Chicago Transplant... Driving questions. (maintenance, legally, safe)

[romnation]

1. How are you supposed to make a left turn from a side street onto a main thoroughfare with no traffic signal (e.g. Milwaukee ave from Sawyer near the logan square mcondalds) when it's busy. Especially when cars are parked all the way to the intersection and you can't see who is coming. Do you just block the crosswalk anyways in order to see better? Or do you do what I've seen some people do and pull out and make the entire lane traveling the opposite direction totally stop moving and block traffic until theres a gap in traffic in the lane going left? Or do you just do what I've been doing and give up and loop around the block instead, never making any left hand turns?

2. What the hell is up with the random holes in the roads that require you to slow down to 5mph to stop from damaging your car? Also why are there no lane markings on most of the roads around here? and would it kill them to paint something on the speed bumps on side streets so you can see them better?

3. Does the within 12 inches to curb parking rule apply to the front wheels, the back wheels, or either set?

4. When making a left at a traffic signal at one of those big multiple point intersections is it proper to only let one person making an unprotected left into the intersection at a time? and stay behind the crosswalk until they complete their turn? That's what I've been doing. I don't want to get stuck out there.

[squirrels]

1. I don't know the intersection you're talking about, but if there's no light I just wait til it's clear (sometimes takes a while), or if I can't actually see if I'm clear without blocking the road, I'll play it safe and try to get on the road from a different spot. Whatever it takes I try not to block traffic whenever possible.

2. Non-main roads here suck. Most roads with lanes have lines, but in a lot of places they're so faded that it's very hard to tell. Speedbumps that I've seen usually have some kind of notification, whether paint or a sign.

3. I'm not sure what rule this is. I'm the worst parallel parker in Chicago and I've never been ticketed for being too far from the curb, and no one's hit my parked car yet.

4. That's what I do to. I HATE HATE HATE HATE those douchebags who pull into the middle of an intersection and are stuck sitting there blocking the way when the light turns. Waiting behind the crosswalk til you're clear takes about three extra seconds and saves other drivers a headache.

[chet everett]

Instead of making a left turn across a major thoroughfare many driving safety courses recommend a series of right turns to circle a block and then come straight the thoroughfare. So long as you account for one-way streets this usually works out OK in Chicago as the vast majority of the regular grid is easy to navigate.

Potholes are largely due to lax maintenance of roadways during our freeze-thaw cycles. Those potholes will destroy the wheels & suspension of vehicles in a very accelerated manner. Although the speed humps that Chicago has put on some streets to reduce cut through traffic / artificially slow speeds are uncomfortable they ought not do any damage.

Neither your front nor rear wheels are supposed to be more than one foot from the curb. Cops generally won't ticket a vehicle for this violation unless it is WAY WAY over the limit or the vehicle has multiple obvious violations (obscured windsheild, lack of registration)

[emathias]

Originally Posted by romnation

...
4. When making a left at a traffic signal at one of those big multiple point intersections is it proper to only let one person making an unprotected left into the intersection at a time? and stay behind the crosswalk until they complete their turn? That's what I've been doing. I don't want to get stuck out there.

Originally Posted by squirrels

...
4. That's what I do to. I HATE HATE HATE HATE those douchebags who pull into the middle of an intersection and are stuck sitting there blocking the way when the light turns. Waiting behind the crosswalk til you're clear takes about three extra seconds and saves other drivers a headache.

I don't know what you mean by "multi-point," but it's not only legally allowable, it's the recommended process when turning left at an intersection without a left-turn arrow to pull into the intersection during a green so you are prepared to turn left when either it's clear or the light changes.

I cannot stand drivers who don't know that - didn't you ever take driving lessons or read the Rules of the Road manual? As far as I'm concerned drivers who don't know rules like that should lose their licenses.

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by emathias

I don't know what you mean by "multi-point," but it's not only legally allowable, it's the recommended process when turning left at an intersection without a left-turn arrow to pull into the intersection during a green so you are prepared to turn left when either it's clear or the light changes.

I cannot stand drivers who don't know that - didn't you ever take driving lessons or read the Rules of the Road manual? As far as I'm concerned drivers who don't know rules like that should lose their licenses.

AND it's inconsiderate because it prevents 1-2 more cars from being able to turn left.

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

AND it's inconsiderate because it prevents 1-2 more cars from being able to turn left.

Yep. And then there are the times you end up behind someone in the left lane who will not pull out into the intersection at all until the oncoming lane is completely clear, so you end up stuck behind them for multiple green lights.