Note: This node applies only to the state of Massachusetts within
Route 495 ONLY- if you try driving like this in the western part of the state (
Amherst, for example, or on
Route 2) be warned that cops there are like those in any other part of the country- they will stop you and ticket you. Also be warned that small-town cops in places like
Wenham or
Rowley will stop you as well, as they have nothing better to do and they get lonely.
That said, this is an intro how to drive Massachusetts-style, a driving style that has been described as"oddly European" among other (less euphonious)things.
- On the highway during peak commute times, the speed limit is the posted limit plus twenty miles per hour. This is an often observed phenomenon. You may be stopped if you exceed this unspoken speed limit, but as long as you keep under it, you are fine. If you are driving at the posted speed limit, people will think you strange for driving twenty miles per hour under the "speed limit"
- Also on the highway- the middle lane is the slow lane, the left lane is the fast lane, and the far right lane is a special "massachusetts-only" EXTRA passing lane for when there are slow cars going in both the fast and middle lanes.
- The "Official Turn of Massachusetts" is the U-turn. If you miss your turn, there's no reason to go driving all over the place looking for a place to turn around, just u-turn and go back.
- If you are lost- please pull over and ask directions rather than driving about slowly getting in the way. It is polite.
- When cut off honk your horn and raise your middle finger so that the driver who has just cut you off will be alerted to your presence, a maneuver that will prevent danger by alerting your fellow driver to your presence.
- Get better gas mileage through the "slipstream effect" by tailgating the driver in front of you.
- In Massachusetts the stop-light scheme is as follows:
- green: proceed at a normal pace
- red: stop
- yellow: floor it
Another tip at red lights: the first second of red lights are actually still considered green, so you may proceed if you were speeding up to make the yellow light.
Blinkers are unecessary in all situations when it is not required to have someone slow down in order to pass them and should not be used in these situations.
On the other hand in situations like a traffic jam, the preferred method of changing lanes is to blinker and turn at the instant that one has an opening.
cars bunched up on the highway should be bypassed by weaving
lanes marked "right only" or "straight only" can be disobeyed provided that you do it at high speed.
Always remember, Massachusetts is the state with the LOWEST percentage of fatal accidents in the entire country.