newyork driving

[jimbo63]

any drivers have any advice about driving in and around newyork and the boroughs of new york,im not a new driver but im new to that area.im gonna run north easr regional ,good home time but what i hear the north east is the worst place to drive i live in maine but i always hauled west..thank you for any info

[Sabine]

I have been driving into NYC about every week for about 19 months. Although I am lucky, never into Manhattan.

My best advice to you, just approach it as every other big city you have driven in. Kinda like LA, just smaller streets.

Yeah, the roads are bad, the amount of traffic is insane, but hey, it will be the price you pay with this job.

I try not to let them drive me too crazy, just drive my truck. You have got to be more alert than you are probably are at this time, because I swear all big trucks are fair game in the city.

Make sure you have decent directions to where you are going, a must with all the low underpasses. Talking about those, you may notice the signs on the BQE (I-278) for example, telling you 12-6 or so clearance ahead and you should get off, but you don't have to. Those are measured from the hub up, not the ground. Now I am not saying disregard all those signs, but the ones on the freeway you can.

I always make sure I have food and drinks, because god knows what time I get out of there.

Listen to 1010 am for traffic updates, or the NYC channel on XM or Sirius if you have it.

All in all I really don't mind driving in NYC. Most of the time, I just get in and out.

Good luck to you, you will be ok, it ain't as bad as everyone says.

[hatt91]

I've driven down there every week for the past 6 months. Mostly on Long Island, but i've been to Queens, Staten Island, and I have a regular stop in the Bronx.

They are very serious about trucks staying on truck routes down there. We had one driver in Manhatten that took some bad directions down a non-truck route street and got a ticket for $250 and 2 points.

The 4-wheelers are by far the most aggressive drivers i've ever seen. Running red lights, cutting in to on coming traffic to get around slow moving vehicles, etc.

Not a place where you can let your attention lapse, especially on roads like the cross bronx (I-95), Van Wyck (I-678), Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (I-278). Things change very, very quickly.

It's not as bad as I immagined. It just takes some getting used to, I really dont mind it so much any more.

[Doctor Who]

Take the Northeast in stride. Nothing to lose any sleep over...

Driving in NY can be a bit HORRIFIC at times but if you keep a cool head and not let your nerves take over common sense you'll do fine...

Just remember if the highway says PARKWAY STAY AWAY FROM IT!!!! The NYPD does not take kindly to truckers ramming their trailers into the LOW bridges on the PARKWAYS!!!

[Windwalker]

Strap a BANK onto your "CATWALK" so that you have the money for all those "BLOODY PLATINUM TOLL BRIDGES. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

They're the reason I refuse to run NYC. :twisted: :twisted:

[hatt91]

Tolls are killer, yeah.

For a 5 axle big truck it's

GW North bound - $40
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (Brooklyn to Staten Island) - $54
Whitestone/Throgs Neck/Triborough (each way) - $27

With EZ Pass there is a discount

[vavega]

bring a camera, the views are amazing. beyond that, buy this map, it comes in handy. :wink:

it's the same as driving in any other city, just so much bigger, with more traffic. and at times other than rush hours, it can actually be easy to get around. :shock: say going out to the island at 4 am is a breeze, or coming west out of brooklyn before 3.

if you find yourself coming west on the BQE from the major deegan (87) trucks have to get off at astoria blvd. even though it says you have to follow the detour around the block, you don't, you can fit under the rr at the first light. or make sure you stay in the middle or left lane east on the BQE coming under the overhang before the brooklyn bridge. that lane turns into the ramp for the bridge on a curve and it's hell cutting over. once you get some experience under your belt, it won't create so much anxiety and you'll do fine.

good luck!

[mbadriver]

Biggest problem is the local streets. They park anywhere and everywhere. Avoiding the tandems rolling over the front/rear end of a parked car can be a challenge. avoid the rush hours.

[stormothecentury]

Just remember if the highway says PARKWAY STAY AWAY FROM IT!!!! The NYPD does not take kindly to truckers ramming their trailers into the LOW bridges on the PARKWAYS!!!

That's actually all of NYS, not just NYC. Parkways are no commercially tagged vehicles, period - I've even seen cops ticket or tow pickup trucks.

[DIESEL BEAST]

I'm fairly a new driver. I've been regional for 2 months now. I've driven NY only 2 times. Once during training we went into Long Island and drove through Manhattan on the way back. This was mid-December, Manhattan and full of X-MAS shoppers. The streets are very tight, yellow cabs cutting you off non-stop. Its managable to drive but beware of EVERYTHING that is going on around your truck.

My 2nd trip to NYC I was on my own. I drove into the Bronx. Read every single sign that you come across. They have signs that read, "TRUCKS USE EXPRESSWAYS, NO PARKWAYS, LOW CLEARANCES/IT'S THE LAW".

Just stay in your lane, read signs, and keep your cool.

[hoohaa]

Once during training we went into Long Island and drove through Manhattan on the way back.

Why did your trainer cut through Manhattan?
Did he say?
What route did he take?

[hoohaa]

any drivers have any advice about driving in and around newyork and the boroughs of new york,im not a new driver but im new to that area.im gonna run north easr regional ,good home time but what i hear the north east is the worst place to drive i live in maine but i always hauled west..thank you for any info

You should PM Sixthwheel over at Trucknet.
He drives NYC all the time.
He may be able to help you.

[mikey4069]

the worst drivers live in new york and thats why i only do 11 western.

[GTR SILVER]

the worst drivers live in new york and thats why i only do 11 western.

.now that's funny............being from cali and all............... :? :? :? :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

[jonekatz1]

Someone to look at would be Webster Trucking, They'll have Ya peddleing freight in the Big Apple all Day Long with a $ 5,000 K sign on bounus, considered it myself but I live Upstate NY.Make $ 70,000 a year and be HomeEveryDay, Paid Vacation & Holidays not for the Faint of Heart, webstertrucking.com Bro, 8) :?:

Smart Like Einstein, Rich Like Donald Trump

[Whammo]

Speaking as a lifetime New Yorker driver (not a CDL driver yet), I have a few tips:

Don't even try going crosstown on a side street. You WILL get stuck behind a double parked car/truck and have to back up, and nobody is likely gonna direct traffic and wave you through. Use a main street. Here are some in order from downtown to uptown.

Canal Street
Houston street
14th street
23rd street
34th street
42nd street
57th street
72nd street
79th street
86th street
96th street

The FDR drive doesn't allow trucks. I guess it is considered a parkway.

[DIESEL BEAST]

Once during training we went into Long Island and drove through Manhattan on the way back.

Why did your trainer cut through Manhattan?
Did he say?
What route did he take?

My trainer wanted to show me what driving a 18wheeler through NY was all about. We took the Long Island Exp to Queens Midtown Tunnel through Manhattan and to the Lincoln Tunnel. We drive flatbed so we were pretty safe with our clearance.