Ronni
Well-known Member
- Location
- Nashville TN
I’ve lived on three continents in my lifetime and have never experienced anything like driving in Nashville! The streets are insane. And more recently, as Nashville has grown, it’s been impossible for our infrastructure to keep up with the population growth.
HOW TO DRIVE IN NASHVILLE:
1. You must first learn to pronounce the city name, Nashville. Old-timers are still allowed to call it Nash-Vull, or Nashvl, depending.
2. The morning rush hour is from 5:00 am to noon. The evening rush hour is from noon to 7:00 pm. Friday's rush hour starts on Thursday morning.
3. The minimum acceptable speed on I-40 is 80 mph even though the speed limit is 70. On Briley Parkway the posted speed limit is 55, but you will be honked at and given the finger if you drive below 70 mph.
4. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Nashville has its own version of traffic rules. For example, Maseratis and Lamborghinis owned by wives and girlfriends of Music tars go first at a four-way stop. Cars/trucks with the loudest muffler go second. The trucks with the biggest tires go third. .
5. If you actually stop at a yellow light or stop sign, you will be rear ended, cussed out, and possibly shot. Unless there is a police car nearby.
6. Road construction is permanent and continuous. Detour barrels are moved around for your entertainment pleasure during the middle of the night to make the next day's driving a bit more exciting. Generally, city roads other than the main streets have more potholes and bumps (usually speed bumps) than most dirt roads in the country.
7. Watch carefully for road hazards such as drunks, ladders, possums, skunks, dogs, barrels, cones, furniture, cats, mattresses, shredded tires, squirrels, rabbits, and crows.
8. Be aware that street direction may change from block to block and day to day regardless of what GPS says
9. There are 5 McGavock pikes within 20 miles of each other. One of them runs parallel to another, two blocks away, but don’t connect at any point. If, as a newcomer, you mention McGavock pike, you will be asked “which one?”
10. If you plan to visit downtown, add an extra 2 hours to your schedule. It will take you that long to A. Arrive anywhere because every other street is one way so you will spend an inordinate amount of time trying to get back to where you were so you can figure out where you want to go and B. When you do finally arrive at your destination you will then need to find parking, so A above repeats with the addition that parking will be several blocks away from your destination so you’ll be walking for a while.
MOST IMPORTANT: The road, variously named Briley Parkway, White Bridge road, Woodmont blvd, Thompson Lane is one long, circular, connecting road, and if you follow it without confusing yourself (by paying attention to the name changes) you’ll arrive back where you started. On the other hand, if you hear that Old Hickory Blvd also circumvents Nashville, DO NOT try to drive it in a circle. First of all, the road name changes here and there which is disconcerting, but always changes back. What is most confusing to newcomers is that NONE of the Old Hickory stretches of road actually connect.
HOW TO DRIVE IN NASHVILLE:
1. You must first learn to pronounce the city name, Nashville. Old-timers are still allowed to call it Nash-Vull, or Nashvl, depending.
2. The morning rush hour is from 5:00 am to noon. The evening rush hour is from noon to 7:00 pm. Friday's rush hour starts on Thursday morning.
3. The minimum acceptable speed on I-40 is 80 mph even though the speed limit is 70. On Briley Parkway the posted speed limit is 55, but you will be honked at and given the finger if you drive below 70 mph.
4. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Nashville has its own version of traffic rules. For example, Maseratis and Lamborghinis owned by wives and girlfriends of Music tars go first at a four-way stop. Cars/trucks with the loudest muffler go second. The trucks with the biggest tires go third. .
5. If you actually stop at a yellow light or stop sign, you will be rear ended, cussed out, and possibly shot. Unless there is a police car nearby.
6. Road construction is permanent and continuous. Detour barrels are moved around for your entertainment pleasure during the middle of the night to make the next day's driving a bit more exciting. Generally, city roads other than the main streets have more potholes and bumps (usually speed bumps) than most dirt roads in the country.
7. Watch carefully for road hazards such as drunks, ladders, possums, skunks, dogs, barrels, cones, furniture, cats, mattresses, shredded tires, squirrels, rabbits, and crows.
8. Be aware that street direction may change from block to block and day to day regardless of what GPS says
9. There are 5 McGavock pikes within 20 miles of each other. One of them runs parallel to another, two blocks away, but don’t connect at any point. If, as a newcomer, you mention McGavock pike, you will be asked “which one?”
10. If you plan to visit downtown, add an extra 2 hours to your schedule. It will take you that long to A. Arrive anywhere because every other street is one way so you will spend an inordinate amount of time trying to get back to where you were so you can figure out where you want to go and B. When you do finally arrive at your destination you will then need to find parking, so A above repeats with the addition that parking will be several blocks away from your destination so you’ll be walking for a while.
MOST IMPORTANT: The road, variously named Briley Parkway, White Bridge road, Woodmont blvd, Thompson Lane is one long, circular, connecting road, and if you follow it without confusing yourself (by paying attention to the name changes) you’ll arrive back where you started. On the other hand, if you hear that Old Hickory Blvd also circumvents Nashville, DO NOT try to drive it in a circle. First of all, the road name changes here and there which is disconcerting, but always changes back. What is most confusing to newcomers is that NONE of the Old Hickory stretches of road actually connect.
If it wasn’t for the kids, we’d never drive that stretch!!
