Driving the 101 This Summer Will Be a Challenge

Now that it is Tuesday and I have recovered from weekend driving woes, let me warn you; it’s about to be a long hot summer of unsavory driving. I learned this about two years ago when commuting to Mesa on the weekends for my on-air shift at KDKB. (I work at 98.7 The Peak now in Phoenix). During the summer here, ADOT can only do certain tasks during hot weather so freeways have to be shut down, often in both directions. (Sealing or something to that effect). So be ready for that.

I have found in the past it is helpful to check the ADOT website before leaving the house so I can figure out what my route will be. I am not kidding! This has got to be the only major city in America that CLOSES DOWN freeways on the weekends.

Here’s the ADOT link for you to copy and paste:

http://www.dot.state.az.us/ccpartnerships/news/closures/index.asp

I have also placed a permanent link at right in the links section. You will need this if you plan to drive in Phoenix this summer!

Aside from the fun on the 101 this weekend, as it was shut down for light rail construction between Broadway and University, I witnessed a litany of accidents on McDowell. It was an accident per intersection, four intersections in a row. So I ask the eternal question that everyone asks as they shake their heads, “Why are people such horrible drivers here?”

I will never understand it. I think it has a lot to do with the strange way the roads are laid out. You get the left turn arrow after your lanes of traffic have gone if you’re in Scottsdale, before if you live in Phoenix. And at that, it isn’t like more than 2-4 cars get through a light, much less a left turn arrow.

Drivers just aren’t on the ball here either. It takes them too long to realize their light has turned green or that they have the right of way. My personal favorite aspect of driving in the Valley of the Sun is turning right onto Scottsdale Road from Thunderbird. I wonder every morning why people don’t realize they have a green light! Green light = right of way = you can turn = I don’t have to sit behind you wondering why you are so stupid.

Drive nice, that’s all I ask. Driving nice also means driving with a brain. Drive with your eyes and ears open so you don’t anger the drivers around you. I could get started on the road rage I’ve witnessed, but that is a whole other post!