Santa Clara Driving School

Driving in Santa Clara: What New Drivers Should Know

Two county expressways, Lawrence and San Tomas, run north and south across the city. Lawrence widens to eight lanes with a carpool lane on the far right. Light rail trains run along Tasman Drive, and a station sits in its median across from Levi's Stadium. Near the airport, Central Expressway ends at De La Cruz Boulevard, where every lane must turn.

• Tasman Drive and Great America station

  Great America station sits in the Tasman Drive median, across from Levi's Stadium. Orange and Green Line trains stop there. VTA says intersections that cross its tracks have designated left turn signals. Check for trains, then turn across the tracks only on your signal.

• Lawrence Expressway

  At Interstate 280, Lawrence dips under the freeway, then rises over Stevens Creek Boulevard. Farther north it widens to eight lanes. The far right lane is a carpool lane on weekday mornings and afternoons. It meets El Camino Real at an interchange.

• San Tomas Expressway

  Unlike Lawrence, San Tomas meets El Camino Real at street level. Most of its cross streets meet it at traffic lights. North of Homestead Road it has four lanes each way, including a carpool lane. Past US 101 it becomes Montague Expressway.

• Central Expressway at De La Cruz Boulevard

  Central Expressway ends at De La Cruz. Every lane must turn left or right. US 101 is a few hundred feet north, past the north end of the airport runways. A VTA interchange project rebuilt this intersection with bike lanes and extra turn lanes.

Lawrence and San Tomas are good practice for lane changes and reading carpool lane signs. Tasman Drive is practice for turning across light rail tracks on a signal. Central Expressway at De La Cruz is practice for turns from multiple lanes and merging onto US 101.