While some people absolutely love the thrill of being behind the wheel, Yetunde, a Houston-based business professional, only drives when she has to. Between a traumatising accident on a rainy Chicago day, Houston’s confusing highways and hefty parking fees, Yetunde would rather take public transport or hop in an Uber. Still, she has her ways of going around driving and that often means taking local routes and going slow and steady.
What was your first driving experience?
So, I learnt how to drive in the States actually. I took driving classes in Chicago and I also took some in Lagos. But the driving I did in Lagos was more of a trial and error kind of thing. I only drove within an estate and didn’t actually get on the street, so I’m not sure if that counts.
So does that mean you had driven before you moved to Chicago?
No, I learnt in the States, but I came to Nigeria for NYSC, so I was learning in Nigeria too when I came. And then I went back to America to perfect it. I just went back and forth between the two countries a lot. I didn’t get my licence in the US till either 2015 or 2016, even though I had moved there since 2008.
What’s the biggest difference between driving in the US and Nigeria?
I still don’t have a lot of experience driving in Nigeria, but I would say one obvious issue is the roads. The roads are obviously better in Chicago. Interestingly, Houston roads are bad. When I drive on Houston roads, I feel like I’m in Lagos actually, because I’m like, what’s happening? Why am I jumping up and down on this road? So yeah, interestingly, the roads, I think, are kind of similar. It’s definitely worse in Lagos, but it’s very close, I can’t even lie.
Also, driving is more straightforward here [in the US]. The signs are clear. Back home, the signs are not clear. Is it one-way, is it two-way? What is it? I don’t know. So, I think definitely clear directions would be the other thing.
What’s another major distinction between driving in Chicago and Houston?
I’d say the flow of your routes is better in Chicago. Chicago is actually very, very well planned, very organised. If you’re turning right, it’s very clear that you’re turning right. Sometimes in Houston, you see a ‘turn right’ sign, but it’s not the right turn you’re thinking of. It’s supposed to be another kind of right. And it’s like, are you kidding me right now?
So, sometimes Houston is not clear as to what it wants you to do. Are you getting on the highway, or are you not getting on the highway, or is there another middle road? You don’t know really until you get on it and you figure out, oh, okay, I’ve missed it. Now I have to go and turn and come back because I’ve missed it, so it’s not as clear. In Chicago, they really do a good job with planning out the roads.
Does road rage look different in these cities?
I think yes. I haven’t really experienced road rage, because I’m not a huge fan of driving, so I drive slower than the average person. And I will tend to not drive on the highway. But I will still manage and drive on a Chicago highway before I drive on a Houston highway.
Again, it’s that confusion. I’m like, it’s one thing to be confused on a road that is not giving you the directions that you need. But a highway? That’s a lot more daunting. I’m like, now I’m confused, but now I’m on the express road with 6, 7 other lanes. Any car can hit me at any point. So now I’m just in a high-pressure situation and I do not like that kind of situation. So, I stay off the highway in Houston as much as I can.
Back to the road rage thing, as I said, I’m a slow driver. So, you might be feeling road rage as we are driving past, but I do not see you actually. I don’t know that you sped past, which is okay with me. Because I’m not gonna go for that faster than I’m going right now, you know? Also, I’m not going to get into it with anyone. If someone wants to get out from behind me, that’s all right. I’ll allow them to pass. We’re not fighting. I don’t know you from anywhere. You don’t know me from anywhere.
What’s one thing you like about driving in Houston, though?
You know what? Let me say this. I like that you don’t have to use the highway because there are a lot of local routes. Because if they didn’t have it, I’d have been really pissed because I would really be forced to use the highway.
Have you ever gotten a traffic fine before? What was it for?
No, I’ve not. I’m slow and I don’t bother anybody.
What’s the craziest thing that has happened to you while driving there?
I had an accident once in Chicago. It’s when I just started driving in Chicago. Then after that, I probably had PTSD. I didn’t want to drive again for a while. I’m like, please hold your car. Like everybody should just leave me alone. I’m not driving again.
It was raining that day and I didn’t know what was happening. I thought I was pressing the brake, but apparently maybe I was pressing the accelerator and hit the car in front of me. I don’t know. I have no idea. I was really disoriented and I was like, okay, am I pressing the wrong one? You press the other one and it’s still going fast. I’m like, one of them has to be correct now. But both of them made the car go fast, for goodness sake. It happened almost in a split second and then I hit the car in front of me. It was raining so the road was slippery.
Interestingly, there was no damage to the car I hit. It was just my own car. The front bumper was badly damaged and we had to get a towing company to come carry the car. That was about 7 years ago and it took me a while to get back into driving.
What car do you drive now and what did you look out for when you were getting it?
I drive a Toyota Corolla, but I didn’t get it myself; my sister gave it to me. If I get a car, I think I would like to get a brand new car just because I won’t want to have to worry about the mechanic situation, which is what I’ve been having to deal with in my current car. When you’re getting an older car, you just kind of have to work with some issues you find along the way. So I would definitely prefer a new car. Because I don’t know much about cars, but if it’s new and the car dealers give the usual 5-year warranty, when things happen, I can bring it back to them. That sounds perfect to me because I don’t know what’s happening here.
Aside from that, I’d look out for things like if the music player is working. When it comes to the technical stuff, I’d take my brother-in-law along because that’s his department. I’d also look out for the pricing. Ideally, a zero percent interest rate would be lovely, but if I can’t get that, the interest rate should be reasonably low. And the technical person I bring along will help me make sure I’m getting a good deal for the price point.
What would you consider a bad interest rate for purchasing a car in Houston?
Bad is relative. My cousin is trying to get a new car at the moment and she’s been shopping around and I think she was seeing an average of 5-6% or so. But she’s hoping that she can get something between maybe 0 to 3. It just depends on who you’re getting it from. You can get from the bank, you can get it from the dealership. Sometimes banks have plans within the dealership you’re buying the car from. If you have a credit union, you can also go through them. So what people normally do is they have to shop around and figure out which one is going to give them the best interest rates. And so they borrow from those people.
If you had an unlimited budget to buy a car, what car would you buy?
I’m not really a car person, but I was looking at one Kona SUV the other day and I Iiked it. I probably wouldn’t get the electric version though, because I’m not a fan of electric cars. Still, the Kona looks cute. It’s not too big, but it’s still an SUV.
How difficult is it to find parking in Houston?
I don’t think it’s difficult, but also it depends on where you’re going. So, when you’re downtown, it’s more difficult to find parking than when you’re not downtown. Sometimes when I have to go somewhere where I feel like parking will be difficult, I’ll just Uber there. Because I could just Uber there for $5 instead of paying up to $30 for parking.
Parking in Houston can be really expensive. I think someone I know went to an event one time and she had to pay about $25 for parking. And, we were like, oh, my gosh, why are you so expensive?! So it can be depending on where you are, depending on the time as well. So, if you are going out Friday night or Saturday night, it’s the prime time. Everybody is trying to find parking. So they’ll hike the prices if you come out during that period. Maybe during the day, it might not be as expensive. But I feel like when you come prime time and everybody’s trying to find parking, they have a way of just making it expensive.
Can you explain what validating parking means in lay man’s terms?
So when an establishment validates parking, it basically means they’re going to pay for your parking. So when they validate, you give the parking official or whomever your card which lets you bypass the machine that tells you to pay. The business you’re patronising might have some kind of discount deal with the organisation or the parking company. That’s not our own business. We just know it’s validated, so we can leave. You guys take on the cost or the fee or whatever it is that comes with it. We don’t have to bother with it because we came to your business. So it’s almost like an incentive for patronising a business.
Are there places where you can park for free, without validation, in Houston?
Yeah, there’s free parking. It just might not be as close. So usually it’s because of the distance. Or for example, in Chicago, when it’s cold, you don’t want to park far away from where you’re going, because now you have to walk in the cold all the way to this place. Or maybe you’re going out, but you’re going out clubbing or for an event at night, and you have to wear heels, so you don’t want to park so far away from the venue. I know somewhere around downtown Houston where we can actually find free parking. Now, is it close to where you’re going? That’s a whole different conversation.
