Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Boston Drivers: Beware
The incredibly sappy movie
Love Story
includes one hilarious observation: “This
is Boston—everybody drives like a maniac.” And that was before cellphones.
Boston drivers absolutely deserve their notoriety, and even though the truly
reckless are a tiny minority, it pays to be careful. Never assume that another
driver will behave as you might expect, especially when it comes to the rarely
used turn signal. Watch out for cars that leave the curb and change lanes with-
out signaling, double- and triple-park in the most inconvenient places imagina-
ble, and travel the wrong way down one-way streets. And remember that most
pedestrians and bicyclists are just drivers without their protective covering.
Tips
loss of or damage to the rental car, and for
liability in case a passenger is injured. The
credit card you use to rent the car may
also provide some coverage, but don't
assume—check before you leave home.
Car-rental insurance typically does not
cover liability if you caused the accident.
Check your own auto insurance policy,
the rental company policy, and your
credit card coverage for the extent of cov-
erage: Is your destination covered? Are
other drivers covered? How much liabil-
ity is covered if a passenger is injured? If
you rely on your credit card for coverage,
you may want to bring a second credit
card with you, because damages may be
charged to your card and you may find
yourself stranded with no money.
Car rental insurance costs about $20
a day.
Package Deals
Many packages include airfare, accom-
modations, and a rental car with unlim-
ited mileage. Compare these prices with
the cost of booking airline tickets and
renting a car separately. Don't saddle
yourself with a car for a long period if you
won't be using it, though. And don't for-
get to add the price of parking, which can
quickly wipe out any savings a package
might represent.
Booking Online
For booking rental cars online, the best
deals are usually on rental-car company
websites, although all the major online
travel booking engines also offer rental-
car reservations services.
Check out
Breezenet.com
, which
offers domestic car-rental discounts with
some of the most competitive rates
around. Also worth visiting are Orbitz.
com, Hotwire.com, Travelocity.com, and
Priceline.com, all of which offer compet-
itive online car-rental rates. For addi-
tional car rental agencies, see the “Toll-
Free Numbers & Websites” appendix,
p. 294.
Parking
It's difficult to find your way around
Boston and practically impossible to find
parking in some areas. Most spaces on the
street are metered (and patrolled until at
least 6pm Mon-Sat) and are open to
nonresidents for 2 hours or less between
8am and 6pm. The penalty is a $45
ticket—the same as a full day at the most
expensive garage. Read the sign or meter
carefully. Some areas allow parking only
at certain hours. Rates vary in different
sections of the city (usually $1/hr. down-
town); bring plenty of quarters. Time
limits range from 15 minutes to 2 hours.
If you blunder into a tow-away zone,
retrieving the car will cost well over $100
and a lot of running around. The city tow
lot (
&
617/635-3900
) is at 200 Frontage
Rd. in South Boston. Take a taxi, or ride
the Red Line to Andrew and flag a cab.
