Driving in New York

I never imagined that within a few days of moving here I'd be driving on my own in the city, but that's what happens when your husband is a third year medical student in surgery rotations. It's been a mixed experience and I've learned several things.

-Crosswalk signals are merely suggestions.
I actually first learned this walking with NYer friends and then had to explain to my sign-conscious son that in NY people go early as long as cars aren't coming. He's so sweet about remembering to wave at any stopped cars as we pass. But I really learned this as a driver when I was almost hit by a street biker. I guess he was so used to running those red lights he didn't even see this large SUV plowing through the intersection. Hence the next lesson:

-Green traffic lights don't mean you go without watching out for the invincible pedestrians, bikers and other intrepid drivers.

-Double parking along the street is fine.
Helpful when I'm the one doing it to pick up something from freecycle.org. Less helpful when you're trying to squeeze between a parked car on the right and two parked on the left.

-Seeing the many cop cars and officers walking the streets is simultaneously comforting and disturbing.
I mean, there's gotta be a good reason the department feels this neighborhood needs to have all that extra show of force. I read somewhere that Bedstuy was labeled a "high impact" neighborhood a few years ago so the police force flooded the streets with cops to reduce crime. I think it's been working. No complaints so far.

-Smart cars are smart not only environmentally but parking-wise as well.
It took me a few times to be comfortable parallel parking an SUV. It's not even all that much bigger but it still made me nervous. Of course, part of that may be because it's not my car and I'm not on the insurance.

-GPS is a must. THANK YOU MOM.
There's no way I'd be driving around NY the first week I'm here without our Tomtom. I use it all the time--sometimes when I'm walking as well. I love that it recalculates your route based on whatever bonehead maneuver you pull without tacking on "you idiot" each time you mess up. And there are way too many one-way streets to remember yourself.

-Updated safety stickers are not optional. And the cops are very quick about noticing expired ones.
Back home, mom drove around for a month with both expired safety and registration stickers and we didn't get a ticket. Here I got a ticket parked outside our apartment (stupid street parking) the day after it expired. And, of course, it's not my car. I didn't know it was close to expiring. And it's a '94 which means it has to pass a safety emissions test as well. So, I leave the ticket on overnight--don't want an overzealous cop to put another one on the next morning--and I head out this morning to take care of it. The first place is the one that informed me that older cars need an emissions test and that they didn't do that. Luckily, the one across the street did. Yes. And it was just one block from a park (great equipment but kinda sketchy people-wise) so I could take the kids there till it was done. Thank goodness I brought the stroller. But when I got back, I'm told that the front brakes are about 2 weeks away from failing so he can't even get to the emissions test till it's fixed. Now I'm worried that it might fail that part, too. But he says not to worry about that part because he'll "take care of it," whatever that means. Fudging data? But an hour and many snacks later, it's finished. Now I can pay the ticket online and that should be the end of my ticket drama. I better not forget which side of the street it's legal to park on each day or we'll add that to the list of lessons learned.

So driving in Brooklyn has been an adventure with its share of bumps. But going to Costco and picking up free furniture any time I want more than makes up for it. I'm so grateful we've got this car for the next 2 months. Pray for us that nothing else goes wrong.