Daft question re rush hour in LA

[Guest]

I have heard / read a lot about how it takes so much longer to get anywhere in rush hour in LA and what a nightmare it is.

I know this will probably sound really stupid but am I right in assuming there wont be much of a rush hour at the weekend? Or is it bad 7 days a week?

[Guest]

If you have never experienced the numerous lane freeways of LA during rush hour you are in for an amazing treat! (NOT). Fighting your way across 8 lanes to an exit has to be done to be believed.
We were due to leave the area on a Monday morning and somebody advised us to leave at 5 a.m. and they weren't joking! We went to Venice beach for breakfast. People were roller blading and jogging as the sun came up. They are obviously early risers in those parts.

Watch out if it rains. LA drivers don't know how to cope with wet conditions. We were there one October and they had a downpour. Couldn't believe the number of crashes.

Weekends will be somewhat quieter!

[Guest]

Without a doubt weekends will be quieter but I wouldn't worry yourself too much about weekdays. We had 7 nights staying in Anaheim and driving everywhere and we were told to get going early and come home late, but in truth when you are on holiday you want to do things at your pace.
There is always a huge build up of traffic but it kept moving. I would definitely check out your route prior to leaving so you have an idea what exits to take etc.
After the intitial shock of 8 lane highways I actually quite enjoyed the experience despite having a hire car that broke down on the aforementioned highway and which we had to nurse to the nearest garage for a look. The garage said it was still driveable but needed serious attention so we ended up ringing Dollar, taking it to Burbank Airport and swapping it for a new one (with a full tank of petrol, bonus! ).

Personally I found Atlanta traffic to be worse than LA.

[carys]

LA rush hour seems to extent to 11 am in the morning according to our journey yesterday ! The roads are not easy to negotiate like Florida and the drivers are quite scary ! I will let you know how it is at different times as I try it agin lol

[mickchick]

The LA traffic can be very scary, although the freeways are too clogged up to allow much speed. Instead, it's crawl all the way, as an earlier poster said, often on eight lanes.
But the jams depend on where you are in LA and at what time. After all, the city is some eighty miles across, and it's only some areas, like the west side freeways, that carry really heavy traffic.
Off the freeways, on what they call the surface streets (still as wide as our own motorways), you can make better progress, even though there are traffic lights at every intersection.
Overall, drivers there are more polite and considerate than we are used to in the UK, so if you can handle heavy traffic here, you can certainly cope in LA.

[Diamonddog2801]

Just know which exits you need from each freeway and try to creep across to the right hand lane two or three exits beforehand (but check you are not in a "Right Lane Must Exit" lane unless your exit is the next one! These lanes normally are signed in yellow above the lane marker). The only other piece of advice I would give is to ask at your hotel front desk or concierge how they would get to your destination from the hotel - they will, quite often, come up with quicker routes. And just be sure that you look positively on both sides and indicate clearly when you are going to pull out - unlike in the UK, and in most parts of Florida, there is no lane discipline in LA. You will, and can, both over and under take (ie - overtake on both right and left sides). So please be careful when pulling out? As long as you do that, and your fellow passengers help you with the directions and signs, you'll be fine. Rush hour starts about 7.15 until 9.30 am, and 4 to 7 pm, by the way!

[Guest]

Driving around LA is the only time I have ever felt scared dring in the U.S.

It is quite an experience and does depend how confident and calm you are. Completely freaked me out BUT I am a bit of a stress head!

[Guest]

LA traffic is bad, but there are always alternative routes. If you get stuck on the 405 which is probably the busiest of the North/South Freeways, just drop off onto Sepulveda which runs parallel. In my many, many times in LA I have only ever been stuck in serious traffic once or twice as there are so many other routes to take.

One thing to bear in mind though as has already been mentioned is rain. Some LA drivers really can't drive in the rain so you need to keep your wits about you!

[Guest]

Sunday was the quietest day driving around (but still quite busy). Dont worry abotu avoiding rush hours, we didnt mind being stuck in traffic as there is no rush when you are holiday! The traffic never seemed to stop completeley, you just had to crawl at about 20 mph every now and then until you got past the busy junction (usually where two freeways meet). We mainly used the I5 as we drove from anahaim to hollywood a few times (about an hours drive).

[DIBBadmin]

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