I drove in Chicago... very different

[MartyMcFly3]

Originally posted by: Jehovah

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.

it survives off this university, i swear.

 

[midnightrat]

Wait till the first snow, that's alot of fun. Everyone seems to forget how to drive in the snow during the summer.

 

[dak125]

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

That's so true! I went to WIU last semester. The highlight of the town was Super Walmart. I couldn't take it . Needless to say I'm back in the city this semester and it's great.

 

Even the cops in Chicago say if you are on the highway and going less than 65, you are dead.

 

New York City> LA> DC> everything else

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: FallenHero
Even the cops in Chicago say if you are on the highway and going less than 65, you are dead.

x2 if a tollway

 

[elektrolokomotive]

Originally posted by: Fmr12B
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

I dunno. I lived in Chicago my entire life (I'm 42) up til about 5 months ago (live in Seattle now). I never noticed drivers laying on their horns for no particular reason. Maybe it was your bad California driving?

 

[skim milk]

I think driving in Los Angeles is like a job

Any other cities I've driven in, I've never been under pressure like that.

 

[royaldank]

I drove in Chicago this weekend. Took 290 into the city and drove up and down numerous times. Didn't really bother me. I found it to be less difficult than I thought it would be. I thought it was weird up in the Schaumburg/Hoffman Estates area that everyone drove on the medians. I mean, the median was raised a few inches, but still everyone "hopped" on or off.

I rank San Fran as my least favorite place to drive. Downtown in SF is crazy. Not only are you looking out for everyone in cars, you can have to look for trolleys and trolley stations. It's terribly frustrating and difficult the first couple times through. The turning lanes are usually mixed in with trolley wait areas and just a lot different than other places.

I found DC to be very difficult as well. Not so much the cars and people, but the streets are confusing. Most are 1 way, you can rarely just circle around the block. It was frustrating trying to just turn around the block and ending up on a freeway crossing the river.

 

[CrazyApe]

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.

That's me waving to you from the express lane!!!

 

[MisfitsFiend]

Native Chicagoan (city ~5 min from loop, not burbs), so, this was an interesting post to read. Learned how to drive in downtown city traffic and on 290 & 90/94, so I don't know any other way. It's pretty easy to spot a non-Chicago driver - you can even tell the difference between a suburban driver and a city driver (went to a concert at the Chicago theater, and it was painfully obvious to spot those not used to Chicago driving....and we have no snow yet...).

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

Not to make fun, but even my grandpa doesn't drive like that

quote:

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Originally posted by: Fmr12B
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





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I dunno. I lived in Chicago my entire life (I'm 42) up til about 5 months ago (live in Seattle now). I never noticed drivers laying on their horns for no particular reason. Maybe it was your bad California driving?