Getting Around NYC by Car

AAMCAR Discount Car Rental would like to welcome you and your fellow travelers to New York City, one of the biggest, brightest and by far busiest places in the world! If this is your first time visiting New York City you may be a little overwhelmed by the high volumes of traffic speeding down most of the expressways and downtown avenues. But just because it looks a little scary doesn’t mean that you should abandon the idea of purchasing a New York car rental. We here at AAMCAR have put together a few helpful tips for getting around the Big Apple in your New York car rental. From keeping your cool in rush hour traffic, to navigating busy intersections, we’ve got all your basic questions covered here!

Know where you are going! New York City is an extremely hectic place to drive, even for seasoned veterans! So make sure that you know exactly where you wish to go, and try having at least two routes planned. That may sound like a lot of extra work, but trust me; if you only have one route to follow it’ll be just your luck to hit construction or an accident. In this case be sure to always have a local map stashed in the glove compartment of your New York car rental. If you’re lucky you may still be able to formulate a backup plan!
Watch for Pedestrians! NYC is always crawling with pedestrians regardless of the time of day so be careful to watch for jaywalkers and other inattentive by standers.
Avoid driving with distractions! Please don’t try and drive while talking on your cell phone, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the streets. Cell phones can cause you to miss unfamiliar street signs resulting in the possibility of an accident. So please turn down your radio, eat breakfast before you leave the hotel and turn off your cell phone; you don’t want to spend your trip to New York City in the hospital.
AHHHHH, Rush hour traffic! It’s ok, try to stay calm! The best advice I can give about rush hour is to avoid it! Driving between the hours of 7 to 9 AM, and 5 to7 PM on any main streets is probably not a good idea; you will most certainly get stuck in the morning and evening commutes. If it is absolutely necessary to be on the roads during these periods be sure to plan your time accordingly. Try to leave at least and hour ahead of schedule. And don’t be surprised if you have to wait for over 2 hours in traffic it’s been known to happen!
Common Street Signage! The following are common street signs that can be found on many of NYC’s main streets:

Two-Way: many major streets in New York are common two-ways; this means traffic is traveling both with you and against you.
One-Way: If you’re planning to visit Manhattan in your New York City car rental be prepared to see a lot of these; this may hamper many of your traveling plans so be sure to have a map handy!
Odd and Even Streets: Odd-number streets travel West, while even-number streets travel East. Avenues: These streets are normally North to South and can be both one way or alternating

Turning: Turning on a red traffic light in all of the New York boroughs, including Manhattan, unless otherwise stated, is strictly PROHIBITED! On some corners you may find signs that say “After Stop Right Turn on Red Permitted” but these are not common, so if in doubt, DON’T TURN!

New York Speed Limits: Speed limits on all of the New York City boroughs streets are 30 miles per hour (excluding expressways),unless otherwise posted and no this is not just a recommendation. Police are constantly on the look out for speeders so don’t think that just because you have a fancy New York City car rental you have the right to zoom around like a crazy person!