Having grown up in New Jersey for most of my life, I will attest to three things as far as driving through my state is concerned:

1. Your sense of direction will only be useful about half of the time. Certain roads claim to run north/south, but actually run east/west -- Route 73, Route 287 (in the Plainfield-Perth Amboy region), etc. Also, just because you think you're going the right way doesn't mean you are. Near Trenton, 95 South and 295 North are the same road.

2. Road signs are only reliable about half the time. Anyone who drives south on Route 18 to get out of Rutgers University knows that the sign to get on Route 1 South is hidden behind several large trees and is halfway down the onramp; you only ever get warning for Route 1 North. Also, when I was getting off exit 57 of 295 the other day, getting onto 206, the ramp curved to the left, but the usual sign indicating to go left had fallen, and was pointing right, straight into a soundproofing wall.

3. Asking people for directions will only work about half the time. Most people in New Jersey don't know how to give directions -- with all those jughandles, circles, cloverleafs, and random left turn lanes in the right lane, who could understand them? "Go south on 73 west, stay to your right, make the next left, etc. etc. etc..." The most reliable people to get directions from are gas station attendants, business owners, and farmers -- they're the most willing to help you out of the state--I mean, to help you. And even then, don't ask them the whole way -- ask them how to get to a major highway. And pay attention when they say "the easiest way to get there is...". No matter how convoluted it is.

Driving in New Jersey is easy -- take away all sense of logic and left turns, and you've got it. Oh, and don't wear your seat belt, and keep your middle finger up at all times.


Incidentally, things Tannor forgot to mention in New Jersey that are neat: