Who Hates Driving (or Riding as Passenger) in New Jersey?

New Jersey is my birthplace and my childhood memory all rolled up in one. If you would ask me what reminds me of my childhood, I’d reply that with riding in my car or school bus (en route to my private special education school Forum School in Waldwick) on the state’s various highways.

As well as being the most people-dense state in the USA, my birth state is one of the most highway-dense. Don’t get me wrong - car trips and bus rides to school can’t be memorable without being on one of the state’s extensive system of interstate highways, state routes, US routes, and of course, the tollways.

A lot of people on road trips pass through the state to visit cousins in Boston or grannies in Connecticut through that road they have to cope with passing through. That road, in question is the New Jersey Turnpike. When they especially have to pass through much of the northern part of it to the George Washington Bridge, they would feel as if they were carrying the cross up the hill of Golgotha like Jesus did (blame the odor).

Well, you can always take the more aesthetically-designed Garden State Parkway, but I recommend bypassing it in the summer. The loads of Bennies who flock down the shore and back home (I have to confess that was one of them, and I used to live one mile off Exit 155P, near the ramp to NJ State Route 19 southbound.) can make even the Turnpike a relaxing Sunday drive. Small wonder why the road to the shore points is the busiest tollway in the USA!

My former exit, Exit 155P, off the Benny-laden Garden State Parkway! (Courtesy of dougtone, via flickr)

Well, here’s a song, by Mark Rosengarten, about one person’s experiences on how much most of us hate driving (or riding in the cars or buses) in my state of origin (lyrics below)!

I hate drivin’ in New Jersey,
I just hope that I get out alive,
I hate drivin’ in New Jersey,
New Jersey people don’t know how to drive!

Cut off by an SUV in Mahwah
Drivin’ south on Highway 17,
I’m just tryin’ to get to CAMPMOR,
That SUV was really mean!

I hate drivin’ in New Jersey,
I just hope that I get out alive,
I hate drivin’ in New Jersey,
New Jersey people don’t know how to drive!

Flipped off by a driver on the Parkway
Pullin’ into Essex Toll to pay,
One foot was danglin’ out his window,
I guess that driver thought it was OK.

I hate drivin’ in New Jersey,
I just hope that I get out alive,
I hate drivin’ in New Jersey,
New Jersey people don’t know how to drive!

Exitin’ a diner in New Brunswick
Tryin’ to get back onto Highway 1,
There was a teenager in a wagon
Yelled, “Hey you (expletive)!” and cut us off.

I hate drivin’ in New Jersey,
I just hope that I get out alive,
I hate drivin’ in New Jersey,
New Jersey people don’t know how to drive!

Not to mention Newark Airport,
The roads there really make me wanna scream,
Took me an hour just to find my way on out,
The memory still haunts me in my dreams.

I hate drivin’ in New Jersey,
With jughandles and crazy one-way streets,
I hate drivin’ in New Jersey,
The angriest drivers you’d never want to meet.

I hate drivin’ in New Jersey,
I just hope that I get out alive,
I hate drivin’ in New Jersey,
New Jersey people don’t know how to drive!

Don’t know how to drive!
Don’t know how to drive!

I love the verse on driving around Newark Airport because the network of roads is like a bowl of spaghetti! You’ve got US 1-9, NJ State Route 21, US 22, I-78, and the I-95 part of the goshdarn Turnpike all in a tangle!

*facepalm* (Courtesy of Roadgeek Adam, via flickr)

Anyway, driving or riding your autos as passengers in New Jersey can be a pain as well as a joy. If you are driving on the roads, riding as passengers on the roads, or planning to in the future, good luck with that!

Oh, and I have a fetish for the Turnpike’s trailblazer shield! It may look hideous or just plain ugly, but that’s pure childhood to me!

Jersey Hater: AHHHHHHHH! It’s the New Jersey Turnpike trailblazer shield! It’s glowing! It’s glowing! It’s going to haunt me!
Me: I LOVE THIS SHIELD!!! (Courtesy of dougtone, via flickr)

Feel free to rant about driving or riding a car or bus in NJ! Don’t be too harsh, but let yourself vent on this! Feel free to include Turnpike or Parkway bashing (the odor, Bennies, etc.) in your comments also!