Tucson, AZ Driving Tips
Please pay attention. There are a lot of accidents with bicyclists and pedestrians. It is very common for people to be riding bikes in the bike lane on the side of the road. Please double check before making turns; this will help you avoid a lot of accidents. For some reason, it is also common for p
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edestrians to jaywalk. Always double check for pedestrians in the road before moving forward. Tucson is unique because there are drivers from Mexico who follow different rules, elderly drivers who spend the winter here, and a lot of student drivers who come from other states with different types of roads and rules. This makes for an interesting and sometimes dangerous driving experience, so watch out for other drivers. During the school year, the roads are very busy between 2pm and 7pm, so try to avoid the main roads during those times if you can.
Tucson, AZ Buying Tips
I don't know a lot about buying cars in this city. I have only bought one car here, and it was from a person online. I do know that there are a lot of old cars here. Cars last a long time because they don't rust. Therefore, it is easy to make a car look like it's in better shape than it really is. I
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t's a good idea to test drive a car and check it over yourself before buying it. Also check the Car fax if you can. There are a lot of different places to go to buy cars, so shop around a lot before buying. Use the wide variety to your advantage. If you like old or historic cars, this is a good place to look since, like I said above, cars last for a long time here.
Favorite Driving Memory
Tucson is a very wide city. On the outskirts there are a lot of rural areas and mountains. I enjoy driving in these areas the most. Inside the city, traffic is very congested. I often feel nervous and stressed while driving in the city and am worried about getting rear ended or hitting a pedestrian.
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On the outskirts of the city, there is much more space and much less traffic. I can relax more and actually enjoy the drive. The views are also spectacular. In some areas there are just miles and miles and miles of open land; something I haven't seen a lot in other places. In other areas there are beautiful mountains. The best time to drive is in the evening around sunset. Once the glare goes away, the scenery is incredible. I like to turn on pretty music and watch the sun set.
Favorite Road
I-10
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I-10 is the freeway that is located on the west side of the city. Inside the city, traffic is dense and there are a lot of pedestrians. There are also buses to deal with and I often get stuck by them. On the freeway, traffic can be more spread out. It also goes faster. In some places it even gets up
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to 70 miles per hour. There are also no buses or pedestrians to worry about. I also enjoy this stretch because I get to see a lot of scenery. Parts of the road go past city buildings and other parts of the road go past open, rural areas. It's convenient to use and I can get to most places where I want to go. I-10 also reminds me of where I grew up. In the city where I grew up, we could take the freeway to get almost anywhere, so I used it a lot. Here in Tucson, the freeway is only on the west side of town, and it feels strange not to be able to use it to get anywhere I want to go. So when I do use it, it feels good.
Tucson, AZ Driving Tips
I would say to other drivers to be patient. We get a lot of snowbirds in the winter and traffic can be heavy and slow. During the winter time, when the snowbird are present, driving under the speed limit is quite common. I'm not sure why, but winter visitors tend to go about five miles per hour unde
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r the limit at any given time. I have heard people honk and seen people give certain hand gestures when this happens and neither do any good. Drive carefully and be patient is the only thing to do in this situation.
Tucson, AZ Buying Tips
Be patient and look often. There are plenty of car dealerships in Tucson, but only a few to really pay attention to. Also, watch local classifieds to get the best price and avoid sales tax. If your going to go through a dealer, look at those out of city limits. By doing so, you can avoid three perce
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nt city sales tax, but will still pay state and county tax. Another smart move is to get a car history report. This will let you know of the car has had any accidents reported and an odometer check, which are very important when you are going to make a car purchase.
Favorite Driving Memory
My favorite driving story just happened recently after picking my son up from preschool. I had just turned his car seat around, so he is now facing forward. When I put him in his seat he couldn't believe his eyes. Now he had a whole new perspective of riding in the car! We started pulling out of the
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school and I can see him in my rear view scanning his new visual experience. As we started to drive I hear him say "daddy's corvette." At the time I was driving and F150, which is far from a corvette. It was his first experience with seeing the road and what going forty miles an hour feels like and he thought we were going so fast! The whole drive home I heard " daddy's corvette" and I got a good laugh out of it!!
Favorite Road
Sunrise Dr.
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Sunrise is my favorite road because it is located in the foothills of Tucson. It has great scenery of the mountains and the city. It curves and dips and climbs in many spots and is a fun road to drive. Not only is it a fun road, not a lot of people drive it. It starts over by beautiful Sabino Canyon
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Recreation center and will take you all the way to the freeway if need be. Only over by the freeway does it lose its appeal. Otherwise, the entire drive is scenic and a pleasure!
Tucson, AZ Driving Tips
Public transportation is very limited here thus driving around is a must. I would recommend exploring the urban as well as outdoor points of interest. There are many scenic drives that expose you to the Arizona flora and fauna. Driving through our mountain ranges is encouraged. You will find breatht
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aking views and get a real appreciation for what the Arizona desert has to offer.
Tucson, AZ Buying Tips
It's key to explore your options and have a real understanding of what you are looking for/needing out of your driving experience. If you are planning on commuting to work going through a dealership is encouraged to ensure you get the most reliable car. If you are going to be close to grocery stores
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, work, etc. then it would be ok to go through craigslist. Do know that weather here is mild so you'll have less ware and tear on your vehicle overall. However, it would be prudent to take into account the effect of extreme heat as this can be a little damaging to vehicles during the summer months.
Favorite Driving Memory
My favorite memory was driving around the scenic parts of the city after a hard day at work. I remember needing to have some time to unwind and collect my thoughts. Driving around without any particular destination seemed like the perfect way to do just that. I drove to a part of the city that is su
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rrounded by native desert plants. It was an area that had a particularly good view of the nearby mountain range as well. I made sure to go out right before the time the sun was going to set. Arizona has notoriously beautiful sunsets. It was the tranquil experience I needed to reset from the previous workday and prepare for next.
Favorite Road
Congress Street.
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Congress street is in the heart of downtown Tucson. I like the urban feeling of this road as it has a big city feel which can be absent in other areas of town. I enjoy the rich culture and ongoing activity that is present here. There always seems to be something going on downtown, most of which can
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be easily accessed from this street. In addition, I enjoy the many breweries, restaurants, and nightlife hot-spots that can be found along the way.
