Anything less is considered downright sissy. It also ends in Sherman .

If asking directions in Irving or SE Dallas , you must have knowledge of Spanish. If in central Richardson or on Harry Hines, Mandarin Chinese will be your best bet. If you stop to ask directions on Gaston or Live Oak, you better be armed... and remember, it's legal to be armed in Texas
The wrought iron on windows near Oak Cliff and Fair Park is not ornamental!!

A trip across town east to west will take a minimum of four hours, although many north/south freeways have unposted minimum speeds of 75.
It is possible to be driving WEST in the NORTH-bound lane of EAST NORTHWEST Highway . Don't let this confuse you.

LBJ is called "The Death Trap" for two reasons: "death" and "trap."
If it's 100 degrees, Thanksgiving must be next weekend. If it's 10 degrees and sleeting/snowing, the Fort Worth Stock Show is going on. If it has rained 6 inches in the last hour, the Byron Nelson Golf Classic is in the second round (if it's Spring) - and it is the Texas State Fair if it's Fall.
If you go to the Fair, pay the $15.00 to park INSIDE Fair Park . Parking elsewhere could cost up to $2500 for damages, towing fees, parking tickets, and possibly a gunshot wound. If some guy with a flag tries to get you to park in his yard, run over him.

Any amusement parks, stadiums, arenas, racetracks, airports, etc., are conveniently located as far away from EVERYTHING as possible so as to allow for ample parking on grassy areas.

Final Warning: Don't Mess With Texas Drivers ... remember, it's legal to Be armed in Texas." See More
— with Kiernan Ingram, Tristan David King, Bryson King and Cindy Denison.

 

[Toddy]

Spaghetti junction
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaghetti_Junction

An American tribute to British drivers
Judd Birdsall (from The Guardian, 2013)

"The United States and the United Kingdom have many important similarities, but a rigorous driving test is not one of them. As an American who recently passed the UK driving theory and practical tests, I have newfound respect for all the motorists I encounter on British roads.

To get my American license when I was 16 years old, I had to take a very short multiple choice theory test. Having not studied and never driven, I passed easily. Then I took a practical test that consisted of a 15-minute amble through a flat rural area. I performed poorly, and at the end of my test the examiner turned to me and said, "You really don't know what you're doin', do ya?" And he passed me.

I initially assumed the UK test was comparable to the one across the pond. But then I read that the large majority of UK motorists fail their first driving exam. And I heard horror stories of Americans and other foreigners failing multiple times. I began to study (or "revise" as you Brits say) in earnest.

I'm a doctoral student at Cambridge, and I'm quite sure I prepared much more for my driving tests than I will for my PhD viva next year.

A UK license is basically a PhD in driving.

I read the Highway Code. I read the entire 528-page AA Complete Test book, reviewing all of its 948 multiple-choice questions. I bought the Driving Test Success DVD, watching hours of slightly awkward inside-the-car footage of UK driving lessons. I watched countless "hazard perception" videos on YouTube.

The night before my practical test I fell asleep around 2am on my sofa with my laptop on my stomach as I watched "show me, tell me" vehicle safety tutorials. Had I not watched those videos, my answer to every vehicle safety question during the real test would have been "I would call my dad and then call AA."

(Note to American readers: AA is the British equivalent of AAA, but for some reason they don't call it the "American Automobile Association" in the UK.)

In the course of my studies I had to learn all those charming British motoring terms. To me, many of the terms sounded more like names for rock and folk bands. You know, when I was a teenager I loved heavy metal bands like Kerb, Slip Road, and MOT, and punk bands like The Rising Bollards. Now that I'm older, I prefer the gentler acoustic sound of bands like Soft Verge, Central Reservation, Pelican Crossing, Gantry Sign, and Urban Clearway, though I can still dig the pop-punk energy of Double Mini Roundabout.

I also had to create mnemonic devices to remember the differences between Britain's bird-name road crossings. A toucan crossing is where "two can" cross – both pedestrians and cyclists. At a puffin crossing, a pedestrian may be "huffin' and puffin' to get across" because there is no flashing amber light. Oh, apparently "amber" means "yellow" in English English. I've taken to calling Britain's other traffic lights ruby and emerald.

Thanks to my preparation, I passed the theory test, though my hazard perception score was hazardously low.

When the moment of my practical test arrived, I was a nervous wreck – though thankfully not a literal wreck. I tried to endear myself to my stiff-upper-lipped examiner by noting that the driving tests in America are "a bit different". He chuckled and said, "they're a joke".

To be fair to Americans, we drive big automatic cars on wide, open, straight roads, and most of our country is farmland and wilderness. Most of our towns and cities were laid out after the invention of the automobile. America is a car-based civilization. A Declaration of Independence from public transportation is part of our national psyche. A burdensome license test would be seen as an infringement on our fundamental human right to drive.

Things are "a bit different" in Britain. You have eight times the population density of the United States and many of your narrow, windy roads were developed before the invention of even the horse-drawn coach.

My American compatriots are shocked when I tell them that to earn a UK license I had to take a lengthy theory test, computerized hazard perception test, eye sight test, vehicle safety test, and a 40-minute driving test with a meticulous examiner jotting down each of my "faults" in real time.

As my faults mounted during the test, I prayed that we would turn back toward the test centre before I surpassed the maximum level of acceptable faultiness. I'm a married homeowner who drives an MPV with two toddlers in car seats; I'm hardly a risk-taker on the road. But I am an American. The examiner perceived my hazardousness and marked me down for not looking in my mirrors before I signalled – seven times.

Now I'm always conscious of looking in the mirrors before I signal and manoeuvre. Thanks to the rigors of the UK driving test, I'm a much safer driver, and I'm glad that I share the road with a nation of drivers who had to pass the same demanding test.

The people of Great Britain can be rightfully proud of their great driving skills. Whereas the easy US tests make me wary of American drivers, here in the UK, I've embraced the mantra Keep Calm and Drive On. "

 

[santaman2000]

......."The United States and the United Kingdom have many important similarities, but a rigorous driving test is not one of them. ......

Not really true. Our driving instruction begins about age 3 when we're old enough to sit in daddy's lap and steer the tractor (it used to be the car back before the child safety seat thing) The "exam" begins around age 8 when we drive the truck around the fields and logging roads. It moves up to the rural roads and back streets at about age 11 or 12. The official test is just a formality for people who've already been driving most of their lives. Driving ain't rocket science, it's much like riding a bike (all instinctive)

 

[santaman2000]

.......To be fair to Americans, we drive big automatic cars on wide, open, straight roads, and most of our country is farmland and wilderness....

He must be from the Great Plains or the Desert Southwest. Hardly the whole country.

 

[santaman2000]

.......Now I'm always conscious of looking in the mirrors before I signal and manoeuvre....

We don't "manoeuvre." we "change manes." And in general what's behind me does not matter.

 

[santaman2000]

........Most of our towns and cities were laid out after the invention of the automobile. America is a car-based civilization. A Declaration of Independence from public transportation is part of our national psyche. A burdensome license test would be seen as an infringement on our fundamental human right to drive......

Not true about the towns and cities. Although it's certainly true of the Interstate Highway system. Ironically, the most auto friendly roads I remember in the UK (apart from the motorways) were the ones originally laid out by the Roman Empire (definitely before the invention of the automobile)

 

[santaman2000]

.......A Declaration of Independence from public transportation is part of our national psyche. A burdensome license test would be seen as an infringement on our fundamental human right to drive.....

This one is true; not only true, but it actually is an understatement. The reality is that it's not just perceived as a "right," but it's an actual necessity. Here's a short list of thing you absolutely cannot accomplish without both a drivers' license and car ownership:
-First and foremost, you cannot get a job. Not just because of the obvious need to get to work, but also because most employers won't even consider you unless you have both.
-Ordinary grocery shopping
-Get to appointments (medical, school, everyday transportation)
-Get a date (like employers, potential dates aren't going to even consider it)

 

[Toddy]

Those who live where they have their own land with enough space to drive a car may begin training children early….heaven help them if they do sommat stupid though and screw up the insurance.

I suspect that mileage wise he might not be too far off the mark.

Oh we manoeuvre, especially on roundabouts with multiple exits, through increasingly chicaned suburban streets, and wriggly ones built upon old medieval roadways.

The Roman roads aren't wide enough; we've improved them no end

We live on islands; if push comes to shove, we just walk

M

 

[santaman2000]

Spaghetti junction
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaghetti_Junction .....

I remember these. They were cool I know there are a few on the major highway systems around the world. This was what I was hoping to spur with the thread; other posts and pix about complicated interchanges from various places.

 

[santaman2000]

....The Roman roads aren't wide enough; we've improved them no end .....

No doubt. What was so impressive about them though was the level of engineering and forethought the Romans put into laying them out that straight and relatively level oh so long ago.

 

[santaman2000]

Those who live where they have their own land with enough space to drive a car may begin training children early….heaven help them if they do sommat stupid though and screw up the insurance....

I expected as much. Even here we don't put them on public roads too early. In the more urban areas they use large parking lots at low traffic times. I was lucky enough to be a country kid.

 

[santaman2000]

......We live on islands; if push comes to shove, we just walk

M

Yeah. Harder to do when you live 10 to 50 miles from the grocery store, the doctor, work, ect. I know from some of your previous posts on other threads that you well understand the need to drive though. It's obvious enough from those that you have an impatience with slow drivers (even when "slow" means at the speed limit) on the motorway. LOL

 

[santaman2000]

Mary, have you ever navigated that spaghetti junction? Or one like it?

 

[santaman2000]

.......Oh we manoeuvre, especially on roundabouts with multiple exits....

Yeah, I remember the "majic roundabout" in Swindon. Most Americans aren't real good with roundabouts. They aren't really common here and not even the traffic cops really understand how they're supposed to work. In fairness though, the UK is the only place I've been so far where driver really did understand them and do well with them. In the European countries I've been in, the driver were just as awful as Americans regarding them.

 

[Toddy]

Privately owned land only for that one, and no Driver's Ed. in schools as a general rule. Some do add something under social studies, but it's rare. It's a privately paid for thing here and it can cost a fortune to get through. When Son2 did his lessons and tests he had no change out of £600.
When I sat mine (and mind I live slap bang in the middle of the busiest bit of the country) the test route took me through country lanes, medieval village, and 60mph expressway, at the rush hour
When I came back to the test centre my driving instructor, Neil, was waiting. When I smiled and said, "Pass", his voice went up two octaves with total astonishment and disbelief, "Ye've passed?? He never passes women on their first go here". I don't know who was more surprised, me or Neil
I've never driven when the roads were empty; they've always had traffic. I find it a surprise sometimes when driving very early or very late and have almost empty roads. I drove on the M8 into Glasgow, the M74 and the M9 the day after I passed my test.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M8_motorway_(Scotland)
Sphagetti junctions are just roads……..don't know how I'd deal with an armed eejit though. I think I'd just ignore him until I could call 999.

Your photo shows houses under the overpasses….now there's a place I wouldn't like to live.

M

 

[Toddy]

Yeah. Harder to do when you live 10 to 50 miles from the grocery store, the doctor, work, ect. I know from some of your previous posts on other threads that you well understand the need to drive though. It's obvious enough from those that you have an impatience with slow drivers (even when "slow" means at the speed limit) on the motorway. LOL

On what tourists consider 'quaint' backroads, but which are actually the main thoroughfare on the islands, I get thoroughly vexed when they won't either do a reasonable speed, or let folks past. There are signs up clearly stating that they should allow overtaking, and make use of passing places. I don't think I'm unreasonable in that, and the local police and sheriff courts agree.
Motorways, I try hard to stick to the speed limits, but if the flow of traffic's moving faster, then I go with the flow. Similarly if it's going slower, so do I.
I do have a foible; I always leave space between me and other vehicles; and I will pull in to allow folks past me.

Roman roads were very good indeed. They were something of an innovation in a country that either walked, rode, or shifted heavy stuff by water though. The camber/drainage throws folks when they see a real one, or a proper reconstruction of one.

Roundabouts are good things I believe the antipodeans call them Turnarounds and make a lot of use of them too. They keep traffic flowing.

Spaghetti junctions are fine if you're sure where you are going and are in the right lane otherwise pray there's an exit that you can turn round and rejoin for another shot at it

M

 

[Macaroon]

We don't "manoeuvre." we "change manes." And in general what's behind me does not matter.

Were I a barrister in court, I think I would rest my case right there.

 

[Bigfoot]

Interesting topic, thanks for posting those articles.

Ever driven in Cairo? Not that they have hugely complex intersections there but the volume of vehicles on the road at any one time often means you find yourself driving in 4 lanes of traffic on a 3 lane highway. If you need to make a left or right turn you need to plan well ahead!

 

[Toddy]

I look at those films with absolutely heaving roadways, buses piled high with bundles and folks clinging on like limpets, motorscooters and bikes, and camels and jeepneys, and think that's my nightmare commute :yikes:
I think you need to grow up driving there to be confident in it.

Australia, America, Africa, etc., have such enormous distances, that to island folks (albeit it's a couple of fairly large ones and thousands of smaller) like us, it just does not quite compute. I drive down to the Moot and I'm shattered, and it's only 8 hours and a bit away. My Australian sister in law lives in Brisbane and drives down to the south coast for the crossing to Tasmania where her parents and her daughter live. It takes two days…..I'd take a camper van and make a holiday trip of it, but she just nips down for a couple of days.
Driving 50 miles to go the the shops for the messages is pretty rare here. Cheaper just to phone it in or get it delivered using the internet ordering

That's another point; petrol is cheap here just now, but it's still an awful lot more than the Americans pay.

M

 

[Tengu]

I knew someone would bring up the Magic Roundabout.

(old Swindonian here.)

Another big difference between US and GB driving is we have proper cars with real gearboxes here.

(Automatics are believed to bring bad luck.)