Are You Ready to Brave the Los Angeles Traffic?

Thomas Guide for Los Angeles County to Handle Los Angeles Traffic

When my daughter and I arrived in Los Angeles, I was definitely not ready for the Los Angeles traffic. Having spent most of my life in the rural Southeast, I was not accustomed to heavy traffic.

It was the end of our first week in L.A., and we were staying in a hotel in Burbank. I’d done very little driving since our arrival as we’d only been enjoying Universal Studios and looking nearby in Burbank for an apartment.

I had not yet really had the chance to experience the Los Angeles traffic, on the freeways or otherwise. But that was soon to change as we had an appointment with a talent agency in Beverly Hills in the late afternoon.

My daughter’s talent manager decided to ride along with us to the talent agency since it was down in Beverly Hills and our first real trip out of Burbank.

To avoid the Los Angeles freeway traffic at that time of day, we decided to take Coldwater Canyon, a hilly, winding, but scenic road. I was nervous about driving, and even more so since my daughter’s manager was in the car with us.

Traffic was heavy, and I was being very cautious, so we moved along slowly. But it looked like we would arrive just in time for the appointment with the talent agency.

We stopped at the light at N. Beverly and Santa Monica Blvd. It was exciting to see the famous street (and in my head I was singing from Sheryl Crow’s song “Until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard“). My daughter was talking and singing non-stop in the back seat as usual.

I eased up to the intersection, ready to make a right turn on Santa Monica Blvd. The light turned green, and as I started to make the turn, I saw a city bus speeding towards the intersection from the left.

I hit the brakes and stopped short of the intersection, relieved that I had dodged a bullet.

But the car to our left had already entered the intersection, and the bus plowed into him, knocking his car into us.

My daughter was behind me in our mini-van, and as the car crashed into us, shattering glass and crunching metal, she starting screaming and crying hysterically.

I immediately checked my passengers and was relieved that no one appeared to be injured. We were wearing seat belts, and though my daughter’s car seat was knocked sideways, she was still fastened tightly within it.

The bus driver saw my screaming daughter and came running over to check on us,  yelling, “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry!  Is your baby okay?”

Almost immediately, Beverly Hills police arrived at the scene, along with ambulances and a fire engine.

The policemen spoke gently to my screaming daughter, calming her down. They helped all of us get out of the car and onto the curb on the passenger side (the driver-side doors were totally unusable).

It seemed almost unreal, like we were filming an episode of some Beverly Hills show, standing there on the side of the road at this busy intersection with these friendly, good-looking, neatly-dressed Beverly Hills police officers.

My daughter’s manager looked at me and said, “Welcome to L.A.”

The policemen fussed over my daughter, giving her stickers and other little prizes, and she was soon smiling and laughing, clearly enjoying all the attention.

The next thing I knew she was entertaining them and everyone else driving by on this very busy street corner. She seemed unphased by what had just occurred.

I, on the other hand, was pretty much a nervous wreck (no pun intended) at this point, wondering how I was going to explain this to my husband, how I was going to get the van repaired, and particularly wondering why in the world I had decided to bring my daughter to L.A.

The talent agency agreed to still see us, though we were now nearly two hours late. Since the van could still be driven, we proceeded to our destination.

Things went well at the talent agency, and my daughter clearly enjoyed meeting and entertaining everyone.

But for me, the excitement was overshadowed by the events of the day, and the drive back to Burbank was particularly stressful.  I was shaken, yet thankful that the accident had not been worse.

If you are thinking of moving to the L.A. area, you really should think about how the Los Angeles traffic will affect you. It won’t be going away and probably will only be getting worse over time.

“Are You Ready to Brave the Los Angeles Traffic?”

While there was really no way we could have avoided our accident, there are some things you can do to help keep you safe while you are driving around LA.   Before going  out in the Los Angeles traffic, you should do the following:

• Buy a Thomas Guide for the Greater Los Angeles area and always keep it with you when you are traveling.
• Buy a GPS System.
• Study your Thomas Guide and other maps of the Los Angeles area so you are familiar with the roads and freeways.
• Check on Los Angeles traffic (SigAlert) prior to your departure to avoid routes with major issues at the time you leave. Los Angeles freeway conditions change quickly, so don’t count on a quick or easy trip, regardless of what you see before you leave.
• Avoid the busiest times of day for Los Angeles traffic if possible, particularly from 6:30 – 8:30 am and from 4:00 – 7:00 pm on weekdays.

So, if you dare to venture into the Los Angeles freeway traffic, stay calm, stay alert, and be patient. If you get stuck in a traffic jam, don’t stress, because that won’t get you there any more quickly, and it is bad for your health.

Happy driving!

Debbie Sikkema

P.S. For additional information on dealing with the Los Angeles Traffic and driving to acting auditions, read “Will You Like Driving Your Child to Acting Auditions?”