Can you help me solve my rapidly deteriorating transportation situation? I am a car dependent person who hates everything about cars, and my relatively beloved 1985 Mercedes 300 seems to have finally had it. In spite of the child's voice in my head screaming I DON'T WANT TO, I need to figure out how I'm going to get myself to and from work...maybe too many details below! Personal experience with car lease takeovers as well as general life advice about solving this problem like a grown up especially welcome!
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posted by justjess
on Jun 8, 2013 -
8 answers
A relative needs to brush up on Chicago driving; they have a license, so the basics are all there, but they need more practice. Any thoughts on where to get lessons?
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posted by aramaic
on Jun 5, 2013 -
4 answers
I'm going to have access to a car for 24 hours starting this Sunday afternoon, and I'd like to get away from city and suburban lights that night to (hopefully, clouds permitting) see some undiluted night sky. Any recommendations for safe places to do that near the NoVA/Washington DC area?
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posted by doctornecessiter
on May 24, 2013 -
8 answers
I'm scared of driving. But I'm determined to get over it and making great progress. There are some great questions and answers on the green about conquering fear of driving and they've helped me a lot. But I have a specific fear that towers over all the others, and I think that if I can just get over this, I will be a shedload more confident in driving in other situations. Here's the problem: joining a dual carriageway from a slip road on UK roads makes me cry.
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posted by pootler
on May 4, 2013 -
27 answers
I reply to a fair number of L.A. travel questions here and many of the answers (including mine) often contain dire warnings about traffic. This happens even if traffic isn't directly related to the question being asked.
So, visitors to our fair city, how bad was the traffic
really, and what information/advice can I give to newbie LA tourists who drive?
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posted by Room 641-A
on Apr 29, 2013 -
60 answers
Help me learn to drive! What's a good driving school or private instructor in NYC for a mid-twenties guy who's never been comfortable driving? I have the next 10-15 days and $500 to get as many hours behind the wheel as possible.
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posted by yaymukund
on Apr 26, 2013 -
9 answers
I am moving from lower MI to the Seattle area very soon. I was planning on taking 80 or 90, but both of them have recently been closed due to snow. Will going that way be okay, or is there a better way to go?
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posted by tweedle
on Apr 16, 2013 -
7 answers
I was reading about psychic driving which is a CIA and psychotherapy technique to change human behavior. What I wonder is what kind of messages did they play to them? The same ones over and over? Different ones mixed together?
what kind of things did they say? Seeing as how it was done by Dr. D. Ewen Cameron at a legitimate University under the guise of legitimate psychiatric research , I would imagine he would have released peer reviewed medical journals detailing his techniques, their effectiveness ect including what messages he played to them. What I am particularity interested in is what kind of things were said on the tape they played
posted by john123357
on Apr 12, 2013 -
6 answers
I'm moving from Berkeley, CA to Houston, TX next week, I'm wondering if there are any significant differences in the legal regime I should be aware of.
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posted by 0x006DB0
on Apr 7, 2013 -
18 answers
I'm contemplating becoming a taxi driver, but the region I live in, East Tennessee, has its population of ~500,000 people spread out over 11 counties. Can anyone tell me about the pros and cons as a taxi driver outside of major metropolitan areas?
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posted by Groundhog Week
on Mar 20, 2013 -
4 answers
I'm interested in the origin and propagation of this particular trope: Extremely drunk driver, with bottle of booze in the car, gets in a crash, possibly killing someone, with plenty of witnesses. The driver, either on his own initiative or after calling someone (perhaps a lawyer) for advice, gets out of the car and starts publicly drinking great volumes from the bottle.
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posted by 256
on Mar 13, 2013 -
13 answers
Tomorrow night, I'll be driving from Seattle to Whistler, BC. What's the drive going to be like, and is there anything that I should know?
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posted by schmod
on Feb 27, 2013 -
12 answers
Early May revelry-filled weekend excursion from NYC to Montreal for a group of roughly 12 20-somethings. We see time advantages to flying (provided all goes smoothly) but cost disadvantages. We see cost advantages to driving ourselves, but would like to minimize our personal stress and maximize fun. We see personal stress and maximum fun advantages to being driven, but have no experience with long-distance transporation charter and are unclear on whether this would be cheaper than flying. Any suggestions / experiences?
posted by undercoverhuwaaah
on Feb 19, 2013 -
17 answers
We're headed to England for Christmas. The plan is to fly into Birmingham and then use Stratford-upon-Avon as a home base (there are two productions that we want to see at the RSC). Are we crazy to consider renting a car and driving in England?
Pros = We'll be able to drive to other locations we want to visit; we'll be able to get to supermarkets to stock our vacation rental.
Cons = December weather (snow? ice?)? Driving a manual (will renting an automatic be cost prohibitve?)? Most importantly: driving on the left?
Thoughts? Advice?
posted by tmharris65
on Feb 16, 2013 -
25 answers
I've had a particularly awful experience on Friday that made me pull over and cry for a few minutes. LA freeways are a nightmare, and I really need ideas on how to internally deal with assholes on the road, and repeated incidents of dangerous aggression. I don't know how everyone else does it!
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posted by Tequila Mockingbird
on Feb 16, 2013 -
46 answers
I want to get my driver's licence but I don't have a car. What are my options in Maryland? Are their provisions for this?
posted by josher71
on Jan 31, 2013 -
17 answers
We're planning a trip next year and will be staying (for free!) near Lovina on the North-central coast. We'd like to rent a car for the week and day-trip to see the other parts of the island. Is this realistic and/or advisable? How are the roads in reality?
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posted by scottatdrake
on Jan 16, 2013 -
8 answers
Is there a term for when someone leans very far back and extends their arm to drive?
posted by skwint
on Jan 14, 2013 -
16 answers
Is traffic going to be crazy driving this evening/early night (Dec. 31
st) from Philly to Brooklyn via Staten Island?
posted by ennui.bz
on Dec 31, 2012 -
2 answers
Unbeknownst to me, a driving fine has doubled and moved beyond appeal - or has it?
What recourse do I have?
And while pursuing recourse, what should I do about the money owed to avoid further penalty?
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posted by jander03
on Dec 28, 2012 -
6 answers
Driving home this afternoon, I spun my car 360 degrees. I have no idea what happened. Please help me figure out what it was so that it never, ever, dear god ever happens again.
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posted by AthenaPolias
on Dec 15, 2012 -
24 answers
I have been driving a lot more these days and have come across rather curious situations on the road, involving pedestrians and abandoned / malfunctioning vehicles. Wondering who would be at fault if something were to happen.
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posted by ditto75
on Dec 7, 2012 -
22 answers
How much extra safety would a crash helmet offer a highway driver wearing a seatbelt?
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posted by Egg Shen
on Dec 5, 2012 -
16 answers
Studded or studless winter tires for our AWD Volvo S70? We're moving for the winter to an house that sits at about 7500' outside of Bozeman, MT. There's *always* snow on the driveway, which is reasonably steep. And usually (not frequently, but USUALLY) some snow on the paved road into town, which is about 20 miles long.
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posted by thomsplace
on Nov 19, 2012 -
12 answers
Drivers of NoVA: Starting from the intersection of 123/Ox Rd. and 286/Fairfax County Parkway, picking a friend up from DCA/National Airport, flight arriving at 7am this Wednesday. Should I drive the whole way, stop at Franconia-Springfield and take the metro, or some other plan C? What will traffic, parking at F-S, and metro crowding be like and how early should I leave? What effect will the holiday have?
posted by anaelith
on Nov 18, 2012 -
11 answers
Please help me become a better driver. Recently, I rear-ended a car while driving on a local road and it was raining at that time. This is a wake up call for me. I have to pay ~$2000 for car body repair and my insurance premium will go up. We are only lucky that nobody was hurt (my kids were in carseats and not harmed). I need tips on how to be a better driver.
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posted by akomom
on Nov 11, 2012 -
49 answers
Canadian wishing to drive in Scotland and the Hebrides - never drove on the left side before - how to prepare?
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posted by seawallrunner
on Oct 29, 2012 -
29 answers
Having real difficulty learning to drive. Give up altogether, start again in an automatic, or can you think of anything that would help me to improve?
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posted by raspberry-ripple
on Oct 29, 2012 -
32 answers
Winter tire filter: Looking for new winter tires for a 4-door Pontiac Sunfire.
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posted by asnider
on Oct 27, 2012 -
9 answers
Is planning a late-December road trip from California to Chicago madness? Mr. Quince, our sweet pup,
Lincoln, and I would like to take a road trip from Northern California to Chicago and back. We've done it several times taking I-80, but always during non-winter seasons. (more inside)
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posted by quince
on Oct 23, 2012 -
13 answers
It looks like we won't be able to afford flying for our Disney trip this November, so we're driving. Point of origination: Madison, Wisconsin. Drive time is 22 hours.
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posted by thanotopsis
on Oct 15, 2012 -
20 answers
What's your advice for a driving holiday across Holland into Germany, particularly regarding low emission zones in cities?
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posted by outlier
on Oct 9, 2012 -
14 answers
Ahoy, Los Angeles commuters! Out-of-town friends are heading from Long Beach to Valencia this Friday afternoon and have tasked me with recommending whether they should take the 405 vs. the 710 to the 5. (In terms of mileage, they're basically identical.) Help me steer them right.
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posted by scody
on Oct 3, 2012 -
13 answers
Can you help me understand, once and for all, what I need to do to get the best mileage out of my manual-transmission car?
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posted by Scientist
on Oct 2, 2012 -
27 answers
What would be the best and safest way to find a ride share on a long one-way (Toronto->Yellowknife) Canadian road trip?
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posted by jpziller
on Sep 18, 2012 -
6 answers
How often do I really need to drive my car? (goal: keeping the battery charged, engine happy, etc.)
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posted by dizziest
on Sep 11, 2012 -
17 answers
I'm taking a holiday in the South of France soon and am planning to drive down there (there being
Carcassonne). I plan to stop one night somewhere on the way - where would be an interesting place in the middle of France to spend one evening?
posted by ascullion
on Sep 8, 2012 -
3 answers
An article about ANPR cameras in the paper today had a quote from a policeman saying that a particular driving style could prevent detection. I am curious about what he meant by that, any ideas?
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posted by gregjones
on Aug 28, 2012 -
2 answers
