Boise Drivers: It’s Time to Adapt to Big City Driving

I was recently talking to someone who's lived in Boise their whole life and they told me about the days when they could drive from Meridian to Eagle on Eagle Rd in under 10 minutes. Those days are obviously long gone. The Boise area is growing, growing, growing. I know I'm going to get a lot of hate for this telling Boise natives to adapt to their own city but Boise drivers, it's time to adapt.

While the traffic doesn't necessarily compare to that of Chicago or LA, there are more drivers than ever before on the road in the Treasure Valley. Let's face it, driving behaviors need to adjust to this. If you have no idea what I'm talking about let's first discuss the difference between small town driving and big city driving.

Big cities are naturally more congested. There are more drivers which means there are more things to look out for. You can either help traffic flow or you can become a reason why it doesn't. In a small town, it's easy to cruise along and go at your own speed without having to worry about any angry and impatient drivers.

Now I'm not trying to backseat drive here, but I kind of am. Here are some big city driving habits all Boise area drivers need to adapt to:

Match other drivers speeds - If you're going 10 mph slower than everyone else on I-84, you're a hazard. Keep up with the speed of traffic and I cannot stress this enough, STAY OUT OF THE LEFT LANE AND OUT OF THE WAY OF FASTER OF DRIVERS

Learn to merge - Do not wait until the lane ends before trying to get over. Merge as soon as you know that you going to have to. Other cars are not responsible for making sure you get over in time. That is how traffic back ups. At the same time, other cars should be considerate and stay out of the lane cars are merging into it. ***Also, stay out of the center lane if you're trying to merge. I don't know why this is even a thing. If you travel more than 100 feet at a time in the center turning lane, that's illegal.

Be aggressive - Sometimes you're going to have to pull a fast one and drive a little out of your comfort zone. For example, if you're turning out onto a busy road (and since the center lane isn't supposed to be used for merging) you may need to whip it. Otherwise you'll be sitting there forever waiting for the traffic to open up.

Be alert / watch blind spots  - On the other side of this, oncoming drivers should be aware of aggressive drivers pulling out on in front of them and not overact like it's the end of the world. Expect the unexpected. It is possible to be an aggressive, defensive, and a good driver all at the same time.

BONUS!! Learn how round-a-bouts are supposed to work :)