slowride wrote: Illinois drivers suck! And yes, I am one.
There are bad drivers everywhere. I've always heard "Peoria drivers are the worst!" or "Chicago drivers all have a deathwish" and "Ohio drivers are horrible" and etc.
The only one I've found worth mentioning is that Florida drivers are indeed bad, because Florida drivers are old. But that doesn't have anything to do with Florida drivers, just old drivers.
EastCoastMojo wrote: OMG I have never been so frustrated in my life. Purchasing Health Insurance is just a colossal nightmare right now.
YES.
I have been told by my doctor's office to check with the insurance company on whether they are in-network. And told by my insurance company to check with the doctor's office. More than a dozen hours down the drain so far, and all I want is the same coverage next year that I have this year. And that I had last year. And the year before.
I don't even have coverage this year due to BCBS jacking my rate from $360 to $500 per month and then not sending me a bill for two months. Once I had received that bill open enrollment had ended, so I had to cancel my now-way-too-expensive plan and could not sign up for another one for 2016, so I will be paying the tax penalty for this year. I do not qualify for a subsidy due to the fact that I am married but file separately. The least expensive plan for 2017 that qualifies so I won't have to pay the penalty? $447 per month. So, I will not be able to afford health care this year either. Great, just berkeleying great.
mtn wrote: There are bad drivers everywhere. I've always heard "Peoria drivers are the worst!" or "Chicago drivers all have a deathwish" and "Ohio drivers are horrible" and etc. The only one I've found worth mentioning is that Florida drivers are indeed bad, because Florida drivers are old. But that doesn't have anything to do with Florida drivers, just old drivers.
I actually just came back from a week in Florida, and returning to the Illinois traffic grind was jarring to say the least. But that may just be the difference in the number of cars on the road.
I do now understand the attraction of a high-riding whatevermobile now though. People seem to not be able to see me in my normal height Mazda.
In reply to EastCoastMojo:
That stinks. I'm lucky in that cost is not the big issue for me. Just getting coverage for the doctors I want to see is, and I know that seems minor but with a baby on the way and trying to keep stress off pregnant mama I'm feeling a little overloaded. Now that I put it that way I may have vented to her a little too much. It's hard not to blame the doctor's office for seemingly not being on insurance I can get but I know they're stuck in this situation as much as we are. And I can tell she's not really excited about changing OBs four months before giving birth to a baby.
I hope you are able to find coverage that will allow her to see the OB she is comfortable with. Congratulations on the baby BTW, that's awesome! 
slowride wrote:mtn wrote: There are bad drivers everywhere. I've always heard "Peoria drivers are the worst!" or "Chicago drivers all have a deathwish" and "Ohio drivers are horrible" and etc. The only one I've found worth mentioning is that Florida drivers are indeed bad, because Florida drivers are old. But that doesn't have anything to do with Florida drivers, just old drivers.I actually just came back from a week in Florida, and returning to the Illinois traffic grind was jarring to say the least. But that may just be the difference in the number of cars on the road. I do now understand the attraction of a high-riding whatevermobile now though. People seem to not be able to see me in my normal height Mazda.
About a year ago I was driving my Miata to work here in good old Holly Hill, FL. Come to a stop light with a rather long line. A few seconds after coming to a stop awaiting my turn, the reverse lights of the Transit in front of me light up. I check behind me, throw it in reverse and floor it (no horn). They got me, but since I was moving it was more of a reverse bump draft and almost no damage. Two old ladies get out and quickly point out that they couldn't see my car because it was too low... You just threw it into reverse on a very busy road at a stop light! The size of my car shouldn't be the issue here.
Got to exhibit the braking limitations of a 1990 Miata to my wife like two nights after that thanks to a van that literally had no side mirrors and a driver who was very adamant about changing his lane.
It seems like around here it's more of those "what the heck is going on right now?" moments than people being basically bad at driving.
In reply to Ed Higginbotham:
I am thinking that attaching some KC Hilighters (or whatever the equivalent is now) to a roof rack might help people see me. It's probably illegal though. I have also had numerous incidents where I was sure that my turn signals must have been burned out, based on how other people at intersections acted... they never were though.
I made it this long without hearing Celine Dion's version of Feliz Navidad. That ended yesterday 
slowride wrote: In reply to Ed Higginbotham: I am thinking that attaching some KC Hilighters (or whatever the equivalent is now) to a roof rack might help people see me. It's probably illegal though. I have also had numerous incidents where I was sure that my turn signals must have been burned out, based on how other people at intersections acted... they never were though.
I always assumed that I was completely invisible when I drove a Miata (or when I drive Dad's E30). My 4 years of DD'ing a Miata were what finally put the nail in the coffin for good on my "I should get a motorcycle" thoughts.
The only time I've felt visible in either of my miatas was when it was 4 shades of primer. And really, for as bad as I did with the paint, it's tempting to go back to that.
That(being seemingly invisible) did have its benefits though, when I lived out west. Big SUV idiots would try to run me over, so I'd intentionally lead them into speed traps. Motorcycle cops seemed to have a hard on for giant suvs, never seemed to see me egging them on.
In reply to RevRico:
Yep, my visibility issues definitely seemed to coincide with the move to one color... But also my move to FL.
Never had an issue in this fine livery package.
In reply to Ed Higginbotham:
I had a very similar incident coming home on my bike one evening this past summer, 20ish girl threw it in reverse at a light without looking. Only thing that saved me from getting hit was our somewhat awkward lane positioning relative to each other. Even still, she missed my right front caliper by at most 2".
I feel like I've had more "WTF are you doing" moments in the car in the past six months than in all of my driving experience prior to that, all culminating in my accident 4 weeks ago. Really has me questioning doing any street riding at all next year, might sell the Bandit and get a dirt bike (or at least a dual sport) instead.
It is a scientific fact: we Chicago drivers in fact do have a deathwish.
In reply to mtn:
I think that I'm actually more visible on my motorcycle than I am in the Miata, even though the Miata is bright berkeleying yellow.
It's a combination of sitting significantly higher and the always-on headlight that's also quite a bit higher than the Miata lighting - the Miata is completely below the beltline of a lot of newer cars.
The dune buggy guys have had a solution to this issue for a long time:
I've been tempted. I've got a CHMSL on the Manic Miata, mounted way up high on the roll bar, in order to get some brake lights up at least near eye level for most modern vehicles.
Oh, and on another minor rant topic:
"Backseat" is not a noun. It is an adjective. The noun version is "back seat".
I think a flag might be too passive. I need something brighter than a smartphone screen.
People would look right at the sandrail and still pull out in front of it. Then act like you did something wrong.
Todays minor rant is the stupid universal dipstick design on dodge vehicles. Nothing like needing trans temp and a booklet too check the trans fluid!
dculberson wrote: In reply to wae: They actually asked you to buy a battery on eBay? Bizarre.
Yep. And now they want to refund me another 25 bucks so I can go buy a motherboard from eBay.
This is getting ridiculous.
dropstep wrote: People would look right at the sandrail and still pull out in front of it. Then act like you did something wrong. Todays minor rant is the stupid universal dipstick design on dodge vehicles. Nothing like needing trans temp and a booklet too check the trans fluid!
At least they apparently included said dipstick for yours- I had to order it from Amazon. Still trying to figure out how to get the trans temp on my Patriot...
slowride wrote: I think a flag might be too passive. I need something brighter than a smartphone screen.
I don't know if there's anything that will help. I'm still shocked by the number of people that will drive into a big white bus that's stopped with numerous flashing hazard lights.
Ed Higginbotham wrote: About a year ago I was driving my Miata to work here in good old Holly Hill, FL. Come to a stop light with a rather long line. A few seconds after coming to a stop awaiting my turn, the reverse lights of the Transit in front of me light up. I check behind me, throw it in reverse and floor it (no horn). They got me, but since I was moving it was more of a reverse bump draft and almost no damage. Two old ladies get out and quickly point out that they couldn't see my car because it was too low... You just threw it into reverse on a very busy road at a stop light! The size of my car shouldn't be the issue here.
I went through that last year in my disco. Had a lady in am Escalade almost back right into the front of me. I had to throw it into reverse while still moving forwards to avoid the hit. I am sure she could have seen me if she had even bothered looking.
And no, my transmission and drivetrain were NOT pleased to have done that
Did you ever have one of those days when you can't hit the ground with your hat?
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