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Location: Cleveland, OH USA / formerly Chicago for 20 years
4,069 posts, read 7,312,310 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mayhem_223
thats quite a felony. Did you follow him after that to get his plate number and call 911?
It was easy to get his plate number as traffic was dense and he couldn't get away fast enough. I stopped and asked someone walking down the street where the nearest police station was, and I actually drove there and made a police report in person. Afterwards, however, I decided not to pursue it.
Houston drivers are pretty bad. I'll say one thing though, Chicago drivers do drive pretty fast, especially the cabbies. But, they seem more careful than a lot of Texas drivers in general.
Houston drivers are pretty bad. I'll say one thing though, Chicago drivers do drive pretty fast, especially the cabbies. But, they seem more careful than a lot of Texas drivers in general.
While I have yet to drive in Chicago (August will be the first time) Austin,TX ranks up there with Houston as well. Dallas isn't too far behind and as far as the cabs in Dallas go.. they drive so slow but will just stop in the middle of the street for no reason. I hate getting behind cabs.. especially in uptown.
I love Chicago highway drivers. They tend to be very skilled at passing and changing lanes. Occasionally you get some a hole who decides not to use his blinkers, or cut you off. I also love city driving in Chicago. People will actually pull up all the way so you can sneak behind them to take a right. Even just going out to the suburbs, its as though people have no care in the world... including you.
Also, as others mentioned. Our highway speed limits are FAR too slow. I go down to Tennessee to visit my dad and they have 70mph speed limits IN THE MOUNTAINS. Its hair pin turns, hills up and down, and even tunnels. Illinois is flat prairie land. What constitutes such a low speed limit? Those who are too scared to go beyond 55 when everyone is going 80 is what causes accidents.
hey any input from other drivers that have driven here before? are the driving habits and regularity of it just a chicagoland thing? any input from international or other than midwest? i always assumed nyc or alot of the east coast was kinda the same, or not really cuz roads out there are narrrower/ denser living/ more gridlock? lol i think were one of the only states that doesnt run a points type system on driver licenses... oh and i agree with the above post that swerving around to avoid slower traffic/obstructions in passing/left lane can actually be more dangerous, especially when coming up to stopped trafffic. ( i seen someone wreck in front of me doing that) since everyones driver skill varies it makes it frustrating at times when other lemmings can't seem to think fast enough to "figure it out..." - any other drivers out there? please share more.
Last edited by jpchi60630; 07-14-2012 at 11:46 AM..
nah chicago drivers keep it real. I went to SoCal not too long ago and some idiot wasn't paying attention when (surprise) the traffic halted on the 405, then BAM he smashed our back bumper! I have yet to get hit in Chicago in many many years, so keep it up Chicago
Apologies for the huge and ridiculously long reply, sincerely
Quote:
Originally Posted by jpchi60630
hey any input from other drivers that have driven here before? are the driving habits and regularity of it just a chicagoland thing? any input from international or other than midwest? i always assumed nyc or alot of the east coast was kinda the same, or not really cuz roads out there are narrrower/ denser living/ more gridlock? lol i think were one of the only states that doesnt run a points type system on driver licenses... oh and i agree with the above post that swerving around to avoid slower traffic/obstructions in passing/left lane can actually be more dangerous, especially when coming up to stopped trafffic. ( i seen someone wreck in front of me doing that) since everyones driver skill varies it makes it frustrating at times when other lemmings can't seem to think fast enough to "figure it out..." - any other drivers out there? please share more.
I am a lifelong resident of Chicago and its suburbs and I am very familiar with the city streets, suburban streets, and the various highways, freeways, expressways, tollways, and interstates. So much so that I am sometimes worn out from driving them and surviving them.
That being said...
There is everything one can imagine which can determine the various states of distress (or not) one may encounter on any particular day of the Chicago driver, whether it is driving for school, work, personal business, pleasure, or leisure; under the best of circumstances it is about preparedness and intimate knowledge of where specifically one is driving, what time of day/night it is, and the particular nuances of that area.
There is the weather, road construction, time of day (not necessarily speaking of rush hour either, however rush hour is a MAJOR component of the driving in the Chicagoland area), holidays, three day weekends (etc.), driver's drug and alcohol level as well as physical (health) condition, and last but certainly not least, and therefore should not ever be underestimated...the effects of a full moon. Laugh if you will, however I have a circle of friends in Law Enforcement, as well as the medical community and they have substantiated the lunacy which occurs at such times.
If one plans on on being in the Chicago area, owns a car and needs to use it to live their life, and is saavy enough to know what time of day to drive the various streets, highways, and byways in Chicago and its environs, educates themselves by paying close attention to who, what, where, and when, then one may actually come to...maybe not enjoy necessarily, but survive and reach a level of complete competency and confidence in motoring safely in this toddlin' town.
Tips:
Avoid elementary, middle, and high schools when the school days are beginning/ending. These are city/suburb specific, so never assume the time things happen in Chicago will be the same time they occur in Berwyn, Oak Lawn, Evergreen Park, Lombard, Downers Grove, Indian Head Park, Arlington Heights, Harvard, Itasca, Glen Ellyn, just to name a few, but you get the idea. These little arterial streets can completely ambush and rob you of precious time doing a thousand and one stop and go maneuvers while crossing guards are crossing throngs of children and their parents. Not to mention the kamikaze tactics of parents retrieving their children or the young and the hormonal driving to and from high school. Have we discussed yet the frontal lobe absent children who are walking home from school on their own and oblivious to streets, traffic lights, cars, trucks, emergency vehicles, etc., etc., yet?
On the way to or from wherever you're going, try to allow yourself enough time to get lost. What I mean by that is over the years I have taken alternate routes (mostly meaning off the various highways, freeways, expressways, tollways, and interstates), my version of off roading, in order to obtain familiarity with another route to take in the event of flooding, backed up construction, unexpected road closures or highway backups due to unforseen/unknown causes. Learn the various landmarks and which way the sun is facing when you are traveling in a particular direction.
Make it a lifelong habit of giving yourself enough time PLUS 15 minutes or so (depending on distance and road conditions) to get to where you are going under normal circumsctances (bad weather and construction NEVER, EVER fall in the category of normal). That being said, obviously it is far better to get to where you are going alive and in one piece...even if you're late; slow down, don't rush frantically and nervously, it's not worth the frayed nerves.
Be cognizant of the fact that some people enjoy drinking (or drug use) to excess and are oblivious to the fact that they cannot predict what will happen once they get behind the wheel. A great deal of this consumption may take place at the wee hours of the morning hence, if one must be out there at those times pay attention to erratic driving or speeding headlights coming straight at you.
I made it my business to arise early in the morning before work, a trip downtown, a drive somewhere unfamiliar, or a trp out of town to watch abc7 Chicago news for Tracy Butler and her early morning weather reports, as well as Roz Varon and her early morning traffic reports. They really seem to be on the ball and up to the minute concerning weather and road conditions...just my preference.
As I have said, the more birthdays I have I realize the less I seem to know but I do try to arm myself with knowledge and experience concerning many things that impact my life and my well being. I think, for the most part Chicagoans are very decent (if not a little manic) drivers equipped with an understanding of their roadways and manage to get to and fro from where they start. When one considers all the arterial roadways in our geographical area and the amount of people driving on them from every imagineable state in the union...it absolutely amazes me how well we cover the terrain. One should also consider the industries and the subsequent vehicular needs both in and out of state which use our roads; trucking in our area is huge, along with horse vans, moving vans, construction equpment, snow plows, limousines, airports, shopping malls, grocery stores, bus stations, CTA, Metra, Pace, Amtrak etc., etc., etc. Certainly not without mishap every now and again but certainly with amazing grace...in my humble opinion.
hey any input from other drivers that have driven here before? are the driving habits and regularity of it just a chicagoland thing? any input from international or other than midwest? i always assumed nyc or alot of the east coast was kinda the same, or not really cuz roads out there are narrrower/ denser living/ more gridlock? lol i think were one of the only states that doesnt run a points type system on driver licenses... oh and i agree with the above post that swerving around to avoid slower traffic/obstructions in passing/left lane can actually be more dangerous, especially when coming up to stopped trafffic. ( i seen someone wreck in front of me doing that) since everyones driver skill varies it makes it frustrating at times when other lemmings can't seem to think fast enough to "figure it out..." - any other drivers out there? please share more.
Glad you mentioned this.
I think this is a more modern problem or maybe I just didnt notice it before. I am a native chicagoan and learned how to drive here in Chicago. I left Chicago for awhile to live in LA. I was there from 1999 til 2003.
I came back and noticed that drivers in Chicago were more aggressive on the streets.
Aggressive how? They wouldnt stop and let anyone parallel park anymore. They would always always always go around and you had to wait until it was fairly clear before attempting this.
When I came back I was on a small side street. I saw someone from an alley wanting to make a left turn. So I waved them on. Stupid me. (I didnt know) They made a left turn onto the street but the nutjob behind me couldnt wait so he went into the opposite lane of traffic (which is standard Chicago driving nowadays) and then he hit the car who was making the left turn in front of me. Oops. I left soon afterwards. I figured they could handle the consequences. But in hindsight, months later I realized that unwittingly I had caused the accident because I didnt understand the local driving habits.
Hey you taking time up and not moving? Im not waiting I am going around you PRONTO.
Also alot of idiots will sit on a pretty major street WITHOUT BLINKERS on and will talk to someone they know and you are expected to just go around them. Yes I think a whole book COULD AND SHOULD be made about driving in general. Its a pretty DAMNED dangerous thing to do in the city.
all good posts above metioning good tips to navigate the chi successfully. also i think alot of the aggressive and angry drivers or roadragers are actually normal folks in their day to day lives. but as soon as they buckle up or not in some cases, they take it out on others in traffic since its so easy for them not to answer for incidents caused... sometimes im almost relieved with the first snow, slowing things down, forcing drivers to be more cautious and deliberate which is a good thing. bad for traffic flow yeah, but so what leave earlier or plan a better route if you cant leave earlier. so far ive only had to use GPS only a couple times, but over time, understanding the area, and driving back in the 90s with no cell pohone or gps forced me to get better at noticing traffic flows in certain areas or streets at certain times, certain roads are 1 way or closed only at rush hr etc etc, and knowing how adresses go block to block. for example how sometimes the block could be set up even addresses on one side and odds on the other. or realizing every 8 blocks, the block number goes up/down by 1000. so for ex traveling from east to west, one can observe the adresses going UP - 1000 west, 2000 west, 3000 west, and so on. thats why outsiders especially suburbanites get hella confused when a chicagoan tells them where to go, and refers to the side of the street the destination is " itll be on the south side of the street" or for ex "go south on cicero street, turn west at north ave, go past harlem and itll be on the north side of the street... knowing that can make the difference in sitting in traffic frustrated or relieved at being on time...
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anybody else?
Oops. I left soon afterwards. I figured they could handle the consequences. But in hindsight, months later I realized that unwittingly I had caused the accident because I didnt understand the local driving habits.
