http://bear.ras.ucalgary.ca/brads_home_page/NY-arrival.html (Einblicke ins Internet, 10/1995)Did I happen to mention that we arrived in New York at the beginning of rush hour? No? Well, if I have to make a suggestion to anybody planning on going to New York it would have to be Don't arrive during rush hour! This is important. You see, where I come from it is considered bad form to use your signal light, and a must to run through yellow lights whether you can stop or not. These minor infractions don't even get a cop's attention in New York.
Driving in New York is very Darwinian - survival of the fittest. You want to make a turn across three lanes of traffic - go ahead. Nose your way across the lane (no signal of course - that would warn others) honk your horn to denote status, and go. Want to get across an intersection when the light just turned red? Do it (honk the horn though). Does this leave you sitting in the middle of the interesction blocking the oncoming traffic? Why not? The vehicles in front of you will move Real Soon Now - notta problem. See a gap in the between the cars in front of you? Stand on the gas, honk the horn, and dive between them. One of the cars a cop car? Notta problem. See an empty stretch of road in front of you? Stand on the gas. Coming up on another car at 30 mph above the speed limit? Wait until the last moment then stand on the brakes hard (whilst honking at the vehicle in front of you, of course).
Now, imagine an hour of this in tight traffic. Go ahead - I dare ya. You may think it's nothing - I had to stare out the side window and pretend it wasn't happening (when we arrived at out hotel I was torn between tipping our driver for the education he had just given me, and hitting him for giving me an uncounted number of heart attacks). It seems this type of driving is SOP there though, and nobody blinks an eye. It seems to work, so who am I to complain? Just don't arrive during rush hour.
Oh yes, I mention the cops above, didn't I? They don't bother with any of these things. The largest reaction I saw from a cop was one who shook his head in amazement/amusement when a cabbie crossed three lanes of heavy traffic in the space of two car lengths.