Driving in Atlanta

[Meenah]

I'm in Atlanta for a few days and I forgot how much I hate driving here. I haven't lived here for a long time. Do you get nervous driving in unfamiliar cities?

[Deebs]

I'm from Chicago, and think Atlanta should have its own category for driving. It is my least favorite place to drive (although I admit I've never attempted driving in NYC). One of the things I love about Cleveland is hat, even though OH drivers are far from good, there is a ton of road for everyone to share and very little congested traffic.

[GrayMatterWife]

Just moved to Atlanta and the traffic is the worst thing about it. Not sure the individual driving habits are per se any worse than any other major city (Boston, Baltimore, LA, Seattle, etc.), but the traffic congestion is awful.

If it had been ten years early, this move might have been overwhelming to me, because I'd be functioning off an old-fashioned map. With the Maps function on my iphone, I haven't had any problems!

[MsSassyBaskets]

I'm from Chicago, and think Atlanta should have its own category for driving.

I've always taken the MARTA when in Atlanta, but I remember when my brother was spending a lot of time there he had huge complaints about the traffic. And he was also from Chicago. I think Chicago's actually remarkably un-congested for a major city. The drivers are nuts, but the traffic's not so bad.

[MrsK]

I hate driving. I learned to drive in Miami where the roads are super crowded and drivers are unpredictable. I wasn't confident driving until I moved to KS where people complain that it takes 20 minutes to get across town during rush hour. In Miami, I lived 6 miles from my office and it routinely took 40 minutes or more to get home. I still freak out when I visit friends in Miami.

[ladymoreta]

I get frustrated when I don't know where I'm going, and I get lost a lot. For reference, I once made our Garmin just crash when we first moved to OKC! My iPhone is better because the maps are more up to date, but I still get lost. If I ever had to rely on an actual map, I think no one would ever hear from me again!

I don't mind driving in traffic, though, as long as I know where I'm supposed to be going.

[oceanchild]

I don't like driving. I don't understand people who think it's fun. But I'm definitely better in my own car in places I know. I've never been to Atlanta, but unfamiliar places and rental cars are the worst!

[corn poffi]

I hate driving. I have severe road rage and no sense of direction. I get lost even with a GPS. Luckily, most of my friends know this, so I never have to drive, except for work. If this city had a decent public transportation system (that you wouldn't get stabbed on), my life would be much better. And my blood pressure lower.

[niener]

I literally chuckled and said "good luck" out loud when I read the title of this thread

I like driving in general. I used to drive 10-12 hours regularly in college to go to DH's soccer games or visit friends, I've driven big chunks of cross-country road trips, and driving in new cities typically doesn't phase me at all.

I HATE driving in Atlanta. Hate it. You have your typical reckless and distracted idiots, uber-aggressive local drivers, and uber-timid tourists all on the same cramped highways that are poorly designed and have little room for merging on and off plus the complete lack of logical structure that's a hallmark of a sprawling city that expanded too quickly and just threw down roads to get from point a to point b. Freaking hate driving in Atlanta.

[samssugarmomma]

Ugh! Atlanta! I've had so many bad experiences either driving or flying into/from Atlanta that I just avoid the city altogether!

In general , I don't get intimidated by driving in new places as long as I have directions. Some cities seem to have more idiotic drivers than others and that is what ticks me off!

[Thirteen]

I am also a weirdo that likes to drive. Cross country trips, etc. I also have an uncanny, inner directional compass: my father taught me how to read maps from a very early age, so I feel pretty cushy when traveling/hiking/etc.
I grew up in a small place, with relatively no traffic, and then promptly moved to LA. I am not a scary driver, like DH, but I get really grumpy with people.
My theory is that in places where traffic is awful, everyone is always stressed out, and it shows on the roads. The best way I can explain preparing for a commute to work, or even a trip to the nearby store, in LA? Gearing up mentally for a big fight. Isn't that sad?

Here... well, there's construction, and it does have traffic, but not like where we came from.

[moonlight]

I also like to take road trips. The past couple times I've been back to Dallas I realized my ability to deal with all the traffic had taken a nose dive. I live in such a small town I never deal with traffic or even a highway.

[Pollyanna]

I'm fine with new places as long as I have a map or my iPhone GPS. I have never driven in Atlanta but our experience with Nashville drivers is hilarious, they don't seem to pay attention to staying in their lane, they stop in the middle of the road for various reasons, when there is an accident at least ten people stop their cars (again in the middle of the road) to get out and help, meanwhile blocking lanes in every direction. But everyone is patient, very little honking.