I drove in Chicago... very different

[AgaBoogaBoo]

This past weekend I drove in Chicago, from Devon Street out. Changing lanes in that heavy traffic on the highway is really different because people don't give you extra space, if there's enough, they'll maintain that distance and you just go in.

It was a new experience, but hopefully I can avoid traffic like that

All I wonder if how people do it everyday in that traffic....

 

[CrazyPerson]

you will get use to it...

NYC is worst... walking is faster in some parts

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Yeah I'm vaguely nearby in eastern Iowa and I've driven in Chicago once. It was pretty crazy. :Q

 

[Schadenfreude]

Welcomes to paradise on earth (Chicago, that is - NY is hell on earth)

 

[five40]

Did you move to Chicago? You'll learn the traffic soon enough. The most important rule....55mph is really 75mph.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: five40
Did you move to Chicago? You'll learn the traffic soon enough. The most important rule....55mph is really 75mph.

Haha, I'm 16 and went there with family for fall break

 

[waggy]

I worked downtown for like 4 months. I hated it! well the traffic anyway. loved the area downtown. man so many great places to eat. yumm

 

[DaWhim]

I guess NYC is the worst. but I improved my skills a lot after I drove there for a few weeks. especially parallel parking. that's the only way to park.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: waggy
I worked downtown for like 4 months. I hated it! well the traffic anyway. loved the area downtown. man so many great places to eat. yumm

Yeah, walking in the downtown area at night was nice, everything was close by

 

[MaxDSP]

lol...Devon...a visit to Indiatown huh? Hate going there, except for the samosas. Hopefully you got to try out the samosas from Annapurna before you left

 

[Crucial]

I enjoy driving there. Everybody is too laid back in Milwaukee.

 

[SWScorch]

I'm from a small town in central NY, where the biggest road is a two-lane highway with maybe 20 cars per mile. Last summer a few friends and I drove to Toronto, which involved driving Route 1. It was my turn to drive, and let me tell you, being a country bumpkin immersed in bumper-to-bumper traffic at 75mph with 3 lanes on either side of me was quite the experience. Changing lanes involved putting on my turn signal, having all of my friends turn around to look for an opening, and quickly shifting over as soon an opening appeared. Good times

 

[MaxDSP]

Originally posted by: SWScorch
I'm from a small town in central NY, where the biggest road is a two-lane highway with maybe 20 cars per mile. Last summer a few friends and I drove to Toronto, which involved driving Route 1. It was my turn to drive, and let me tell you, being a country bumpkin immersed in bumper-to-bumper traffic at 75mph with 3 lanes on either side of me was quite the experience. Changing lanes involved putting on my turn signal, having all of my friends turn around to look for an opening, and quickly shifting over as soon an opening appeared. Good times

LOL...

 

[Evadman]

Oh please. What you are talking about is nothing. I drive in Chicago all the time. Check my profile to see what town I live in.

There is a merge I go though every day. It is on 290 west just before it ends. 290 and 90 cross right at Algonquin road. The exit ramp from 90 goes into westbound 290, then turns into the off ramp for algonquin. there is about 140-200 yards to merge for 90 traffic to merge onto 290. I have to get off there at algonquin, so I have to merge with the traffic from 90 and 290 at once.

The people who are usually driving it when I am know exactly what they are doing though. If you time it right (which you have to do) I (going about 75 and decelerating) merge with the traffic coming up the ramp (40ish and accelerating). You look at the other driver, and if you make eye contact for that fleeting instant (maybe 50' of eye contact area, for a 1/2 second or so) then you can instantly tell that the other knows exactly what to do.

we (coming up on the merge) time it so the other driver is about 4 car lengths in front of the 290 car, with the distance rapidly closing. then, right as the solid white line breaks, you switch lanes. Then, because of the speeds involved, the car that was on 290 actually passes the car that just merged onto 290 from 90 while decelerating for the turn on the exit ramp. Just as the exiting vehicle hits the first bit of the turn on the exit ramp (a downholl sharp one) the car on 290 passes the exting vehicle.

Quite frankly, it is astounding to watch 3 or 4 cars do this all at once on that ramp. Is is the only place in the Chicagoland area that I know of where drivers are actually working together.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: MaxDSP
lol...Devon...a visit to Indiatown huh? Hate going there, except for the samosas. Hopefully you got to try out the samosas from Annapurna before you left

Haha, I like the place in a way. I just get bored when my mom does all the shopping, but the food is worth it

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: MaxDSP

Originally posted by: SWScorch
I'm from a small town in central NY, where the biggest road is a two-lane highway with maybe 20 cars per mile. Last summer a few friends and I drove to Toronto, which involved driving Route 1. It was my turn to drive, and let me tell you, being a country bumpkin immersed in bumper-to-bumper traffic at 75mph with 3 lanes on either side of me was quite the experience. Changing lanes involved putting on my turn signal, having all of my friends turn around to look for an opening, and quickly shifting over as soon an opening appeared. Good times

LOL...

haha, my dad's told me when he first came here everyone in the car would look and tell when it's safe to change lanes

 

[virtueixi]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo

Originally posted by: five40
Did you move to Chicago? You'll learn the traffic soon enough. The most important rule....55mph is really 75mph.

Haha, I'm 16 and went there with family for fall break

Must have been terrible being a new driver. Manhatten is the worst place to drive, mostly because of the cabbies. The city itself isn't that bad, but it takes some getting used to.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: virtueixi

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo

Originally posted by: five40
Did you move to Chicago? You'll learn the traffic soon enough. The most important rule....55mph is really 75mph.

Haha, I'm 16 and went there with family for fall break

Must have been terrible being a new driver. Manhatten is the worst place to drive, mostly because of the cabbies. The city itself isn't that bad, but it takes some getting used to.

I'm pretty new, but I've been driving for about 8 or 9 months now. It actually wasn't that bad, but it was just being extra careful, I checked twice before making lane changes.

 

[dak125]

I commute to the outskirts of the city 3 times a week...and drive from the suburbs out twice a week. It's a good time. The traffic on 294 kicked my ass tonight though (construction). I agree with the above poster about the speed limit though. It's overrated.

 

[MartyMcFly3]

Yeah it never ceases to amaze me what some people call "rush hour" here in Macomb (very small town)... Like 2 cars at a stop light is "Busy" for them. I am from near Chicago and driving is definitely different between the two. I like driving in chicago better

 

[Schadenfreude]

Originally posted by: MartyMcFly3
Yeah it never ceases to amaze me what some people call "rush hour" here in Macomb (very small town)... Like 2 cars at a stop light is "Busy" for them. I am from near Chicago and driving is definitely different between the two. I like driving in chicago better

Noo kidding. I went there to drop off my buddy's little sister once. That place reeked of hickdom.

 

[MaxDSP]

on another note, the people at O' Hare can't drive for sh!t. Something as simple as following the road marks is beyond them. My car almost got hit by a cabbie on my way to work, the lanes were straight but then they angle to the left a bit to make room for a third lane, and apparently the cabbie wasn't paying attention. He caught himself at the last minute. I've seen countless other people do the same thing.

 

[Chiboy]

Its the worst between 5-6pm on the highway! Damn is that a pain. I'm a crazy driver though so Ive gotten used to cutting people off.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Chi town traffic aint ish compared to Cali traffic.

Chicago drivers are just really rude and lay on there damn horns ofr any god damn reason.



A Cali native who visited Chicago this last May

 

[Savarak]

Originally posted by: Evadman
Oh please. What you are talking about is nothing. I drive in Chicago all the time. Check my profile to see what town I live in.

There is a merge I go though every day. It is on 290 west just before it ends. 290 and 90 cross right at Algonquin road. The exit ramp from 90 goes into westbound 290, then turns into the off ramp for algonquin. there is about 140-200 yards to merge for 90 traffic to merge onto 290. I have to get off there at algonquin, so I have to merge with the traffic from 90 and 290 at once.

The people who are usually driving it when I am know exactly what they are doing though. If you time it right (which you have to do) I (going about 75 and decelerating) merge with the traffic coming up the ramp (40ish and accelerating). You look at the other driver, and if you make eye contact for that fleeting instant (maybe 50' of eye contact area, for a 1/2 second or so) then you can instantly tell that the other knows exactly what to do.

we (coming up on the merge) time it so the other driver is about 4 car lengths in front of the 290 car, with the distance rapidly closing. then, right as the solid white line breaks, you switch lanes. Then, because of the speeds involved, the car that was on 290 actually passes the car that just merged onto 290 from 90 while decelerating for the turn on the exit ramp. Just as the exiting vehicle hits the first bit of the turn on the exit ramp (a downholl sharp one) the car on 290 passes the exting vehicle.

Quite frankly, it is astounding to watch 3 or 4 cars do this all at once on that ramp. Is is the only place in the Chicagoland area that I know of where drivers are actually working together.

Hah. I know exactly what you're talking about, good description! Although I don't usually get of at Algonquin, I gotta merge the few lanes into 290