Drive from OC to LA (405n to 504n to 5n to 101n) really long and scary (Los Angeles: live in, dangerous)

[jackie100]

I live in OC and I usually only take the 405. I'm in HB so the farthest I usually will drive is to Irvine or to Costa Mesa etc. There's no real reason for me to drive far really.

I had to go to LA today and I forgot how long the drive is! It seems like never ending, like it's a never ending road. And the freeways in LA are so much more scarier and curves a lot more whereas the 405 is mainly straight. I guess I'm a phobic driver but I get a bit freaked out with all the curves on the 605 and the 5 etc

Also, the worst part is merging in all the right freeway lanes at the right time. It's stressful because for example, the 5N lane is right next to the 5S lane and if you are accidentally in the wrong one then you are SCREWED! And it's hard to get in the right lane because it's hard to merge; everyone drives so fast and sometimes people don't let you merge.

I'm a really slow driver (I go 60mph) so I stay on the far right lane. It's just that in order to merge to the 101N you have to be ALL THE WAY in the LEFT lane and if you miss it then you're done!

Also, I can't get used to how most streets in LA have two lanes so you can't bust a u-turn. What do you guys do? Just make a right and drive around the block until you get to the other side?

Oh, and another scary thing is on the 5 or 101 (can't remember which one) but there is a CRAZY part where you keep driving under a "bridge" but the road curves like crazy so you have to be really careful and drive slow. Always freaks me out when I'm there...

And yes, I have been driving 10+ years. I just get real anxiety driving to LA because it's so far and there are so many freeways you have to merge into (at least 3). I am so tensed when driving, my body is all sore and tensed now from driving there and back.

This is more a rant than anything. I just find the drive "scary" because there are so many freeways to take and the freeways are so narrow.

[Charles]

You're in luck.

You almost never have to make split second decisions as the traffic on most of the routes you described moves at about 20 MPH.

What's the 504 freeway? (Did you mistype "605"?)

Also, Los Angeles freeways are very forgiving. If you miss an exit there's another exit usually within a mile. Try that in DC. You miss an exit there and you're over a bridge in bumper to bumper traffic and it's a 90 minute turnaround. It happened to me.

[SueBeeM]

Awww, I'm sorry you had that experience. Driving L.A. freeways is definitely easier when done often! I drive back & forth between Thousand Oaks (Ventura County) and OC almost weekly, when I'm visiting my kids. I love the days when there's hardly any traffic (I can count those days on one hand). I grew up in L.A. & have been driving our freeways for 40 years...must say that I love driving. I'd trade our freeways for the German Autobahn any day, though!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by SueBeeM

I drive back & forth between Thousand Oaks (Ventura County) and OC almost weekly,

Is this for a one day or overnight trip?

What is your recommended drive times? Meaning, when are the best windows of opportunity? I would imagine leaving before 6AM or after 10AM heading there and before 2PM or after 7PM heading back? What are your lessons learned?

[Urksher]

Quite different from the OC freeways, I agree.

If you are a frequent LA driver, you'll develop the famous LA Freeway Habits!

1) Aggressively swerve into tight spaces to make your way across 4 lanes in order to hit an exit that is 0.2 miles away.
2) Be able to mulititask (adjust your Bluetooth, eat, and text) while crawling through Traffic
3) Roar up to 80 mph before slamming on the brakes because the open space ahead of you was fool's gold
4) Practice the "wave" when you do something dangerous because afterward, all is forgiven.

[jackie100]

Originally Posted by Charles

You're in luck.

You almost never have to make split second decisions as the traffic on most of the routes you described moves at about 20 MPH.

What's the 504 freeway? (Did you mistype "605"?)

Also, Los Angeles freeways are very forgiving. If you miss an exit there's another exit usually within a mile. Try that in DC. You miss an exit there and you're over a bridge in bumper to bumper traffic and it's a 90 minute turnaround. It happened to me.

Yes, I meant 605N. I didn't know it was worse in DC. I thought it was already bad in LA. I had a heck of a time finding the freeway again after I took the wrong exit because I ended up in studio city and was on some street where I couldn't make a u-turn because it was only two lanes.

Most of the left-turns in LA are those ones where you go up 3/4 up the street and then turn when it's red. I didn't see left turns where there was a sign that indicated you could u-turn...

[Charles]

Originally Posted by jackie100

Most of the left-turns in LA are those ones where you go up 3/4 up the street and then turn when it's red. I didn't see left turns where there was a sign that indicated you could u-turn...

Charles's Los Angeles left turn technique: three right turns.

[jackie100]

Originally Posted by Charles

Charles's Los Angeles left turn technique: three right turns.

I asked the same question on Yahoo Answers and got the same answer... I thought there must be some other way because it's so time consuming to make three right turns but I guess that's the only solution. I thought for sure there had to be another way...

[Roogy]

Maybe it's just me but I live in Newport and getting to Los Angeles is fast and easy.

[jackie100]

Originally Posted by Roogy

Maybe it's just me but I live in Newport and getting to Los Angeles is fast and easy.

I live in HB ... Are you taking the same route I am? 405 to 605 to the 5?

I already admit that I'm a bad driver so that's why that stretch of freeway is challenging for me.