After moving from Hershey to the Greater Philadelphia Area for college, I've taken notice to a few things. A lot of them have to do with driving, so I've made a list of the Top 10 Things We All Hate About Driving in Philly:
1. If the GPS says 30 minutes, plan for 45 to an hour.
The GPS plans for your route without traffic, but anyone that has traveled in traffic knows that is just not realistic. If you're not traveling during rush hour (7 a.m. - 9 a.m.; 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.) then you may have better luck but you should still leave early!
2. There's always construction.
Along with all of PA, Philadelphia doesn't fall off the trend of ALWAYS having construction no matter where you're going. If you don't have to take a detour or get stopped by a person flagging, it's a good day.
3. People drive insanely!
To make the construction matters worse, people aren't afraid to go fast and zip in and out of lanes. You always have to double check someone's not speeding up behind you when you're merging lanes.
4. There's almost always a crash.
Who would've guessed? Crazy drivers lead to crashes. Almost everyday you pass a crash whether it's on a highway because someone didn't double check or because someone is driving too fast for the weather conditions.
5. It's all highways.
One thing I've realized I really miss from home is the scenery. Most of your commutes in Philly include going from one highway to the other. You miss the open roads where you drive past fields and cows, and sometimes even miss the awful smell when they spread fertilizer on the fields.
6. You dread going on the Schuylkill.
You know it's the busiest road in Philly but somehow your GPS always has to take it. A commute is almost never under an hour if you have to take the Schuylkill, but how convenient is a road that can take you almost anywhere in Philadelphia?
7. Road rage is real.
Philly has never been known for having the nicest people, and it definitely shows on the roads. Don't cut someone off or do anything else to make them angry because they will most likely have awful road rage. I remember one time when I was driving somewhere with a few other people, we didn't know exactly where we were going so we were a little all over the place and we ended up cutting another driver off. The guy didn't take it lightly. He started going another direction, then all of a sudden he whipped over the median and started coming straight at the passenger side door of my car! I was terrified, but thankfully he moved back into his lane and went on his way.
8. The roads are confusing.
Not only are there a lot of people on the roads, but there's a lot of different roads. One highway can turn into another quicker than a blink of the eye. Pay attention or you'll be lost and end up in New Jersey!
9. You're lucky if you're going over 45 MPH.
With traffic comes slow commutes. Even though you're on a highway, you're lucky if you're going over 45 mph and not stuck in stand-still traffic.
10.Philadelphia is truly beautiful-- but don't get caught looking.
There's no doubt that the city is pleasant and the buildings are phenomenal. The down side is you can't get caught looking because as soon as you do, traffic has stopped and you've smacked into the back of that nice Mercedes. Cars can go from 60 to 0 before you even realize it, so keep your eyes on the road!
Although there's a lot to hate about driving in Philly, there's also a lot to love about living here. So here's to your Monday morning commutes to work right down the road that take 30 minutes and the Friday nights when you're sitting in traffic just anxious to get home. If we didn't love it, we wouldn't put up with it!
