If you’ve recently moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, or are thinking of permanently moving, you need to know the dynamics of navigating its streets and roads. Navigating and switching between the roads among other things can be a bit of a challenge.
Below we’ve listed a few tips to help you know what to expect while driving in Pennsylvania’s largest city. With these tips, you could prevent a simple or adventurous transit from turning into a nightmare. By the way, no one is perfect. So, if you get into an accident while on your trip, be sure to use the help of local Philadelphia injury lawyers.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike
Many guests and residents consider the Pennsylvania Turnpike a challenging aspect of navigating through the state. Operated by the State’s Turnpike Commission, the Pennsylvania Turnpike is a toll highway that runs for 580km across Pennsylvania. You should bear in mind that, as with toll roads, you might be paying when you exit the turnpike.
Some people try to dodge the payment. Bear in mind that it’s illegal to deliberately refuse to pay, so be prepared. What’s more, while the Pennsylvania Turnpike is a highway, it stretches across Pennsylvania’s rural areas. This means you can’t rule out animal crossing hazards. Pennsylvania is rich in wildlife, so navigating through the city means you should be on the lookout for animals like foxes, deer, Skunks, and so on.
Furthermore, if you are going to journey through the western part of the Turnpike, you can’t miss the tunnels. It can be a bit intimidating for drivers that have not driven through tunnels before. As long as you have a good headlight, remain calm, and maintain your lane, you’ll come out on the other side of the tunnel just fine.
Finally, since the state is located on the northeastern side of the United States, it’s the whole nine yards of weather conditions. Before you hit the road, you’ll do well to check in with the weather channel if there will be heavy snow or even ice on the road. That’s not all. The rains can get pretty heavy too. Even if your trip is during the falls, be sure to stay informed as thick fogs could make things messy.
You May Be Sharing the Road With the Amish
The Amish are a group of people known for their simple lifestyle, which involves little or no use of modern tech such as electricity, cars, phones, etc. So, it’s not uncommon to encounter Amish horses and buggies on the road.
If you get stuck behind one or more of them, it’s best to be patient. However, if you have enough room to safely drive past them on the other lane, you can go ahead. Try not to honk at them as these animals are not used to cars. You don’t want to spook them, which might cause a road accident.
Pennsylvania Road/Driving laws
Unless you are coming from another country, most states in the US have similar driving/road rules. Still. It’s not a bad idea to know the basics. There are two main Pennsylvania road laws, and they are the driving/texting law and the Steer clear law.
For the former, drivers are not allowed to use handheld devices such as phones to make calls, text, read, or send messages while you are behind the wheels and the car is in motion. If you do not have a hands-free assist, you should park the vehicle before making phone calls. You could attract a penalty if caught violating this law.
The ‘steer clear’ law mandates motorists to move at least one lane away from a rood incident, such as an auto accident or another driver pulled over by a state trooper.
Bad Cyclists
This point isn’t an attempt at tagging Philadelphia as a city of bad bicyclists. Rather, in a city where the residents love riding bicycles, there will undoubtedly be some bad ones. With their bullet speed movement, you may not see them coming.
Let Us Assist You With Your Claim
Let’s hope that navigating through Philadelphia will be worry-free for you. Still, being careful is only a part of avoiding road accidents. While you are busy being careful, obeying traffic rules, and following all the useful tips above, another road user may think it’s a “great day” to drive under the influence or text while driving.
Therefore, if you are involved in any road accident on your journey through Philadelphia, you need all the help you can get. Let our Philadelphia injury lawyers assist you to get the best outcome for your case.