Question of the day
Thursday, Jun 22, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
A New City man faces felony reckless driving charges after authorities said he plowed through four pedestrians headed to Tuesday night’s White Sox game just outside Guaranteed Rate Field.
Authorities on late Wednesday announced charges against Condelarious Garcia, 20, for four counts of aggravated reckless driving, along with misdemeanor driving on a suspended license and three traffic citations for the collision in the 300 block of West 35th Street on Tuesday. […]
The collision had tossed one of the four victims onto the car and partially through the sunroof, police said at a news briefing Tuesday night. That victim was still clinging to the car when Illinois State Police and SWAT officers stopped the vehicle.
CBS 2…
One of the three victims at the scene and the one from the sunroof were in critical condition and the other two were listed as serious, CBS Chicago said.
A witness told CBS Chicago the driver appeared frustrated with a traffic delay and suddenly blew past a traffic officer.
Pedestrians scrambled moments after the car rammed into the four fans.
The accused’s car…
* The Question: Do you think drivers have gotten worse and meaner since the pandemic? Explain.
- DuPage Saint - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 12:21 pm:
Perhaps worse but IMO certainly faster. No one goes speed limit. And frankly if I was a trooper I would be scared to death to try and pull anyone over just because I would never want to be standing on an expressway
- JS Mill - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 12:21 pm:
I don’t think it has anything to do with the pandemic, just a general trend.
- vern - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 12:24 pm:
Yes. I think statistically road rage incidents are up, along with many similar situations arising from conflicts between strangers in public. The FAA numbers on in-flight incidents are staggering, for example.
Cars have also gotten much more dangerous. The picture above looks like a normal-sized sedan, but most of the increase in vehicle-vs-pedestrian deaths is at least partially due to taller profiles in SUVs and pickup trucks. There’s a lot more head contact, and pedestrians are more likely to go under the car than over the hood. Bigger cars and crazier drivers is a very dangerous combination.
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 12:26 pm:
Noticeably worse driving, not sure about meaner. Aggressive driving, no patience and no respect for traffic laws.
I think part of it is the fact that there has been no meaningful enforcement of traffic laws in a long, long time. People roll through stop signs, pass other cars on residential streets, make dangerous turns or use the turn lane to get ahead of other drivers.
It’s bad out there. And the worst part is, we’re on our own because no one is enforcing the laws. When all we have is the honor system, you learn pretty quickly how rare honor is among your fellow travelers. It’s a selfish, everyone for themselves attitude and it has to change or more of this (stuff) is going to happen.
The only way millions of people can live together is if we obey the rules. Otherwise, all we’ll have is chaos.
- ChicagoBars - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 12:27 pm:
They’ve either gotten worse and meaner or way more pedestrians have taken to jumping in front of traffic.
But the bad trend started to tick up back in 2010.
https://www.ghsa.org/resources/Pedestrians23
- bogey golfer - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 12:34 pm:
I don’t believe this is pandemic related. People just believe rules are for others. Increased selfishness.
- DS - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 12:38 pm:
Yes and it’s a danger to the rest of us.
- Sir Reel - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 12:39 pm:
Worse since the pandemic but to me it’s worse every year so I don’t know if the pandemic is cause. Drove up to Michigan a couple of times in the last few weeks and the interstates were scary. Drivers driving 80+, weaving in and out of lanes, doing 70+ in construction zones. What aggravates me is drivers continuing to turn left long after the left turn light turn red. Takes forever to get through these intersections. We’re setting some example for kids learning to drive.
- Jerry - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 12:41 pm:
Yes.
I don’t think its related to the pandemic necessarily.
Like other folks have said: lack of enforcement combined with aggressive driving.
- NIU Grad - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 12:42 pm:
I agree with 47th Ward that it’s become the wild west out there without any meaningful enforcement. I think that’s the biggest issue, more so than the pandemic.
I’ve seen a noticeable improvement on I-94 once ISP increased their patrols to address the shooting problem. Before then, I would see road rage incidents on a daily basis (including people throwing litter at other drivers and aggressively chasing people off the highway onto local streets).
As a Chicago resident, I see drivers blatantly breaking rules constantly in front of parked CPD cars with officers on their phones. The “our hands are tied” argument doesn’t apply to traffic rules…we all signed an agreement to follow the Rules of the Road when we got our licenses.
Maybe the next high-profile topic for our new Secretary of State to tackle? Or maybe Gov. Pritzker can finally get IDOT, ISP, and the Tollway sitting at the table and on the same page when it comes to safety messaging?
- Hannibal Lecter - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 12:48 pm:
I think people in general have become more mean spirited towards others. This trend started before the pandemic. People simply do not care about others.
This is not limited to drivers (although Chicago has historically had some of the most aggressive drivers I have ever seen). The world we live in today is a sad place.
- Gravitas - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 12:48 pm:
I believe motorists have gotten much worse since the pandemic. I will not hazard a guess on Downstate, but in Chicago and Cook County there are some angry drivers. Some honk their horns as soon as the light turns green. Others make multiple lane changes and pass on the right. I have been honked at because I stopped for road construction workers and pedestrians in road. The closure of the Kennedy for major repairs has created plenty of aggravation as well.
- Gravitas - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 12:50 pm:
@47th Ward:
Complete agreement that the lack of traffic enforcement has been a major contributor to bad drivers doing whatever they want on the city streets. It seems that the only tickets being issued are from cameras.
- OneMan - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 12:50 pm:
I would submit there is a general increase in impatience post-COIVD.
- Steve Rogers - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 12:53 pm:
Worse? No. I live in Springfield, where red lights have pretty much been optional for decades.
Meaner? It does seem like there is less courteousness on the highways. I wonder if the increased polarization over politics, culture wars, and entitlement has created a me vs. them mentality in many drivers.
- Jocko - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 12:54 pm:
I agree with impatient…having been cut off by someone immediately turning right on red only yesterday.
People blow past the white lines before a stop sign/intersection like they’re not even there.
- Will County - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 12:57 pm:
47th said it best!
- clec dcn - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 12:57 pm:
i don’t think pandemic has anything to do with it but much like texting. We simply get angry and let our emotions go and it spills over to driving habits. We are not patient folks these days. Think before you react driving.
- NotRich - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 1:05 pm:
What traffic ?? The losers on the south side can’t draw 10,000 fans. Lol
- 33rd Ward - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 1:07 pm:
The pandemic sapped our socialization skills.
- Hannibal Lecter - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 1:20 pm:
In terms of the enforcement issue that everyone is referencing, this was decades in the making. If you ever have to go to traffic court nowadays, you are likely to get off scot free or have to pay an extremely minimal fine. Cases were routinely dismissed in the courts so officers (rightly or wrongly) decided that it wasn’t worth their time to write tickets and have decided to let the red light cameras and speed cameras do the enforcement.
- Frida's boss - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 1:25 pm:
Yes
The pandemic created a sense of selfishness and loneliness at the same time throughout the United States. It has permeated into driving, into general everyday communication skills, into every aspect of life.
A society based on self entitlement and lack of compassion is a dangerous place.
People are self centered and at the same time are left out in the cold when it comes to substantial relationships and meaningful basic communication. It has created a very harsh society. Driving is just another consequence.
- Big Dipper - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 1:51 pm:
You would think the pandemic would have reminded people of their mortality and the mortality of others. But even during the pandemic we had certain prominent figures and their followers fighting mitigations. I bet there is a significant overlap between people who defied the mitigations and those who ignore other laws, including those that apply to traffic. Generally you either believe in the rule of law or you don’t.
- Homebody - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 2:32 pm:
Two things:
First- In everywhere else in the world except North America, traffic fatalities went down during the pandemic. In the US and Canada they went up. We have terrible road design that prioritizes cars over people, with little to no safety concern given to pedestrians or bikes. America and Canada are car addicts.
Second- Yes, I think the pandemic exacerbated existing problems of people being selfish and not caring about one another. It seems more and more people are in “everyone is out for themselves” mode, and are much more willing to dehumanize others in all contexts, not just driving. This leads to increased crime rates, road rage, negligent driving, etc. It doesn’t help that this has coincided with one major party basically going off the deep end in demonizing others. The pandemic accelerated a path that we were already on in the US.
- thechampaignlife - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 3:14 pm:
Yes, worse and meaner since the pandemic, due to less enforcement and resistance to rules, but also continuing the trend of polarization and social unrest from the last 7+ years.
I have to wonder, with newer cars including automatic braking and collision avoidance safety measures (and eventually self-driving reducing some of the human emotional input), if technology will eventually help reverse this trend.
- btowntruth from forgottonia - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 3:26 pm:
Yes.
I have lost track of times people have gone through intersections in my town without yielding right of way.
Like I have to come to a complete stop because they will not slow or yield.
Speeding is the norm and not the exception.
- Just Another Anon - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 3:29 pm:
ITT: People who support legislation preventing “pretexual” traffic stops complaining that the police aren’t pulling over speeders.
- ChicagoVinny - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 3:34 pm:
I don’t think it is constrained to driving - violence of all sorts is up over the last few years. Quick tempers, quick trigger fingers, quick gas pedals?
City should close 35th to vehicle traffic during games.
- Give Us Barabbas - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 4:03 pm:
I see two or more very obvious red light runners every day in Springfield and it’s making me a fan of red light cameras…if they are owned and run by the city, not an external company.
- Amalia - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 4:25 pm:
maybe Chicago caught up with NYC and LA during the pandemic. it’s been rough in those places on the road for years.
- MyTwoCents - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 4:50 pm:
I agree with Steve Rogers and Give Us Barabbas, if Springfield installed red light cameras, they could pay for themselves in absolutely no time whatsoever. Same thing with speed cameras if placed in the worst areas. But I haven’t seen any major differences in Springfield vs. pre-pandemic, it’s always been terrible.
- thechampaignlife - Thursday, Jun 22, 23 @ 9:31 pm:
===complaining that the police aren’t pulling over speeders.===
Someone with a parking hangtag on their rearview mirror poses minimal threat to others on the road. Someone running stopsigns and weaving through traffic at high speed poses a grave threat to all nearby. I hope you can tell the difference.