Driving/working in the States ?
 

With my new job I will be working some of the time in the US, my first trip is next month, they have told me to hire a car but I have only driven once over there and that was about 2 miles, have never driven on the continent so a bit concerned about driving round downtown Atlanta in rush hour.

Any tips, driving related or otherwise related to spending time in the US working gratefully received !

You can turn right on a red light.

you can join in honking the horn (is that a sport ;)) when british people in front of you dont turn right on a red light :D

I found it much better driving in the states, roads are much better, and never seemed to get stuck in traffic either

San Fran was slightly daunting for the first 5 mins after leaving the airport, but soon settled down (ive spent a long time driving all round and in and out of London) and it was night time, sat on the wrong side of the car, on the wrong side of the road in an automatic :D

Hello

Where are you going to work in Atlanta? In my last job, I went to Atlanta (slightly North of Atlanta) for a week every month or so. Driving in America in general is very easy as there are nice, big roads that are signposted. Drivers are reasonably courteous and okay safety wise unless it rains and then American's seem not to be able to drive. As above you can turn right on a red light if there is no traffic, which is useful.

I was lucky enough to be in a relatively nice area about 30 miles North of Atlanta, if you are in Atlanta itself be careful. It has some seriously dodgy areas and has the 2nd highest murder rate per population only behind Washington. It managed to overtake Los Angeles.

Steve

dont a lot of them carry guns in Atlanta too (or certainly in parts of Atlanta)

A lot of the people who I worked with had "big ol trucks" with gun racks on the back. Some of the people who worked for me used to have guns in their cars. Always made for a fun night out :)

Steve

Check out the LIVE Police Transmissions in Atlanta

ScanFulton: Live Atlanta and Fulton County area Police and Fire Radio

10.10 Good Buddy We've had a report of a 68 in the 9c - Make a 15, make a 15

not in all counties/states :thumb:

Very reassuring !

I will be in Tucker which is sort of North East Atlanta.

Anyway, I am from Manchester, similar rules apply !

But not all red lights, the ones that you can't have signs telling you that you must stop just before you get to them .

Most traffic lights in the citys do not allow you to turn left so you just turn right, get over to the left hand lane as soon as you can, there will be a slip road that you pull into (usually with traffic lights) that allows you pull onto the road going the way that you originally wanted to. Don't worry if you miss the first as there will be loads more. It sounds strange but you soon get used to it.
If you are allowed to turn left at the traffic lights and the red light is flashing then you can proceed if it safe to do so.

Traffic lights that flash amber means that you should be prepared to slow down although you will not see any one doing this.

If you are on a road with two way traffic there is a lane in the middle (usually marked in yellow) this is to be used for crossing the oncoming traffic, there is no proirity to use this lane just indicate and pull in, first come first served.

If you are driving in the morning or evening and are behind a school bus do not overtae it when it pulls over with it's lights flashing, you can get in big s#it for that one!
It's easy driving over there so don't worry the fun is that you can undertake and overtake as most of the Yanks can't be bothered to disable the cruise control or press the go pedal so they stay side by side for miles :cuckoo:

Away from driving then everything else is pretty much the same as here apart from the portions of food.

Atlanta is a nice place to be with some bery nice weather, I just got back from Detroit where it was down to -15 C :eek:

Looking on the bright side there are some cheap car parts, I picked up an APS turbo pipe that is not sold in this country for a very nice price:)

Hello, I can advise on the firearms situation in GA... for those that are really interested..

There is no ownership permit required for state residents for long arms or pistols just be over 18.

CCW (concealed carry waiver) is fairly simple to acquire in GA. Basically fairly law abiding people packing heat anywhere they want within reason but the whole idea is you dont know they are packing. The only main exceptions are in / near schools or at public events like football games, public transport and public parks.

You can also lawfully carry on your own home and your own business premises.

It is also worth remembering that they have fairly open laws on shooting people.. "forcible felony" i.e someone is using force to commit a felony crime you can open fire, and also you can use the same force to protect your home, car, business if the person in question is using force.

If you fancy doing some shooting in the area or any survival training (good fun on the weekend) drop me a mail.

I'm Originally from Cheadle Hulme nr stockport.

Are you a Blue or a Rag ?

:)

Cheadle Fume as we affectionately used to call it.. :)

The key to that being your OWN business premises. All the offices that I went to (and my office) had a strict no-gun policy.

From one of my ex-colleagues just now about Tucker:

"Tucker is very close to the city and has all that a city can offer at your doorstep. However is crimeridden and gangs roam. If you stay out of their business they usually stay out of yours however it is a place I wouldn't visit without being heavily armed. Look into Buckhead, Toco Hills or the Emory area. They are close by and much safer."


Steve

Don't think I will get much spare time, there from Monday evening to Monday evening but definitely working the Saturday, Sunday, don't know, don't intend to work, so might be after some entertainment.

What do you need to drive over there, a Credit Card and your driving licence ?

Think I am going on Delta but open to suggestions regarding carriers from Manchester, I think its just Delta the at does direct. Last time we went it was on a Tri-Star !

Any ideas on mobile phone out there, I have a Three mobile and am getting a BlackBerry soon, is it like Europe where they just work but cost a fortune ?

Ha !

Half Hearted Rag with Sympathy for the poor bitter Blues having worked with them quite a lot.

I was from Heald Green, just up the road, my opticians is still in Cheadle Hulme Precinct, Nr MonkHouses, me and Jackos mate used to lurk round the Kenilworth pub annoying women.

To drive you need a credit card and driving licence (both parts if you have a new one) and that is about it.

I hate Delta with passion. They fly from Gatwick to Atlanta and I only did it once with them, the rest with BA. The stewardesses are just grotty and you have a good probably of getting one of their 'old' planes: It still has a screen in the middle of the 'plane for everyone to watch! I hadn't seen one of those in years!

Mobile phone needs to be tri-band to work in America and you pay roaming charges (i.e. a lot). Still, if work is paying you may not care...

A word about the airport: You get off of the 'plane, go through customs, collect you bag, RE-CHECK your bag, then go through security again, get the train and go to the South area (for Delta) to get your bags again. I mention it as it is confusing the first time as you have your bag for all of 60 seconds and then have to give it up again. The second security screening is painful as there can be long queues.

Steve

Thats what I said, would you like me to suck the egg now or after I quote GA code 16-3-23 to you... :) :) :thumb:

Trouble is, only Delta seem to do direct, can go BA but its Man - gatwick first.

whereabouts precisely me and j4cko where always in the kenilworth

j4cko i will ring you with your flight options but tbh DL is probably your best bet,

you will be coming home as Human Remains so i wouldnt worry too much about the return leg

Aye - The good ole Kenny - Happy days indeed.
Ever get to the Hesketh ???

**** tip when I was living up there xx years back

YHPM

My missus and her mum have a shop right inthe centre of head green.

Don't worry about it. By default, your driving will be approximatley 5,342 better than any Americans, due to having to use the steering wheel regualrly and having to fit into gaps less that 10 foot wide for the majority of your driving life.

I just hate it and avoid it like the plague, but thats only a personal thing ....

Driving on the wrong side of the road isn't too bad, you do get used to it fairly quickly. I had a moment last time I was back in the UK, thought for a second that my dad was driving on the wrong side of the road, then I remembered what country I was in :D

As others have said, turning right on a red is a rather nice idea (why can't the UK adopt turning left on a red light?) and does work well, just make sure you do stop before doing it and not just sail through.
On the stopping front. When you come to a stop sign you must, must, must stop dead, for a few seconds, then move on, even if there is nothing there. If you don't and the cops are having a bad donut day then they'll do you for a moving violation, which is a fine, think it was about $25 when my boss got a couple of them a few years back.

Stick to the speed limits. I know some of the roads are wide and straight as an arrow and go on for what seems like forever, but the cops usually sit in the central division with their speed cameras just waiting for someone to fly on past. Cruise control is very handy for roads like this, set it, and sit back and "enjoy" the drive.

If you do get pulled over by the cops then do NOT get out of the car, put your hands on the steering wheel, keep them there, and wait until the cop comes over to the car and do everything he tells you to. If he asks for your licence/insurance and it's in the glovebox, tell him you're going to reach over and get it, otherwise he could think you're reaching over for a gun.

For car hire, usually credit card, drivers licence and photoid (if you don't have a photo id licence). I'd also take my passport along just in case, as it's official identification. You may also want to check age requirements as I think you typically need to be at least 21 to hire a car.

Oh, if you're not 21, no drinking for you, well, in most states. The legal age for drinking is 21. I was 28 and kept getting asked for ID when drinking in anywhere apart from the local town's bar (when I worked out of our US office), you get used to it eventually.

Over/Undertaking. On a three or more, lane highway you can under and overtake, so you will be passed by big rigs on both sides of you, somewhat disconcerting the first time it happens, but again, you'll get used to it, but do remember they and you can do this when changing lanes, so you need to check all around before switching, just in case.

Bottom line, the driving side of things is pretty easy

One other bit of advice, if you've not had the pleasure of US Customs and Immigration (US version of Passport control) then do NOT try and joke with them, the majority of them have no sense of humor and seem to be on a power trip and want to know exactly why you have the audacity to want to enter their country. Make sure you have a letter from your employer stating why you are in the USA and how long for, and where you will be working (including address). Also have a printout of your hotel reservation.
For < insert deity here > sake don't say you're getting paid in the US (I'd presume you're not), they really don't like that at all.
If you're visiting a client, then it would be advisable to have a letter from the client detailing your visit. If it's a post sales visit then a copy of the sales invoice/purchase order might be handy to have.
I've visited clients for a pre-sales demo of our software and the immigration android suggested that next time I should bring a purchase order with me. Not wishing to be refused entry, I agreed with him politely, but come on, how thick are you! The letter from the company said it was pre-sales tech demo visit, and I said the same thing. How the hell can you have a PO from a client who isn't a client yet and might never be if they don't like the demo I'm going to give? Go figure! :D
Don't let that put you off though :)

I watch the blues in Kenilworth now and again :thumb:

Lived in Heald Green all my life :cool:

Over here you can get laid if you see a red light :norty: