Deborah Perkins, yoga instructor

Notes on Driving in Boston (and New England)

1. Driving here is a pain. Streets are not marked, mistakes are un-recoverable, streets don’t end up where you think they will, other drivers are intolerant and pedestrians will jump in front or in back of your car anytime they want.
2. The prevailing attitude seems to be “If you don’t know where you are, you don’t belong here”.
3. The natives have their own code for things. Many names are abbreviated. They use the abbreviations when giving directions so you can’t find what they are talking about on the street signs or a map. Some of the biggies:
Comm Ave = Commenwealth Ave
Mass Ave = Massachusetts Ave.
Mem Drive = Memorial Drive
South East Expressway = Rt 93, south of the city

4. Streets are mostly not marked. If there are signs, only one street in an intersection will be marked. (see #2)
5. The natives also have ALTERNATE names for lots of things. What is one name on the map might be called something completely different by the locals. (see #2)
6. Another charming habit of the locals is to use landmarks of things that burnt down were demolished, or changed names 10, 20, or even 50 years ago. (see #2)
7. You have to KNOW which lane to be in, because the signs won’t tell you. In the rare instances that they do, they will be too late to help unless you are there already. (see #2)
8. If you ask for directions you might not understand what they are saying anyway. (see #2)
9. Horns are used frequently. Don’t let it rattle you. Do what you want, like everyone else.
10. Pedestrians have the right of way in crosswalks. They don’t have the right of way at green lights but that does not seem to stop them.
11. People frequently run red lights, so be careful at intersections
12. If you are too slow when the light turns green, people will beep their horns (getting the feeling you can’t win?)
13. Even old ladies in back Bay have been seen flicking the bird when they are WRONG. It is almost the Boston way of saying “Hello”. Just shrug it off.
14. Bikes are a new menace. The city is in a transition phase in dealing with them.
15. Bikes have the right to ride in the middle of the road and frequently do, oblivious to the fact that there might be 20 cars backed up behind them and a bike lane for them. You have to put up with this.
16. You will notice that while bikes demand to use the roads with cars, they exempt themselves from the rules cars must follow. So watch the light: don’t go just because the bike is.
17. Did I mention that the same street names are used multiple times? This is to thwart invasion by non natives using GPS (see #2)

Good luck. May the force be with you.