Hiring a driver in the US

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UpInTheAir:)

UpInTheAir:)

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Hello brains trust :)
I am flying to the US at the end of January and I have a couple of transfers that I need to make..
I have a conference at Long Beach but on my last day I need to see a client that google maps tells me is around a 2.5hr drive from Long Beach, meet with them for a couple hours and then get to LAX for my departure back to AU.
I have never driven in the US before so I was thinking that in the land of opportunity I should be able to hire a driver for a day or half day??
Does anyone have any experience with this and have any idea of what the cost might be?
I also have to make a transfer from Newark to Mount Laurel (about an hours drive) on a Sunday night and back on Monday but I am assuming a normal taxi will be able to handle this 1hr transfer??
Thanks :)
 
I would just use Uber. You won't ever have to wait long for a car.
 
I've done this before. If you provide some town/city names I may be able to assist.
 
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My recommendation is to rent a car. IMHO, the longer driving on the right is avoided, the greater the difficulty in overcoming the reticence.

I'm seeing it as quite an issue for retirees who have never previously travelled overseas much and become too nervous to rent a car. The younger you start, the better - and let's face it, Uppy, you're a youngster :). Just make sure you have a GPS and you'll be fine.

And rent something like a Mustang ;) - but make sure you specify one with a V8. The rental car companies often specify the smallest engine, as I found out when I thought Hertz had upgraded me when providing a Mustang in Portland some years ago - and I drove that gutless wonder all the way to SFO via Yosemite :evil:.
 
JohnM said:
I'm seeing it as quite an issue for retirees who have never previously travelled overseas much and become too nervous to rent a car. The younger you start, the better - and let's face it, Uppy, you're a youngster :). Just make sure you have a GPS and you'll be fine.
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Yes my (late-60s) aunt and uncle refuse to drive overseas, and then complain when cities like LA are too hard to get around.

Personally I don't even have a car in Australia, and have driven on the right far more than the left the past few years.
 
Look out America.. tomorrow will be my first time on the right hand side of the road!!
Starting in Salt Lake City.. thought being a little smaller city it would be a confidence builder before hitting the spaghetti freeways of LA :)
 
Go Uppy! Hope you got something with a big V8 to make you feel a little at home ;):cool:.

Are you just mooching around cities or doing some real driving?
 
JohnM said:
Go Uppy! Hope you got something with a big V8 to make you feel a little at home ;):cool:.

Are you just mooching around cities or doing some real driving?
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No V8 sadly :(
Unfortunately very time poor this trip so buzzing around cities in preparation for world domination ;) :)
 
UpInTheAir:) said:
Look out America.. tomorrow will be my first time on the right hand side of the road!!
Starting in Salt Lake City.. thought being a little smaller city it would be a confidence builder before hitting the spaghetti freeways of LA :)
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TR?

I'm sure you'll be a master within 5mins.
 
I made it!!!
So first I tried Salt Lake City... once working out which side of the car to get in :oops: and programming the "Navigation System" I was off :) It was pretty easy when following the cars in front but road position was a bit tricky at first.
Ok.. so I did have one little adventure on the wrong side of the road :shock: but the friendly locals quickly jumped on their horns and saved me from disaster :) The travelling on a one way road in the left lane about to turn left got me... instinct took over and I just ducked around the corner... thankfully there was a hotel on the corner so I jumped in to the drive through, collected myself and set off again.
So my confidence felt a little shattered in Salt Lake but my motto is "if at first you freak out and feel like hiding under the bed for a week just collect your thoughts, remember that noone wants to hit you and get back into the car" :)
So today it was a big drive from Long Beach to Quartz Hill. This time I was a lot more confident (there were also more cars to follow) and I was careful not to repeat the mistake I made last time. The friendly navigation system did take me off the freeway to a closed road (see below) about 24 miles before the direct turnoff to where I was supposed to be going.. but thankfully with no time pressure (and helpful people to get me back on track) I got there ok :)
DSC_1038.jpg
I found people were very courteous and I think having Arizona plates on the car helped me change lanes.. even when I almost missed my exit and had to zoom across 3 lanes of traffic :eek:

The trip back to LAX was also pretty easy (a lot of it was stationary so I could have been anywhere) and again I didn't find changing lanes a problem. Again I felt like I had to concentrate on lane position and did find myself hitting the little lane bumps if I didn't pay attention.

A massive thank you to all my support crew here - MrM, Opusman, and Amaroo - you really gave me the confidence to try and I am so pleased you did :)
 
Buzzard said:
Next time just get a motorbike, one of those big chrome mothers, and ride in the middle of the road :mrgreen:
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Thanks.. But would prefer to have the metal box and airbags around me if I happen to make a mistake :)
We can't all be "born to be wild".. I quite like domestication ;) :)
 
opusman said:
Yes my (late-60s) aunt and uncle refuse to drive overseas, and then complain when cities like LA are too hard to get around.
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I'm hesitant to get behind the wheel in Thailand where they drive the same side of road as Australia. Although that looks like changing shortly as I will probably need a car in the village and taxi everyday is expensive.

Wouldn't want to drive on the other side of the road.
 
UpInTheAir:) said:
A massive thank you to all my support crew here - MrM, Opusman, and Amaroo - you really gave me the confidence to try and I am so pleased you did :)
Click to expand...

Time now to move beyond the kiddy stuff. May I suggest the Amalfi Coast in tourist season and, at peak hour, central Naples and Old Town Valparaiso as a few slightly more stimulating locations ;):cool:.
 
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