How to drive in Boston

There is one fairly simple thing you can do with relation to driving to make your trip to New England much happier and safer. How do you drive in Boston?

Don't.

Since many people insist on breaking this rule, I have to offer some other suggestions on what can and can't be done:

1. Do not be alarmed by the absense of road markings. Comm. Ave. near my house is one such example. The street is perhaps four lanewidths wide between the T tracks and the curb. There are no lane markings. This is normal and expected.
2. Lane markings are for reference only, and are not generally used by drivers. The concept of a "lane" as is used in other parts of the nation is totally alien to the Boston area.
3. The car puts itself where it wants to be. Holes magically appear.
4. Boston drivers know how other Boston drivers drive. There is an intuitive knowledge that, say, another driver is about to cut you off, and you learn to expect these things.
5. Some drivers do stupid things. These drivers should be punished.
6. Some drivers drive like Bostonians, which is totally different. These drivers would be punished elsewhere but survive unharmed in Boston.
7. Traffic signals are only advisory. This particularly applies to pedestrians, who cross the street whenever they feel like it.

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