IL Driving Fun

I'd forgotten how much fun it is to drive in IL.

For one thing, all the towns around Chicago were laid out in horse-and-buggy days, so the streets are narrow and there are no dedicated turn lanes. Driving is a constant weave between the cars stopped in the left lane to turn left and the parked cars in the right lane. If you aren't quick enough, you'll get pinned down by all the other cars streaming past you to get around the left turning cars and be stuck for another full light cycle.

Oh, and don't waste your time yielding to a pedestrian about to enter a crosswalk; they'll just stand there and look at you stupidly. Unlike CA pedestrians, who will walk right out in front of traffic without even bothering to look, IL peds are so whipped by drivers who never yield to them that they will stand there all day until there are no cars anywhere in sight before daring to set foot off the curb.

The speed limits are especially painful. I'm used to 50, 55, 60, and 65 MPH posted limits; here the norm is 30, with 25 and 35 making up the ends of the bell curve. The highest non-freeway SL around here is 40 MPH. Not surprisingly, EVERYBODY speeds. ;)

Drivers need a trip like this every few months to remind ourselves how good we have it in SoCal. ;)