All in all, I am rather enjoying The Lone Star state with all it’s quirks.  I felt the desire to write down all the stuff I’ve taken note of here so far as it pertains to traffic:

The streets are really wide!  I mean, it is nice because you definitely could fit a bicycle (or a few) and a car in the same area without feeling like you will run the cyclist down like back in KY. 

The only problem is it is really hard not to want to drive around pass someone & tail-gating seems completely unecessary given how much space there is to share the road.  It is also really hard to tell if the street wasn’t meant for two lanes, so single file is a little difficult to manage.  I mean, the Loop here is basically equivalent to Shelbyville Rd. in Louisville; however, you never feel like you are in someone else’s lane, and crossing from the far right to the far left is not very difficult to do….so it’s quite nice even though strange. 

4 way stops- There seems to be a complete lack of them down here!  Most intersections without a stop light are not 4 way stops, making me slighty uncomfortable as I drive down roads for miles without ever having to stop even when there are all sorts of cars at each intersection just waiting to find an opening to turn.  So there are several 2 way stops or cautionary zones, which again, leave me a little uneasy as I drive throuh praying I didn’t miss a stop sign on these very wide streets that was possibly hidden by a tree or a big star or something.

Intersections with lights:  They have like, 5 lights in the turn lane!  Green Arrow, obviously meaning you are good to go.  Green Solid meaning you are good to go as long as it’s clear.  Yellow Flashing arrow, Yellow solid arrow and Red.  I am slightly confused on the Yellow arrow’s, which obviously mean caution, but to what extent, I am unsure?? 

U-Turns:  Tyler is the land of U-turns!!!!  Moreso than Florida!  There are medians on ALL streets, so on a rare occassion on Broadway when you come to an intersection with lights that actually allow you to make a left turn, generally you are forced to make a right, zip over to the far left lane, and on the green arrow, make your u-turn.  Thankfully, this is another plus to the roads being so wide, even large vehicles can successfully make U-turns without trouble.  What does that mean for those of you who are hasty in turning right on red!?  WATCH OUT!  It’s just not that easy to do around here and most do not.  You have to pay attention to the fact that probably 50% of the cars on the turn arrow are going to be making a U-turn that spits them out into the far right or middle lane where you would like to make your impatient right turn.  It is a little bit of a releif to know that you won’t be honked at for sitting through a Red light and ACTUALLY waiting for the light to turn green before you go, since in many cases, you just cannot go. 

Speed Limits are paid attention to for the most part, because if not, a motorcycle cop is probably just around the corner!  Especially close to campus, where they seem to enjoy pulling over students according to my fellow classmates. 

All I know, is that it is going to feel weird come December when I make my treck back home, because I haven’t gone over 50mph in two weeks.  It is an interesting pace down here.  You may be just a few short miles away, but if you plan on taking the main roads, the lights will keep you for awhile.  Slowly but surely, I’m learning the back ways to school & it’s kind of comforting to feel so familiar with a place so soon. 

More about Texas later!