The Boston Driver's Handbook: Wild in the Streets--The Almost Post Big Dig Edition [Paperback]

Ira Gershkoff (Author), Richard Trachtman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 17, 2004

A commuter's survival guide and a visitor's crash course on the sometimes hilarious, sometimes harrowing reality of Boston driving, The Boston Driver's Handbook: The Almost Post Big Dig Edition offers expert advice and witty encouragement for conquering the streets. This newly revised edition has tips on everything you need to know-from where to park, how to drive in the winter, how to execute the "sidesqueeze" in heavy traffic -and everything you don't necessarily need to know but will love to know anyway-from pedestrian point values (absent-minded MIT professor, 2 points; mayor, 10 points) to the best accident excuses of all time. With the latest information on the confusion caused by Boston's "Central Artery Relocation Project," The Boston Driver's Handbook is as practical as it is entertaining, making it a must-have for the tourist and the Boston native alike.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The information on Boston and its environs is fascinating...A fun read." -- Curled Up With a Good Book 8/9/04

"[A] humorous guide." -- Boston Herald 03/23/04

About the Author

A native of Haverhill, Massachusetts, Ira Gershkoff set a single season record in 1976 by collecting 1,272 unpaid parking tickets without a single moving violation. Richard Trachtman developed the tips in his book The Boston Driver's Handbook while working as a Boston cabbie.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; The Almost Post edition (February 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306813262
• ISBN-13: 978-0306813269
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #932,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Getting around Boston can be a hairy business, July 25, 2004

By 

David Roy (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Boston Driver's Handbook: Wild in the Streets--The Almost Post Big Dig Edition (Paperback)

Driving in Vancouver can be a dicey affair, as many of the drivers here are very strange and don't appear to know what they're doing. It annoys my wife even more than it does me. When my wife and I were looking over a list of books to review, The Boston Driver's Handbook: The Almost Post Big Dig Edition jumped out at my wife. "That should be funny," she said. So I asked for it. Does it live up to its promise? One thing I do know. After reading this book, driving in Boston sounds even worse than driving here. And that takes some doing!

First, to explain the title (though readers in Boston will already be familiar with this). "The Big Dig" is a massive construction project that is intended to make the main artery of traffic through Boston go underground. It's been very expensive and it's tied up traffic since 1991. However, it's almost over. It's scheduled to be finished in 2005, which is why this is the "Almost Post Big Dig" edition. The authors, Ira Gershkoff and Richard Trachtman, wrote an earlier edition of this book which didn't include this information, though since it was written in 1994, I'm sure it had some information about the current state of construction at the time.

The book starts with a basic overview of driving in Boston. It tells us about the philosophy ("Commandment Number 1: Thou shalt reach thy destination as quickly as possible. Everyone and everything else be damned."). It talks about what kind of car you should drive. A sparkling new car is just an invitation to be hit, or at least bumped. The best kind of car is an old, beat-up car that already has plenty of bumps and paint scrapes. The authors then go into the street layout of Boston and how confusing it is. They say that there is no way that you can navigate by street signs. The streets twist and turn and confusing one-ways abound. The cool thing about this chapter is that they talk about every section of Boston, detailing the different traffic and parking problems that they present, like how street fairs in the North End can play havoc with basic navigation, sometimes absorbing drivers who are invited to join the fair and then never seen again. This was an extremely interesting section, especially for somebody who's completely unfamiliar with Boston. It may be even more so for the experienced Boston driver, forcing a nod of the head and an "amen, brothers!"

The third chapter is about the Big Dig, with the authors explaining just what is planned, what has happened so far, and what will happen once construction is complete. They tell how the Ted Williams tunnel is currently (or at least at the time of this book's writing) quite beautiful and relatively empty, but as people get wind of it, traffic patterns will adjust and it will become just as dirty and polluted as the other tunnels. One thing that just sounds horrifying is how the new Central Artery will only have three exits, while the old one had 27. I don't even have to live there to find that idea frightening. You don't have to be familiar with Boston to find this chapter interesting as an example of the lofty goals of major construction and how the reality of it usually doesn't quite fit. Again, the authors are quite detailed in telling how the construction has affected things, and they don't avoid giving the positives as well as the negatives here. They're just cynical, not unfair.

The rest of the book is full of the basic and more advanced maneuvers that the expert Boston Driver has to learn. There's the basic cut-off, where you cut in front of the car next to you in order to pass the car in front. There's the sidesqueeze, where you ease into the other lane until the car next to you brakes to avoid hitting you. You then cut them off and go on your way.

The authors also tell about entering the endless traffic circles, really confusing left turns (one of the diagrams in the book is an intersection where you're actually going into the oncoming lanes in order to actually make it through the intersection before the light turns), parking, and many others. Some of the information would be useful here in Vancouver as well as any other cities where traffic is a nightmare. However, a large part of the book is based on Boston Driving culture, such as going the wrong way on a one-way street being the only way to get to some places. Thus, it's funny to read about, but don't try this at home. I especially enjoy the suggestion that parking and driving on sidewalks is sometimes necessary, as long as you look out for pedestrians.

The book is written in an easy style that is entertaining and won't take you too long to read. It's also a short book, which helps as well. I found the information on Boston and its environs to be fascinating, and it almost makes me want to go there, though there's no way I'd want to drive there after reading this book. There's no way I'd survive! The book is marred only by the final chapter (before the final exam), which gives there ideas for how Boston Driving will evolve in the next 100 years. It tries hard to be funny, but usually falls flat.

If you're planning a trip to Boston or planning to move there, this book could prove invaluable. Even if you're not, it's a funny look at driving in the wild streets of a city, and it just may make you appreciate your local traffic a little bit more. Either way, it's a fun read.

David Roy

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tongue in Cheek? I think not., August 21, 2005

By 

Jo Van (Bothell, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Boston Driver's Handbook: Wild in the Streets (Paperback)

This book is written to sound tongue-in-cheek, but having lived and driven in Boston for two years, I can assure you it's not. I've seen every manuever described in this book, some of them by the Boston and Cambridge PD. For anyone moving to Boston, this should be required reading. It will teach you how to make Boston Left Turns, how to park in Back Bay, even how to cross a street as a pedestrian. Yes, it's amusing, but it's also a survival manual. (Oh, also get your car licence changed before you try any of these--out of towners get ticketed for these moves. For in-staters, about the only way to get a moving violation is to hit a pedestrian voter.)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Am I really this bad a driver?, April 13, 2004

By 

Jeff Cross "His Illustriousness" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Boston Driver's Handbook: Wild in the Streets--The Almost Post Big Dig Edition (Paperback)

I always thought of myself as a good Step 9 driver: granted, it took me two tries to get my license, but I've had exactly one parking ticket, I've been pulled over exactly once and got off with a warning, and every dent and ding I've put into the car has been below the deductible and couldn't be reported to the insurance company. After reading this book, it seems I am a bigger psychotic behind the wheel than I had known. I never thought that most of the manuevers listed here were borderline vehicular suicide, and I was even taught how to do the Boston Left Turn (you pull halfway out into the road, blocking the traffic on your left until a car coming from the right lets you go) in driver's ed. A lot of the diagrams are hilarious (you'll never make sense of Brighton intersection dynamics), and they also include the obligatory pedestrian scoring scale (you don't want to be Tom Menino or Mitt Romney). The best part is the epilogue describing the future of Boston driving--by the end of this century, it will become an Olympic sport, and the Central Artery Tunnel will become a pedestrian shopping mall.