Wow this is a loaded topic. Moving here basically meant that I had to relearn how to drive. Initial perception was no one here knew how to drive. We have since learned that is not true, they were just taught a few key things differently than what you are taught in PA. There are two key areas to driving here: how people drive and understanding the roads. Obviously, they influence each other.

I’ll start with the roads. Almost every road (I’ll say 99% of them) is a number instead of a name. A road will be named “NE 134th St” instead of Lake Hills St. The numbers come from the area being based on a grid and the higher the number the further you are from Seattle Center. All road names also have a direction associated with it, in the example I gave you, the direction is northeast, which means that this road is located northeast of Seattle Center. If the direction comes first the road runs west and east, if it comes after (134th St NE) the road runs north and south. All of this makes it sound easy until you consider side streets. They are named based on a road that on the grid they align with which most of the time has no correlation to the area that the road is physically located. Also, just because you are on a road with the same name as another does not mean it will connect to it—it won’t. Also along this path, every time a road curves, the name is changed because now it aligns somewhere else on the grid. To look at a map, the roads here look easy to learn. To drive them is a whole other story.

Learning the road naming is hard enough, understanding addresses is another thing. I am use to addresses going in order, there’s a one hundred block, then a two hundred block and so on. Here the first two or three digits are based on the intersection of the roads that you are at. So if you are on NE 134th St, but the cross intersection is 18th PL NE, then your address will begin with 18. But the next intersection could be 112th Ave NE so those addresses would begin with 112. Driving and looking for an address takes some getting used to.

Ok driving abilities. Let’s say the speed limit is 60 mph. East coast, everyone would be going 65-70+ mph unless there was a cop, and then the speed would be about 55 mph. Here, everyone travels about 50 mph unless there is a cop, and then we go 60. Curves in the road baffle people here; everyone slows down even more to go around a curve, even on the highway. Merging, this one came close to getting us killed many times until we learned a northwest secret. East coast, you are taught it is your responsibility to speed up so you do not slow down traffic. Here they are taught to slow down and let you in. It is a completely different mindset, and unless you know that, it is very dangerous.

Also, driving tricks like flashing your headlights to warn other drivers there is a cop or getting into the left lane so other drivers can merge easier completely eludes people here. It took awhile to get use to these new rules if you will and to understand them, but we’re getting there.