S.Susan

there are few important lessons I have learned in the first week.

1) Never go out without hat , sun glasses, water , sunscreen . I know it is sunny California but I didn't expect this baking hot weather. My husband and children got burnt on the day two . Good thing is At least they are probably not the most palest people in the entire Bay Area anymore. They are dead red now !!

2) indication don't mean anything in this country . It was my very first journey on the bloody freeway 680 . I have indicated and checked, and start changing the lane . The big truck on the other lane dramatically speed up and came for me . Seriously it was that fast and I thought he is going to cash into me.
Second time was yesterday , I was trying to change the lane and I start indicate. Guess what no one let me go .
What's wrong with the drives in this country . They clearly have some issue with indication and no one care about that !!!i m still mad until this moment.

3) 4 way junctions is a joke ! Why they don't do roundabout ? Why?why ? I have to stay on the junction forever because I just don't know if it's my turn or not .....

I am sure there will be plenty lessons and surprise waiting for me . What can I say , keep calm and keep going. The main concern at the moment is my driving. My brain is still making me drive to the right of the road. If you happen to live in Dublin, watch out a red Mazda , don't get too close to that car

From tmr, hubby will go to work and I need to face two homesick end Children alone. I was really surprised when my little one came up to me and told me seriously he wants to go back to nursery yesterday. I thought he won't know but children do know . i have heard there is a Dublin library , is it any good ? I m planning to take children there maybe it will make them feel better.

Hope you all have a great week ahead of you !

Steerpike

There is something of a heatwave going on at the moment; this is not typical - it will cool down!

Four way stops work fine. Some people at four-way stops are nervous old fogies and don't go when they should; others are aggressive kids who knowingly go ahead of their turn. If you think it's your turn, go for it, and just be ready to stop if someone else has the exact same idea. Roundabouts are slowly gaining acceptance here but only the larger format; you'll never see a 'mini roundabout'.

Freeway driving in the Bay Area is a lot different from the UK, as you have observed. People tend to use the right lanes if they are traveling local (planning to exit the freeway within an exit or two), and use the left lanes if they are planning to be on the freeway for quite a while. There's generally not much difference in speed between left and right lanes, and if you are in a hurry, you tend to switch lanes when gaps appear, regardless of left or right. Don't fight it, because you won't win ... just "go with the flow". Rather than be annoyed with it, learn to take advantage of the driving style; if you see a gap on the right side, you can happily move into it to pass the car ahead of you. That's the way it is so learn to appreciate it.

Rete

Never been to England but from reading posts from Brits, it isn't a place where the sun shines often. The sun is strong and will burn you in just about every state in the union. Always sun block your kids and yourself when you are going to be out for a while.

Blinkers and courtesy is, particularly, on highways not a big thing here in the US. Something to get use to if you want to drive safely. NYS has a great defensive driving class that it useful to take. Don't get mad, just be cautious.

They are called intersections here and roundabouts that have been installed and tried in the US in New York State where I formerly lived caused so many accidents they had to remove them. I personally absolutely hate them because as you noted US drivers are not the most thoughtful drivers.

Normally it is the person on the right that goes first.

Whatever is a Dublin library and why would it be in San Francisco and how does a Dublin library differ from a US library?

WEBlue

Rete's post quoted for truth!!!! ^^^

Most all kinds of British skin WILL burn here in this country (possible exceptions may be the far northwest coastal corner of the US). The husband & I have learned to sunblock every bit of exposed skin all year round...yes we've even got sunburns driving in the car on long trips with overcast skies! Kids are doubly endangered.

Make sure you buy enough strong (50 or higher) "full spectrum" (UVA as well as SPF) sunblock so everyone in the family can have their own tube, then insist they all use it every single day, rain or shine. (In fact my dermatologist says to renew it every two hours! but I don't always....)

Believe me, we learned the hard way.

Nutmegger

I would describe it as being the first to stop at the intersection goes first -- you drive through in the order at which everyone arrived at their respective stop lines.

Nutek

++

robin1234

I'm assuming Dublin, CA 94568 is where she and the family are living! Apparently it has a beautiful public library.

Rete

This is how it normally works but officially it is suppose to be the one on the right. Guess they assume we all get there at the same time

Here is a google result:

In this intersection if you are the first car to approach this intersection you go first. You stop once before the stop sign and then you proceed when clear. If 2 cars get there at the same time, then the car who is in the right is the one that goes first.

Rete

Ahhh so ... thank you, Robin. Outside of major cities on the west coast, I'm clueless to city names.

Nutek

SO at what point are we meant to give the finger out the window and yell at the other driver?

MidAtlantic

I wonder if it varies by state? Here in GA the Driver Manual says:

At a four-way intersection where all drivers are faced with stop signs, all drivers must yield to pedestrians; otherwise the vehicles should proceed through the intersection in a “first to arrive, first to proceed order.” If two vehicles reach the intersection at approximately the same time, yield to any vehicles on your right.

What it says and what people do are, of course, two different things.

malch

I-680 is a complete disaster pretty much all of the time. The extreme congestion makes everyone angry and aggressive.

Never go out without hat, sun glasses, water, sunscreen... sound advice indeed. But add a jacket or sweater. You will soon learn about the Bay Area micro-climates. One hot sunny day you'll drive a few miles (e.g. to San Francisco) and find the temperature has dropped 20 degrees! You'll want something warmer!

Alameda County Library has branches in Dublin and Pleasanton. I've not been to the one in Dublin but the Pleasanton branch is very nice. You'll need some documentation to get a library card. See:

Library Accounts | Alameda County Library

Steerpike

It is the same everywhere I believe; first to arrive is first to proceed, and a tie-breaker yield to the right.

So what I was saying above was, if two people arrive at roughly the same time and you sense any hesitation in the other driver, then take the initiative and go, but be ready to stop just in case another driver is also calling your bluff. I've used this strategy for decades and never come close to an accident. Of course if you are in no hurry, just chill out and let the other guy go. Also, in CA at least, they do what is called the 'California Stop' which means, you don't stop at all at stop signs but rather, just slow down. Why is it called a California Stop? - Straight Dope Message Board You will get a ticket if caught, but its rare.

Steerpike

This is a good piece of info for the OP; on these (quite rare) hot days, it's good to know that you can go to SF or even Oakland/Berkeley and find yourself in a much, much cooler climate. We have some favorite dining spots in 'The City' (which is what locals call SF) and will often choose to visit them based on relative weather situation. A great 'day out' in SF can involve walking across the Golden Gate Bridge - a great way to exercise and cool down.

I've recently visited both the Walnut Creek and Lafayette libraries for the first time; both have been recently rebuilt, and both are unbelievably fantastic places - not what I imagined at all from prior visits to libraries in SF. They look like they had unlimited funds for both architecture and interior design, and are just amazingly lavish in terms of 'features' - computer rooms, study rooms, etc. I seem to recall both were built using local donations, so this may be a reflection of the fact that these two cities are quite affluent. I thought libraries were a dying breed but these two at least proved me wrong - they were full of kids studying.

SultanOfSwing

I was going to ask about this because I was always led to believe that the Bay Area has a pretty much perfect climate.

I know when I was in California last, going from 109 on the drive up from Fresno to 68 across the Oakland Bay Bridge was about the best feeling ever. I had a lovely time walking along Fisherman's Wharf in my shorts while everyone else seemed to have a coat on

The thing about four way stops to remember is that if it is your turn, then go. You might think you're being nice by letting someone else go first but all this does is hold up traffic. This isn't like waving someone onto a main road from a side street in slow moving traffic, if you're first to the stop (or you're the car on the right in a tie) then bloody well go or you deserve the parping you will inevitably get.

Roundabouts are, of course, better for traffic flow as Bay Area locals the Mythbusters categorically proved but the hassle of replacing existing four way stops with roundabouts is, I can tell you from personal experience, very real.

Incorrect left lane usage should never be excused, even if it is 'what everyone else does'. If everyone else drove their cars with their dicks on the steering wheel, that wouldn't be just accepted. Now, I will concede that the drivers in California are miles better than the ones in Illinois, the left lane is, and always will be, the passing lane. You shouldn't be in the left lane if you're not going faster than those in the lanes to your right and you shouldn't be in a car if you can't understand this.

Any and all times. At least in and around Chicago that's how it works.