Cousins in Boston advise to “just close your eyes and drive like us locals”.
I think that some of them actually do that. I had just gotten onto 93 late one night after arriving at Logan, and suddenly out of nowhere a car comes flying up from my right on one of those awesome completely blind on-ramps they have. From the moment he entered the freeway he was pointed directly at the far left lane. Just a straight trajectory from the on-ramp to the left lane, barely missing me in the process. There was no way he could have seen me or even known I was there, but he never looked at all.
I love Boston. Everyone should walk the Freedom Trail at least once in their lives. But driving there is the stuff of nightmares. The best strategy if coming from the suburbs into the city is to drive in as far as your courage and sanity will allow, and then park and take the T the rest of the way. I was there once with a friend who had never been there before. We were going into downtown for dinner in the North End (one of my favorite places in the world). When I told him we were only going to drive part way and then take the T, he thought I was crazy. I told him why, but he just dismissed my concern. So, I decided to go ahead and drive in so that he could see what it’s like. He never questioned me again after that. I think he had PTSD for quite a while after that experience.