23 Rules for Driving on the Streets of Lafayette, Louisiana

Probably the people in any town think that their drivers are the worst. In Lafayette, traffic can be a nightmare depending on where you live and where you work. Getting to places on some days makes it seem like you are driving through some strange obstacle course.

Drivers in Lafayette traffic can be very expressive when it comes to their facial expressions and their hand gestures. Driving in Lafayette is like trying to deal with a screaming kid whose parents choose not to take them outside of the store you're in. You end up feeling an edge.

As Lafayette has grown over the last several decades, the way our traffic flows doesn't always seem to keep up with what we need. No city has a perfect traffic plan and no city has perfect drivers.

It's an adventure out there! It's crazy out there! If you don't drive defensively you are not going to make it to where you are going without getting into a crash. The insane way that people drive in Lafayette makes you want to stay inside, but since we can't, it's time for some "Rules" of the road. Please remember, this is a tongue-in-cheek list.

Photo courtesy of Engin Akyurt, AjMXxHwxW_k, Unsplash

"Rules" For Driving in Lafayette

1. First, you must learn to pronounce the city name. It's LAF-E-YET.

2. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Lafayette has its own version of traffic rules. It's called hold on and pray.

3. All directions start with either, "Get on Ambassador. Get on Johnston. Or Get on Kaliste Saloom".

4. The Chamber of Commerce calls getting through traffic a "scenic drive" because you can see everything when you are caught in traffic.

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5. Morning rush hour is from 6 until 10. Afternoon/Evening rush hour is from 3 until 7. Friday's rush hour starts Thursday afternoon.

6. If you stop at a yellow light, you will get rear-ended.

7. A yellow light is actually for the next 6-8 vehicles to speed up and run through.

8. Construction is a way of life and a permanent form of entertainment.

9. Traffic circles cannot be used properly by approx 80% of drivers.

10. If you see someone with their turn signal on, it's a factory defect.

11. Old ladies with blue hair always have and make their own right of way. I might or might not be an old lady..........I'm an old lady!

Photo courtesy of Xavier Greenidge, dEUOv3m0HA, via Unsplash

12. Lots of streets mysteriously change names as you cross intersections.

13. Horns are used before brakes and blinkers.

14. A trip from Mid-Lafayette to Youngsville takes a minimum of 1 hour.

15. If you leave one car length for every 10mph between you and the next vehicle, 3 people will cut you off.

16. When a light turns from green to red, you will wait at least 5 seconds while the person in front of you finishes texting. Time to lay on that horn!

Photo courtesy of Edi Libedinsky, 1bhp9zBPHVE via Unsplash

17. T-boy in a jacked-up pickup truck WILL cut you off, every time, no exceptions.

18. Nobody yields for first responders.

19. People stop at a yield sign and blow through a stop sign.

20. Headlights on during thick fog is optional.

21. Friday's rush hour actually starts Thursday afternoon.

Photo courtesy of Caroline Hernandez, tJHU4mGSLz4 via Unsplash

22. People will stop in the middle of an intersection if the light is green.

23. No one driving in Lafayette can be bothered to stop for those "pesky" red lights.

You may agree or disagree, but one thing is for sure, you can probably add to this list.

LOOK: Cool Car Features We Kind of Miss

Kids these days don't know what they're missing out on! But hey, let's be real, some of those old car features were pretty awesome. Yeah, they might've been a bit risky and even tried to kill us, but they made our rides feel way cooler.

Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz

Source: 23 Rules for Driving on the Streets of Lafayette, Louisiana (Opinion)

Filed Under: roads, Lafayette, driving

Categories: Lafayette News