Driving in California

We were pretty good about getting our new California driver licenses shortly after living here full time. We even had to take a test about California driving laws that we totally winged but both passed. (Eh, no big deal.) Now that we have been driving around Sacramento for a bit, there are some things that we've noticed are different from Texas...

1) In Texas, at an intersection, there is about a 3 second delay between when the light turns red for cross traffic and when the light turns green for you. I think this is brilliant because if there are any red light runners, you have a few seconds for them to get through the intersection before you are given the green to go. Here, there is no delay. As soon as cross traffic turns red, yours turns green so there are often people still crossing when your light turns green.

2) Drivers here are super friendly to pedestrians. Well, you have to be. It's the law. If you make eye contact with a pedestrian who is about to cross the street, you must stop for them. Apparently, we've even heard that police officers will dress up like a civilian pedestrian and if you do not stop for them, they will give you a ticket.

3) You must use a hands-free device while talking on your phone in the car. We have not bought said devices so it's only a matter of time before one of us gets pulled over for forgetting the rule and talking on the phone while driving.

4) While driving on the freeway and coming up on an intersection with another freeway, the signs are confusing. Instead of saying I-5 North in this lane and I-5 South in this lane, they'll say I-5 Redding in this lane and I-5 Los Angeles in this lane. Or Hwy 80 Reno in this lane and Hwy 80 San Francisco in this lane. Well what if you are brand new to the area and don't know where those cities are in relation to where you want to go? No worries, we've figured it out but it's not helpful for the newbies.

Confession: we've already gotten a parking ticket for parking downtown in a "Zip Car" spot instead of a regular spot. :( Boooo