Lacey hates the 8

Name: Lacey Micheals

Car: 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe

Do you like your car? I do! It’s small enough for an SUV and gas-economical because it’s a four-cylinder, but I have room to shove stuff in it. It also carries two kayaks. It just took us on a spontaneous road trip up to San Francisco and back.

Is there anything you don’t like about it? Yes: being a four-cylinder, hills are a challenge.

What’s your favorite drive in San Diego? The 101 around Encinitas and Carlsbad. You go through all these little beach towns that are fun and laid back, and then you go along the coast and the water for awhile, and that’s a neat transition.

What is your least favorite drive? Anything to do with the 8. The 8 takes forever all the time. Or the 15. Actually, the 15 might be worse. At least on the 8 there are familiar scenes and places to go. The 15 feels transitional: it’s like driving through L.A.

Where do you hit the worst traffic? The worst traffic is usually on the 8.

What’s your favorite shortcut? Anything to do with the 52; I feel like it cuts the corners everywhere!

What do you listen to when you drive? I listen to either NPR or 91X.

What is your dream car? You know...I don’t know. When I was shopping for a car, I was looking for either a Mini [Cooper], because they’re cute and fun, or a Nissan Xterra, because it would have had more space. But, unfortunately, they’re both a little bit pricier [than a Hyundai].

Do you have any ticket stories? I once got a ticket in the parking lot of a grocery store in Carlsbad because I put the keys in the ignition to start the air conditioning while we were putting the groceries in the car. But in San Diego, you are technically not allowed to have your keys in the ignition without your seatbelt on. So, it was an $80 seatbelt ticket while my car was in park, with the e-brake on, in the parking lot of a grocery store because I turned on my A/C without my seatbelt on. I had to go to traffic school and everything. Just be aware, if you have the keys in the ignition, they can technically ticket you for not having your seatbelt on. I don’t think they normally would, but at the time, I was driving this really beat-up old truck, and I’d had this guy back up into me on an on-ramp because he decided he did not want to get on the freeway, I guess, and backed up into me. Anyway, I had a brush guard on the front, and it was bent in. It was on my husband’s birthday, too, after we’d just started dating, in 2006.

We used to live in a nice neighborhood in Carlsbad, and my dad drove this old beat-up Buick. One time, we were just getting ready to pull into our driveway, and my dad got pulled over. They refused to tell him why. They called for back-up and searched the car and everything. They asked him, “Sir, where do you live?” and he said, “That’s my house, right there.” They said, “No, sir, you need to be honest. Where do you live?” So my dad showed him his driver’s license and everything, and they gave him so much attitude about it. It was pretty bad.