The differences between America and Europe are becoming more and more obvious the longer I live here. Nowhere more so than on the roads. You see, America is a nation entirely dependant and obsessed by cars. In New Jersey especially, you need a car to accomplish anything. The public transport, if you're going anywhere other than New York City or Philadelphia, is non-existent. And despite endless roads lined by endless strip malls, whatever destination or convenience one requires here is automatically six or seven miles away from where you actually are.
So you need a car - and New Jersey is full of roads that are full of cars. And one thing is becoming increasingly clear to me. Whoever was in charge of arranging these roads was an idiot.
The road system in America is a mess. It's like a great big third world country.
After enjoying the civilised roads of England or the smooth, subsidised tarmac of the French Autoroutes, bumbling along potholed stretches of cracked tarmac at 35 miles an hour (although the speed limit sometimes drops as low as 15) seems incredibly backwards. But that's what American roads are like.
Plus they're arranged like spaghetti. Motorways appear from nowhere. Roads merge and split. Junctions and slip roads leap up on you to the left and right with no warning. Not to mention you can turn right on a red light here.
Given just how confusing the roads are, the moribund speed limits suddenly make sense. If anybody tried driving faster than 35mph on a County Road, they'd soon end up in the ditch. It's much better than everybody just pootles along, gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles as they try to work out who has right of way.
Even things like junctions are unnecessarily complicated here. Everything seems to have been designed by committee. It's quite possible to see a sign at a traffic light telling you that you can turn right when the light is red, provided the other light is green and there are no cars approaching from a perpendicular angle and it's a Tuesday. God forbid you take a moment to process this obscure equation because the definition of the New York Minute is the length of time it takes the light changing colour to the guy behind you beeping his horn because you haven't shifted your car.
The key to survival on the American highways is a sharp mind and nerves of steel. While French roads can feel like a race track and the etiquette British drivers demand is excruciating, just the sheer randomness of the American traffic system makes it one of the most terrifying in the world.
2 comments:
Oi, achei teu blog pelo google tá bem interessante gostei desse post. Quando der dá uma passada pelo meu blog, é sobre camisetas personalizadas, mostra passo a passo como criar uma camiseta personalizada bem maneira. Até mais.
A lot of this probably has much to do with the fact that you're in New Jersey. Most of New Jersey is a terrifying spaghetti bowl of roads, especially Northern Jersey. I'd say even most Americans would find the roads there confusing and threatening. If you venture elsewhere, in fact most anywhere else, you'll probably find things less crazy.
Secondly, regarding the asphault here, as we have real winters here we have destroyed pavement. Salt, heavy trucks and frost can decimate the smoothest road in one season. If you've ever driven in Florida, you'll have noticed that the roads in the Southern US are glass smooth. No winters = smooth pavement.
Don't fall into the expat trap of generalizing based on first impressions of your local area. You've only just arrived, give it a chance.
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