OT: Phoenix

If you're visiting, here's what you need to know before driving your Miata in Phoenix:

  1. 'Phoenix' actually consists of Scottsdale, Chandler, Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert, Glendale , Peoria , Tolleson, Avondale, Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Sun City, Sun City West, Sun City Grand, Sun Lakes, Surprise, Laveen, Apache Junction, Gold Canyon and half of the Mexican border.

  1. The morning rush hour is from 4:00 am to noon. The evening rush hour is from noon to 9:00 PM. Friday's rush hour starts on Thursday morning.

  2. The minimum acceptable speed on most freeways is 85 mph. On loop 101, your speed is expected to match the highway number. Anything less is considered 'Wussy'.

  1. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Phoenix has its own version of traffic rules. For example, cars/trucks with the loudest mufflers go first at a four-way stop; the trucks with the biggest tires go second. However, in the East Valley, SUV-driving, cell phone-talking moms ALWAYS have the right of way..

  2. If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear ended.

  1. Never honk at anyone. Ever. Seriously. It's an offense that can get you shot.

  2. Road construction is permanent in Phoenix . Detour barrels are moved around for your entertainment pleasure during the middle of the night to make the next day's driving a bit more exciting.

  1. Watch carefully for road hazards such as drunks, dogs, barrels, cones, cats, mattresses, shredded tires, rabbits, vultures, javelinas, roadrunners, and the coyotes feeding on any of these items..

  2. Maricopa Freeway, Papago Freeway and the 'I-10' are the same road. SR202 is the same road as The Red Mountain FWY. Dunlap and Olive are the same street too. Northern and Shea are the same street. Also Glendale Ave. becomes Lincoln Drive . Jefferson becomes Washington, but they are not the same street. I-17 is also called The Black Canyon Freeway as well as The Veterans Memorial Highway . The Superstition is also known as US 60. The 101, 202 and 303 remain a large mystery to most of us. It is not yet determined if there is a Red Mountain and a San Tan or just a Red/Tan Mountain. The SR51 has recently been renamed to Piestewa Freeway because Squaw Peak Parkway was too easy to pronounce. SR101 is also the Pima FWY except west of I-17, which is also The Black Canyon FWY, and The Veterans Memorial HWY. Lastly, Thunderbird Rd. becomes Cactus Rd. -- but, Cactus Rd. doesn't become Thunderbird Rd. because it dead ends at a mountain.

  1. If someone actually has their turn signal on, wave them to the shoulder immediately to let them know it has been 'accidentally activated.'

  2. If you are in the left lane and only driving 70 in a 55-65 mph zone, you are considered a road hazard and will be 'flipped off' accordingly. If you return the flip, you'll be shot.

  1. For summer driving, it is advisable to wear potholders on your hands.

  2. Please note that there are many, MANY more issues to the phenomenon of driving in Phoenix-- like the 4-cars-through-a-red-light rule -- but these will at least get you acquainted with our unique life on the road.
Reply to
XS11E
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From personal experience during a Christmas trip to Phoenix, here are a few more insights:

If it rains in the mountains upstream, there will be flooding. This could be as harmless as low spots filling with water up to 10 feet deep (an amusing de facto sobriety test), or as majestic as the Salt River actually filling up and washing out the approaches to every bridge, effectively cutting the city in half. This is when all the aforementioned plastic barrels celebrate a rare reunion.

While sitting in line to cross the single reopened bridge (it was after noon, so it must have been the evening rush), one fellow behind us ran into a nearby liquor store, came out with an armload of six-packs, and started handing cans of beer to other drivers, a random act of kindness toward total strangers that I've not seen elsewhere.

Reply to
Lanny Chambers

Very nice! From PBS:

| The 100-Year Floods: | Many Arizonans shared one unique collective memory of the '70s. | No, it wasn't 8-track tapes, Farrah Fawcett's hair, nor even the | CB radio craze. It was...the floods! Dams store water in | reservoirs for use during drier months. Sudden, excessive rainfall | can fill the reservoirs and water must be released...sometimes | lots of water. And in Arizona in the '70s, there was a lot of | sudden, excessive rainfall. In the first half of the decade, three | powerful storms hit Arizona killing over 30 people and destroying | or damaging nearly a thousand homes.

| Between October 1977 and February 1980, there were seven floods. | Phoenix was declared a disaster area three times and 18 people | lost their lives.

And I accepted temporary employment from a firm across the river in Tempe! I drove to work once or twice before one of the "100 year floods" hit, after that it was struggling every day to get across the Tempe bridge, a 50+ year old WPA project that was the ONLY bridge that remained standing! When I was offered permanent employment I politely declined!

We had 3 or 4 "100 year floods" in about a 5 year period! When things dried out the money was FINALLY spent to replace the paved river crossings that washed out each heavy rain with permanent bridges but I never again considered employment across the river!

NOTE: The "100-year flood" is more accurately referred to as the 1% flood, since it is a flood that has only a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any single year.

Reply to
XS11E

Bingo! Our adventures were in December 1977 or 1978, IIRC. It was explained to me that the gravel-based bridge approaches were designed to wash out, to take the load off the concrete bridge in a flood. Back then, it seemed everyone lived north of the river and worked south.

Reply to
Lanny Chambers

I've always heard "Phoenix is for Lovers". I just didn't know the saying was supposed to end in "of hops." -Carol

Reply to
Carol

Umm, that's been Virginia's slogan for decades. It's even on license plates.

-- Larry

Reply to
pltrgyst

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