BusGet Ready for Pleasant Hill Roads

Walnut Creek’s roads present specific challenges that new drivers need to be prepared for before they face them alone: 

• Contra Costa Boulevard — The commercial spine of Pleasant Hill is one of the highest-collision roads in the city. Constant vehicle flow in and out of shopping center driveways, major signalized intersections at Monument Boulevard, Boyd Road, and Chilpancingo Parkway, and heavy pedestrian activity create a complex environment where distracted driving, abrupt stopping, and left-turn conflicts happen regularly. The left turn from southbound Contra Costa Boulevard onto side streets — including at Dexter Drive, which was the site of a fatal crash — demands precise timing and hazard awareness that new drivers simply haven’t developed yet.
• Monument Boulevard/680 — One of the most accident-documented interchanges in Pleasant Hill, this convergence of freeway traffic and surface-street commuters generates consistent multi-vehicle collisions. Drivers must navigate high-speed off-ramp deceleration, merging from multiple directions, and the competing traffic patterns of Monument Boulevard’s commercial zone all at once.
• SR-242 & SR-242/680 Split — Where SR-242 diverges from I-680 just north of Pleasant Hill, drivers must make quick, confident lane decisions to stay on their intended route. The Gregory Lane off-ramp from southbound SR-242 has been the site of numerous collisions. New drivers who haven’t practiced freeway-to-freeway transitions often find themselves in the wrong lane at high speed.
• Taylor Boulevard and Grayson Road — These roads are heavily used as cut-through routes by commuters avoiding I-680 and SR-24 congestion, which means traffic moves faster and more aggressively than the road design anticipates. The Taylor Boulevard/Grayson Road intersection has been the site of some bad collisions. New drivers who encounter this corridor without preparation are sharing the road with rushed commuters who know its shortcuts.
• Buskirk Avenue — A north-south arterial connecting Monument Boulevard to the Pleasant Hill BART station and Walnut Creek, Buskirk carries a steady mix of commuter, pedestrian, and cyclist traffic. Its signalized intersections at Coggins Drive and Monument Boulevard require consistent attention to signal timing, pedestrian crossings, and left-turn management.

Our simulator lets teens practice the skills they need to tackle all of these scenarios — multiple times, without consequences — before they face them in real conditions.

What Greenlight Parents Are Saying

“Greenlight should be a required step in the drivers training curriculum. Teens become safer drivers by learning important lessons and building confidence in a risk-free space before they get on the road. Now she’s a licensed 16-year-old — a safe, defensive, confident driver.” — Woody Hunt, Greenlight parent

“Took the stress away from teaching my kids the basics of driving. No consequences, just skill learning and building in a safe environment. My kid now feels  confident about getting behind the wheel.” — Shannon Dorsey, Greenlight parent