By Car in Los Angeles

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By Car

Picture L.A. and you might see the mesh of multilane freeways with their hypnotic streams of cars. Once you've joined the multitudes you'll be caught up in the tempos of traffic: frustration, exhilaration, and crushing boredom. "Freeway culture" is one of the city's defining traits.

In Los Angeles, a car is a necessity. When renting one, keep in mind that you'll likely be spending a lot of time in it, and options like a CD player or power windows that might seem unnecessary may make a significant difference in your day-to-day comfort.

Major-chain rates in L.A. begin at $35 a day and $110 a week, plus 8.25% sales tax. Luxury and sport utility vehicles start at $49 a day. Note that the major agencies offer services for travelers with disabilities, such as hand-controls, for little or no extra cost.

Request car seats and extras such as GPS when you book, and make sure that a confirmed reservation guarantees you a car. Agencies sometimes overbook, particularly for busy weekends and holiday periods. Rates are sometimes -- but not always -- better if you book in advance or reserve through a rental agency's Web site. There are other reasons to book ahead, though: for popular destinations, during busy times of the year, or to ensure that you get a certain type of car (van, SUV, exotic sports car).

Beverly Hills Budget Car Rental, with six locations, offers the widest range of vehicle rentals, including Hummers, convertibles, minivans, and economy cars. Daydreaming of a restored classic Chevy or the latest Porsche? Beverly Hills Rent-A-Car, a rental facility with branches in Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and near LAX, rents exotics, classic cars, luxury models, economy cars (including Mini Coopers), vans, and SUVs. Midway Car Rental, with six offices on the Westside, in the Valley, and in Mid-Wilshire, has the usual, plus some extra-large vans and, in its "executive class," Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, and so on. Possibly the handiest in the lower-price range is Enterprise, with two dozen branches in the area (some have luxury vehicles as well). You can rent an ecofriendly electric or hybrid car through Budget; for more information contact EV Rental Cars.

Getting Gas

In L.A., as of this writing, gasoline costs around $3.15-$3.25 a gallon. There are plenty of stations in all areas; most stay open late, and some are open 24 hours. To find the stations with the lowest gas prices in town, visit www.losangelesgasprices.com. Prices are updated every 36 hours by a network of volunteer spotters.

Emergency Services

For lesser problems on L.A.'s freeways (being out of gas, having a blown tire, needing a tow to the nearest phone), Caltrans (California's Department of Transportation) has instituted the Freeway Service Patrol (FSP) 6:30 AM-7 PM. More than 145 tow trucks patrol the freeways offering free aid to stranded drivers. If your car breaks down on an interstate, try to pull over onto the shoulder and either wait for the state police to find you or, if you have other passengers who can wait in the car, walk to the nearest emergency roadside phone and call the state police. Another option is to dial 800/266-6883 and select the option for freeway patrol. When calling for help, note your location according to the small green mileage markers posted along the highway. Other highways are also patrolled but may not have emergency phones or mileage markers.

Contacts

Freeway Service Patrol (213/922-2957 general information).

Navigating Los Angeles

Finding your way by car in Los Angeles can be a piece of cake or a nightmare. If you're used to urban driving, you shouldn't have too much trouble, but if you're unused to driving in big cities, L.A. can be unnerving. The city may be sprawling and traffic clogged, but at least it has evolved with the automobile in mind. Streets are wide and parking garages abound, so it's more driver-friendly than many older big cities. Get a good map and remember a few of the pointers we list here, and you should be able to avoid confusion.

Be aware that a number of major streets have similar-sounding names (Beverly Drive and Beverly Boulevard, or numbered streets north to south downtown and east to west in Hollywood, West Hollywood, and Beverly Hills) or exactly the same name (San Vicente Boulevard in West L.A., Brentwood, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood). Also, some smaller streets seem to exist intermittently for miles, so unless you have good directions, you should use major streets rather than try for an alternative that is actually blocked by a dead end or detours, like the side streets off Sunset Boulevard. Try to get clear directions and stick to them. The Thomas Guide, a hefty, spiral-bound, super-thorough street guide and directory, is published annually and is available at bookstores, grocery stores, and the like. It's worth the money if you're planning to stay longer than a week and spend the majority of your time navigating the area in your car, but for most visitors the compact L.A. city maps available at auto clubs and retail shops are more manageable and work just fine.

If you get discombobulated while on the freeway, remember the rule of thumb: even-numbered freeways run east and west, odd-numbered freeways run north and south.

Parking

For some shops and many restaurants and hotels in L.A., valet parking is virtually assumed. The cost is usually $3-$5 and/or an optional tip; keep small bills on hand for the valets.

But there are also some inexpensive and easy garage and lot parking options. For instance, the underground facility at the Hollywood & Highland entertainment and shopping complex, at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard, charges $2 for the first four hours and a maximum of $10 for the day; no validation is required.

In Beverly Hills, the first two hours are free at several lots on or around Rodeo Drive (for a detailed map, visit www.beverlyhills.org). There's never a parking fee or a long wait to enter and exit at the Westside Pavilion's open-access garage at 10800 Pico Boulevard.

Parking in downtown L.A. can be tough, especially on weekdays, but the garage at the 7+Fig retail complex at Ernst and Young Plaza (725 South Figueroa Street) is spacious, reasonable, and visitor-friendly. Validation from a shop or restaurant gets you three hours free; otherwise, it's $7 after 4 PM and on weekends. Staples Center patrons should ask about the discounted rates.

Parking rules are strictly enforced in Los Angeles, so make sure you check for parking signs and pay attention to their rules. Illegally parked cars are ticketed or towed quickly (and the minimum ticket is $35). Parking is generally available in garages or parking lots; some public lots are free all or part of the day; otherwise prices vary from 25¢ (in the public lots) to $2 per half hour or from a few dollars to $25 per day. Downtown and Century City garage rates may be as high as $25 an hour, though prices tend to drop on weekends.

Speaking of posted limits, street parking in L.A. is confusing because of the many and varying restrictions (during the day, only at night, once a week during street-cleaning hours, etc.) When visiting residential areas, be sure to ask your hosts about parking restrictions since signs aren't always easy to find. If you have to park in a restricted space for even the briefest amount of time, put on your emergency blinkers.

Sometimes businesses will offer validated parking if you've parked in an affiliated lot; validation will give you free parking for a certain time period. At a restaurant, for instance, ask for parking validation from the host or hostess. Metered parking is also widely available; meter rates vary from 25¢ for 15 minutes in the most heavily trafficked areas to 25¢ for one hour; have a bunch of change available. In some areas, metered parking is free on weekends or on Sunday. Another bonus: if a meter is out of order (for example, if it is flashing the word FAIL where the time remaining would appear), parking is free for the posted time limit.

When parking in a large lot or parking garage, note the section or level of your parking space. Stadiums, malls, theme parks, and other venues with giant parking areas post signs, but some garages don't have much in the way of indicators.

Road Conditions

Beware of weekday rush-hour traffic, which is heaviest from 7 AM to 10 AM and 3 PM to 7 PM. Both KFWB and KNX have frequent traffic reports; the Los Angeles city Web site has a real-time traffic information map, and the California Highway Patrol has a road-conditions line. To encourage carpooling, some crowded freeways reserve an express lane for cars carrying more than one passenger. Parallel streets can often provide viable alternatives to jam-packed freeways, notably Sepulveda Boulevard for I-405; Venice and Washington boulevards for I-10 from Mid-Wilshire west to the beach; and Ventura Boulevard, Moorpark Street, and/or Riverside Drive for U.S. 101 through the San Fernando Valley. Highway signage is on the whole good but can't substitute for maps and detailed directions.

Fog is generally equated with San Francisco, but the coastline of southern California does get some pea-soup conditions that are dangerous for drivers. In late 2002, for instance, nearly 200 cars piled up on the Long Beach Freeway due to heavy fog. If you encounter thick fog, slow down, switch on your low beams and fog lights, and watch carefully for the lights of other vehicles. If the fog is extremely heavy, pull over cautiously and wait for it to pass.

Information

California Highway Patrol (323/906-3434 for road conditions; 800/427-7623 in California). City of Los Angeles (www.ci.la.ca.us).

Rules of the Road

The use of seat belts for all passengers is required in California, as is the use of car seats for children five years old or younger or 60 pounds or less. The speed limit is 25-35 mph on city streets and 65 mph on freeways unless otherwise posted. Turning right on a red light after a complete stop is legal unless otherwise posted. Many streets in downtown L.A. are one-way, and a left turn from one one-way street onto another is okay on a red light after a complete stop. On some major arteries, left turns are illegal during one or both rush hours (watch for signs). Certain car-pool lanes, designated by signage and a white diamond, are reserved for cars with more than one passenger. Freeway on-ramps often have stop-and-go signals to regulate the flow of traffic, but cars in high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes can pass the signal without stopping.

State law does not prohibit the use of a cellular telephone while driving, but the California Highway Patrol emphasizes the importance of using hands-free devices.

Some towns, including Beverly Hills and Culver City, use photo radar at stoplights to try to reduce speeding (these intersections are always identified with signs). LAX is notorious for handing out tickets to drivers circling its busy terminals; avoid the no-parking zones and keep loading or unloading to a minimum. Also keep in mind that pedestrians always have the right of way in California; not yielding to them, even if they're jaywalkers, may well result in a $100 ticket.

Speeding can earn you a fine of up to $500. It is illegal to drive in California with a blood alcohol content of  .08% or above (.01% if you're under 21); the cost of driving while intoxicated can be a $390-$1,000 fine plus 48 hours to six months in jail for first offenders. The police are not easygoing about traffic offenses in general. They don't typically engage in selective enforcement when the flow of traffic exceeds the speed limit, but they'll then focus on the drivers making dicey moves. Parking infractions can result in penalties starting at $30 for a ticket on up to having your vehicle towed and impounded (at an ultimate cost of nearly $200 even if you pay up immediately, more if you don't). In California, radar detectors aren't illegal, but "scanners" (which receive police radio signals) are; per the FCC, "jammers" (which interfere with signals) are illegal throughout the United States.

Relative to those in many of America's major urban areas, Los Angeles drivers generally have a higher standard of road courtesy (sometimes buttressed by law) regarding pedestrians, maintaining lanes, merging lanes, and so forth. This cuts both ways: they'll extend it to you and expect it from you.