Current Events > Is San Francisco the hardest city to drive in the US?

(+) Yeah! (+)

• Hills in the city to add complexity
• Many unusual rules (For example, no left turns during a certain time period)
• Constant traffic always
• More aggressive drivers compared to other cities
• Homeless People and Pedestrians to worry about
• Almost all parallel parking
• Have to share streets with bikes and streetcars
• Grid only in some parts

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Walking is worse

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The top 5 is some form of Houston, LA, Chicago, Boston and maybe Pittsburgh for navigation alone.

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Eh only dummies have cars in the city anyway.

I feel being so small makes it a bit easier

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Boston and Pittsburgh
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Never been to San Fran, or NYC, but I imagine driving in NYC would be worse.

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NightMarishPie posted...

The top 5 is some form of Houston, LA, Chicago, Boston and maybe Pittsburgh for navigation alone.

LA is not as bad as SF. The whole city was planned for cars as the city didn't really start to develop after World War II. The city is also mostly flat and has a lot of freeways. I can't speak for the other cities as I've never been to them.

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I want to watch Bullitt now.

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Lived in Delaware, Philly, Maine (Portland), Massachusetts, and Maryland/DC (currently).

Boston was some of the most insane **** I ever seen. For the people here in MD who talk about the Beltway, I tell them to try getting out of Boston during rush hour.

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why hasn't Atlanta been mentioned

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I would say it's up there in the top 10 I've been to.Seattle was awful, also Atlanta,Boston,NYC.And Honolulu.

Weird thing is Phoenix wasnt bad at all given the population.It has wide smooth roads layed out in grids with tons of access roads.

Dallas sucks due to construction,people and rush hour.

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Washington DC is the worst in my experience.

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I live in ny. I used to work in nyc. I say Boston

Vegas, Boston, Chicago, LA, and NYC run away with awful traffic. Vegas is the only place I was legitimately scared of cars and probably felt safer as a pedestrian than a driver.

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yes. SF is like the gold-standard for AI driving tests

I Like Toast posted...

Vegas, Boston, Chicago, LA, and NYC run away with awful traffic. Vegas is the only place I was legitimately scared of cars and probably felt safer as a pedestrian than a driver.

Vegas can't be worse than SF. The only part of Vegas that's dangerous is the area around Las Vegas Blvd.

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red_is_ash posted...

Vegas can't be worse than SF. The only part of Vegas that's dangerous is the area around Las Vegas Blvd.

the only part of vegas you'll be in is the strip. Conversely, Fisherman's warf in san Francisco is flat and grid, wide streets, and plenty of parking (that you'll pay an arm and leg for). The only minor difficulty is navigating the trollies. The brides to oakland were much better than the brides to get in NYC. the congestion was nothing compared to chicago or LA. The Golden gate bridge was more similar too a new york bridge in terms of traffic and slowness, but given it's a tourist attraction you expect it. I rented a 2019 corvette when i went to san franisco last year with high deductible insurance and was never worried about the car. I wasn't going to take it down Lombard street, but beyond that I felt fine.

and boston is just stupid. It wasn't built for cars. modern GPS makes it much better, but still
https://i.redd.it/zi0clh7wlpm01.png

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definitely

source: I live here

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Ever driven in downtown Detroit? The roads are narrow and the lanes are almost non existant. Its like the roads were made for cars from the 1910s and never updated.

Combine that with all the ped traffic and one way roads and you have the makings of a very unfun driving experience.

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NightMarishPie posted...

The top 5 is some form of Houston, LA, Chicago, Boston and maybe Pittsburgh for navigation alone.

Houston is a pretty simple place to drive. It's annoying that you have to drive a lot to get anywhere, but it's pretty damn easy to navigate. You got two major highways (I45 and I10) covering the cardinal directions and 3 loops to get inbetween them in Grand Parkway, Beltway 8, and 610.

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Man what the fuck at that pic of boston ILT. Yeah it was bad. I've been there a few times for pax and quiz bowl events in high school. Fuckin white knuckle the whole time, place is unpredictable as shit

red_is_ash posted...

* Many unusual rules (For example, no left turns during a certain time period)

Why is this? Genuinely curious.

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Ryven posted...

Why is this? Genuinely curious.

left turns are more dangerous and less efficient than just making three rights actually. in SF on a lot of major streets there are no lefts during rush hour and weekday hours if there are at all. also it's a fucking densely populated city. it shouldn't be easy to drive whereever you want
https://theconversation.com/why-ups-drivers-dont-turn-left-and-you-probably-shouldnt-either-71432

mythbusters did a bit on it too

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inner cities should be car free

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Taking a taxi in SF was one of the most frightening experiences Ive had in a car

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Boston is Satans asshole, you HAVE to drive like a reckless asshole or youll never move

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red_is_ash posted...

More aggressive drivers compared to other cities

california in general have more aggressive drivers. it nearly killed my cat because the bitch wouldn't slow down in pulling into the apartment complex.

my cat ended up with a busted jaw and dehydrated because i couldn't find her for an entire day when the car struck her.
(really cared for that cat).
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I live and drive in SF

* Hills in the city to add complexity

Hills are avoidable if you are not going to the residential areas. You can get around the city driving on flat streets.

* Many unusual rules (For example, no left turns during a certain time period)

Just don't turn left during the time posted. It's during rush hour anyways, and I'm happy that rule is in place.

* Constant traffic always

That's a given in any cities.

* More aggressive drivers compared to other cities

Totally disagree. People are super willing to let cars cut in line in front of them, almost to a fault IMO.

* Homeless People and Pedestrians to worry about

Agree, especially in the TL. I shutter whenever I'm stuck in a red light there.

* Almost all parallel parking

Parallel parking is a problem?

* Have to share streets with bikes and streetcars
* Grid only in some parts

Streetcars are in their own lanes. There's always another lane next to it. Bikers can be annoying if they are in the middle of the lane, but most of the time they let you pass when they get the chance. Also, SF is pretty much a built in a grid. Compare that to navigating in Daly City which goes west and south for you to drive north.

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