If at all possible, learn the side roads so that you can avoid too much driving on U.S. 1, Nova Road or Atlantic Avenue. This is especially important during "event weeks" like Bike Week, auto racing weeks and Spring Break.

There is an auto mall that has dealers for just about every make of car, but these are usually pretty expensive. CarMax in Orlando is pretty reliable and reasonable. There are a lot of used cars by private individuals on craigslist but you definitely should have a mechanic check out any car before you commit your money as there are a lot of dishonest people in Daytona Beach.

Driving in Daytona Beach is normally not too bad - traffic is fairly heavy most of the time but pretty well regulated. The exception is during our two "Bike Weeks" in October and March. The last time I had to drive during Bike Week was miserable. The bikers were very slow, gawking at everything around them. They ride four abreast across both lanes of traffic so I couldn't get around them. At some lights, I had to wait for 3 changes before I could go. Some of the bikers actually rode up the middle between two lanes and yet there is constant publicity about car drivers being considerate to the visiting bikers. Every Bike Week, there are several fatalities involving cars & motorcycles. During my last drive during Bike Week, all I could think was "Welcome to Daytona - now go home!"

South Peninsula Drive. This is a pretty beachside street where the traffic is not too heavy. The road is well-maintained, the speed limit is reasonable and there are many lovely homes to look at.

Stop complaining about event traffic and just learn what streets to avoid when the special events are happening.

If you don't know what you want, just go to the Auto Mall first. Or, if the make you want is not there, the rest of the new car dealers are on Nova Rd, north of International Speedway Blvd. If you want a used car that you can count on to be trouble-free, pay a little more and go to the pre-owned sections of any of the new car dealers.

My favorite memory is actually of something that was a bit on the scary side. Several years ago, my wife and I were driving on LPGA Blvd. During an electrical storm and witnessed lightning strike the little box on top of the next power pole we were going to pass. To our amazement, sparks shot out of the box, just as if it were a Hollywood special effect. Then, about 30 seconds later, we got to experience the same thing happen to another power pole a little farther down the road. We had never seen anything like it before and nothing since.

Nova Rd., SR 5A. This area only has a few north-south main thoroughfares. Nova Rd. Is the only one that has 3 lanes each way so even during afternoon rush hour traffic moves easily. It also is the only one of the north-south main thoroughfares that doesn't get backed up from any of our special events, such as the Daytona 500, Bike Week and Spring Break.