Showing posts with label driving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label driving. Show all posts

Monday, December 3, 2012

LMS PSA: Illinois Toll Roads Join Twitter


A couple of weeks ago, it came to my attention that the four Illinois toll roads have joined Twitter to provide drivers with real-time road conditions. Each tollway has its own Twitterfeed and you can (obviously) follow one or follow all four.

Illinois Toll Roads Twitter Feeds:
Tri-State Tollway (94/294/80)
Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) (or as I still think of it, the Northwest Tollway)
Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88)
Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355)
Make sure that once you follow the toll roads, you enable mobile notifications for the road(s) you drive the most.

I've been following all four for about ten days now and have the Tri-State Tollway's (94/294/80) tweets pushed to my phone because I use I-94 at least a couple of times each week. I've found that knowing the traffic conditions has helped me better plan trips and is no more intrusive than any other tweet I receive.

Important Note: Little Merry Sunshine only endorses responsible mobile phone use while driving. Do not text and drive and please use a Bluetooth for phone use while driving, if you must speak on your phone. In Illinois, it's illegal to text and drive and in many towns, including Lake Forest, you can only use your phone if you're using it hands-free. The police will ticket you.

Friday, January 20, 2012

LMS's Winter Driving Tips Revisited

Given that Chicago has enjoyed an historically snow-free winter until this past week and as I type this we're in the middle of receiving a 9-inch snowfall, it seems that many of you have forgotten how to drive in inclement weather, at least as exhibited by those of you on the roads during my 10-minute-turned-30-minute commute home today.

Let's revisit how to drive in snow, shall we?

Originally published February 1, 2011.

You may have heard that we're supposed to get a little snow in Chicago today/tonight/tomorrow. To help you survive Snowmageddon 2011, Little Merry Sunshine offers the following driving tips:

Don't.

That's right. Don't drive. Stay inside and keep warm.

Oh, and if you're coupled up inside, you may want to schedule an appointment with your OB-GYN for about 9 months from now and also reserve a room in your favorite maternity ward. Your doctor is likely to have a backlog of appointments with no rooms available in the inn (or hospital).

On a serious note, if you must leave the house to drive anywhere, keep these tips in mind:

1. It's illegal to drive with your wipers on and your headlights off. Even if you can see, your headlights make it easier for others to see you.

2. Have a full tank of gas and plenty of wiper fluid.

3. Drive slower and leave extra space between you and other cars. Better to arrive late than not at all.

4. Stay off your cell phone., but carry it with you and make sure it's fully charged. Actually, this is a good idea even in good weather.

5. Have an emergency kit in your car: cat litter or salt, a shovel, snow scraper, a warm blanket or two, extra gloves, hat and socks, jumper cables, snacks, bottled water and activities for the kids. My emergency kit is in my backseat.

The bottom line for blizzard driving is to drive defensively, have patience, and don't be a jerk.
Additional tips:

6. Scrape off your entire car. It doesn't take more than a few minutes and clearing the snow off your roof means it won't land on my windshield. Removing it from your headlights and brake lights mean others can see you better. Cleaning your mirrors mean you'll see others better. By the time you've got the whole car cleaned off, your car will be warmed up and you'll get into a toasty car. Win. Win.

7. Make sure your car is in safe operating condition. This means checking your brakes, the tread on your tires, and keeping tires properly inflated. I know brakes and tires are expensive. I just put new brakes on my car. But new brakes are considerably less expensive than your insurance deductible when they go out on you and you plow into someone else. I highly recommend Busse Auto in Mt. Prospect for all auto work. They've taken care of my cars for almost 10 years and Mark Busse is one of the most honest, ethical people I've ever known. I'll use them forever. Use my name.

8. Be patient. Everyone else on the road in is the same situation you're in and they want to reach their destinations just as badly as you do. Don't be the asshole on the road. Getting upset will only make your drive worse.

9. Get off the roads when conditions are too bad. You're not the postal service having to live up to the inscription on the James Farley Post Office in New York: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." Last summer when I was driving home from Watervale, I encountered one of the worst storms I'd ever driven through. Had I been standing still, it probably wouldn't have been so bad, but the combination of wind and speeding cars made it all but impassable. I didn't pull off the road, but my dad did. I remember sweating from stress as my hands were gripped to the steering wheel. Once I got through the storm, I wished I'd pulled over. That risk wasn't worth the time I "saved" by driving on.

10. If you get stuck in your car in the snow, stay in your car, but keep your tail pipe cleaned out. The deadly carbon monoxide fumes can get into your car if the tail pipe is blocked by snow or ice. When you've got the car on, crack the window just a little to keep poisonous gases out of the car. Clear off your headlights and taillights so rescuers can see you. And, of course, call the police.

11. Bottom line: Use good judgment and common sense. If you lack one, the other, or both, think about what you should do and do the opposite.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Do You Know How to Remove Snow From Your Car?

I know that seems like a dumb question, but nothing frustrates me more after a snowfall than driving around seeing people who've barely made an attempt to get the snow off their cars. And for some reason, SUV drivers seem to be the worst.

I'm not sure why, but it seems that removing snow from windshields, windows, mirrors, the roof, hood & trunk, and all lights seems to be more than some drivers can do. Sure it takes an extra 5-10 minutes, but isn't possibly saving a life (maybe your own) worth that?

Fortunately, AAA has created a very helpful video to remind everyone how to properly remove snow for their vehicles.



To help with keeping her front and back windshield clean, Little Merry Sunshine highly recommends getting windshield covers. You can get super cheap ones ($5 or so) or spend some additional money. LMS probably spent $5 each and wouldn't say they're a perfect solution, but they do keep the windshield about 90% clean while the car is parked. Of course, snow still builds up on the cover, but LMS would rather shake off a cover than have ice on her windshield. Just tuck the sides into your doors and you're good to go. Little Merry Sunshine highly recommends them if you park outside.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Little Merry Sunshine's Blizzard Driving Tips

You may have heard that we're supposed to get a little snow in Chicago today/tonight/tomorrow. To help you survive Snowmageddon 2011, Little Merry Sunshine offers the following driving tips:

Don't.

That's right. Don't drive. Stay inside and keep warm.

Oh, and if you're coupled up inside, you may want to schedule an appointment with your OB-GYN for about 9 months from now and also reserve a room in your favorite maternity ward. Your doctor is likely to have a backlog of appointments with no rooms available in the inn (or hospital).

On a serious note, if you must leave the house to drive anywhere, keep these tips in mind:

1. It's illegal to drive with your wipers on and your headlights off. Even if you can see, your headlights make it easier for others to see you.

2. Have a full tank of gas and plenty of wiper fluid.

3. Drive slower and leave extra space between you and other cars. Better to arrive late than not at all.

4. Stay off your cell phone., but carry it with you and make sure it's fully charged. Actually, this is a good idea even in good weather.

5. Have an emergency kit in your car: cat litter or salt, a shovel, snow scraper, a warm blanket or two, extra gloves, hat and socks, jumper cables, snacks, bottled water and activities for the kids. My emergency kit is in my backseat.

The bottom line for blizzard driving is to drive defensively, have patience, and don't be a jerk.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Hey! The Elgin-O'Hare Doesn't Go to Either Place!

If you drive in the Chicago Area, you know that once in awhile traffic can be a little frustrating. Reporters talk about things like the Hillside Strangler, the Merge, the Spaghetti Bowl, Hubbard's Cave, and other places you'll never find on a map. To make life more difficult, they give you times between all of these mystery locations. It's all fine and good to know that it'll take you 90 minutes to get between the Circle and Hubbard's Cave, but if you don't know what or where those are, you may as well have just been told how long it takes to fly to the moon.

In her new report, Decoding Chicago Traffic Reports, Sarah Jindra of WBEZ, Chicago's public radio station, has come to your rescue and unraveled the mystery that is Chicago's roads for us. She explains what and where each road is located, what the base times are, and answers all of our traffic questions. Note to WBEZ: Give Sarah a huge raise for this gift to Chicagoans.

Print it out and memorize it. You'll be glad you did.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Little Merry Sunshine's Rules of the Road


Winter has arrived in Chicago and with that it has come to my attention that some people need a refresher on their winter driving skills.

To that end, Little Merry Sunshine provides you with her Rules of the Road, which are not meant to be a replacement to the Illinois Secretary of State's Rules of the Road, just an addendum and mostly based on common courtesy:
  1. Spend the extra 5 minutes and scrape off all your windows, the roof of your car, your headlights and tail lights. You can do this while your car warms up and then your reward will be a warm car. Simply turning on the windshield wipers is not enough. It is important to spend this time because you will be able to see other cars on the road better and they will be able to see you easier, especially if you drive a white car. Clearing your roof is important because if you're driving in front of me and 2 feet of snow from the roof of your Hummer flies onto my windshield, I will cause you great pain physically, emotionally, and financially, when I survive the accident I'm sure to get into thanks to your laziness.
  2. Make sure your windshield wiper fluid is full and then make use of it and your windshield wipers. This will improve your visibility and I recommend re-cleaning your windshield at stoplights as necessary.
  3. Invest in new wiper blades. I personally love the winter wiper blades. As discussed above, your ability to see what's in front of you is paramount to everyone's safety on the road.
  4. Turn on your headlights. The rule of thumb (and the law) is that if your wipers are on, your headlights should be on. Headlights not only illuminate the road for you, but more importantly, make it easier for oncoming cars to see you. I always keep mine on during the day.
  5. Drive the speed limit that is safe for your driving conditions, not necessarily the posted limit. Last night, I was coming home during the first rain/snow storm of the season. Most of the cars were driving a very busy 4-lane unplowed and unsalted road at about 25 mph. This is a road that has anywhere between 35-45 mph posted depending on the part of town. A couple of cars blew past everyone else which made for very unsafe conditions. They were probably only going the posted limit of 45, but the roads were covered in rain/snow/ice/slush and the lane markings were entirely not visible. In their rush to arrive 6 seconds earlier, these drivers put everyone else at risk.
  6. Take extra precaution in braking and allow more time for it. Do you remember the rules about pumping your brakes (or not if you've got ABS)? Use them.
  7. Add more distance between you and the car in front of you and never tailgate. This seems so obvious, but evidently isn't. On the same trip home last night, I was being tailgated by a very impatient and rude driver. Tailgating is not only rude, but it is dangerous. If I had needed to stop quickly, this driver would have ended up in my front seat. By adding an extra car length or two (in addition to the normal distance this driver should have kept), we would have been much safer if I had somehow started to slide or if something happened in front of me.
  8. Keep extra distance at stop lights too. If you are too close at a stop light and you get rear-ended, you will plow into the car in front of you. I was in a chain-reaction read end collision on I-395 one time in Washington DC. Sitting at a complete standstill in bumper-to-bumper traffic, a car 4 cars behind me plowed into someone. That person was pushed into someone, who was pushed into someone and ultimately they all plowed into me. Fortunately, I always leave extra distance between myself and the car in front of me and the accident ended with me because even though my car was pushed forward, I did not hit anything. I had minimal damage and was unhurt. The same can't be said for everyone behind me.
  9. Keep your cell phone charged, but stay off of it, especially in the worst weather. And invest in a Bluetooth or other hands-free device.
  10. Use your turn signals. Of course, you know where you are headed, but assume that no one else is reading your mind. The turn signal clues people into what actions you may be taking.
  11. Change lanes before you need to. This may sound silly, but if you need to get off the Kennedy at Ohio and you're in the far left lane, waiting until you are 10 feet from the exit is not the right time to cross 5 lanes of traffic at 55 mph. Also, if you ever get to drive 55 mph on the Kennedy near Ohio, let me know.
  12. Check your tires for tread depth and inflation levels. Do they need to be replaced because they have no tread? You can measure the depth of the tread with a coin. If they're below 2/32", you need new tires. Keeping your tired properly inflated can also make you safer and improve your gas mileage.
  13. Keep your gas tank full. This way you won't risk running out of gas in the middle of the road.
  14. Pack an emergency kit in your car. I have a flash light, 2 blankets, an extra scarf & hat, 2 granola bars, a bottle of water, hand warmers, an extra pair of wool socks, and some reflective signs for my window that say "call 911." You never know when or where you will need this.
  15. Do you have AAA? I swear by it because it's saved me multiple times. It's cheap and better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
  16. Ladies, wear weather appropriate shoes. Our stilettos are sexy, but they're useless and dangerous in this weather. Keep them dry and protected by wearing boots. Your feet will be warmer and should you need to get out of your car for any reason, you'll be much safer.
  17. Be patient. Road rage won't get you from Point A to Point B any faster and in fact can be deadly.
  18. All extra time to reach your destination. This will keep your road rage in check, allow you to drive safely, and give you plenty of time to remove all the snow from your car.
Follow Little Merry Sunshine's Rules of the Road, along with the Rules of the Road from your state and you're sure to have a safe winter navigating the roads.