Last night I flew into O'Hare and drove along I-294 to Crestwood. About 90% of the journey involved a 45mph speed limit for construction but it appears everything is complete as the asphalt and striping is all new. I was appalled to see the road crawling with cops at 8pm under cover of darkness. I spotted at least 6 of them. Most were on the shoulder with lights flashing and a 'customer' parked in front. One was parked in the median with no lights on at all waiting for the next customer to come flashing past. Another was in an SUV which suddenly put it's reds and blues on making the car in front pull over. It seems they're milking every last penny out of this speed limit which is simply a painful crawl should anyone stick to it which no one was. I was reluctantly doing 50 yet everything else was zooming past. Fortunately my return journey will take me along a different route which hopefully will be free of cops if they're all busy milking the tollway.
Rant over :banghead:
My wife was in Chicago yesterday. She was on the I-294 tollway. She said she was driving 72 mph in the second-to-right lane and was being passed like she was sitting still.
Amazing, given that in normal conditions, the Tri State Tollway, especially the I-94 part in Lake County, drives like a German autobahn.
:wow:
They are pretty strict in construction zones. Also, over the past couple of decades, most (or all by now) states have adopted laws that levy double the normal fines in marked construction zones.
Mike
Quote from: mgk920 on November 01, 2012, 10:55:50 AM
Amazing, given that in normal conditions, the Tri State Tollway, especially the I-94 part in Lake County, drives like a German autobahn.
You are so right about that! Yesterday, I journeyed from Gurnee to the SW suburbs at about 7 am and did 61 miles in 53 minutes! And that included some time dealing with the inferior south-side style driving (drivers going 50 in the
left lane, no signalling, etc.) on I-55!
My average speed on the Tri-State was around 80 mph and I was NOT the fastest car on the road. Not by any means - mine was more like average speed. Fine with me, by the way.
Quote from: Truvelo on November 01, 2012, 09:23:31 AM
Last night I flew into O'Hare and drove along I-294 to Crestwood. About 90% of the journey involved a 45mph speed limit for construction but it appears everything is complete as the asphalt and striping is all new. I was appalled to see the road crawling with cops at 8pm under cover of darkness. I spotted at least 6 of them. Most were on the shoulder with lights flashing and a 'customer' parked in front. One was parked in the median with no lights on at all waiting for the next customer to come flashing past. Another was in an SUV which suddenly put it's reds and blues on making the car in front pull over. It seems they're milking every last penny out of this speed limit which is simply a painful crawl should anyone stick to it which no one was. I was reluctantly doing 50 yet everything else was zooming past. Fortunately my return journey will take me along a different route which hopefully will be free of cops if they're all busy milking the tollway.
Rant over :banghead:
Sounds like you met the Wolf Pack. ISP District 15 (the Tollway ISP district) has a wolf pack that patrols every so often on a given stretch of tollway.
And the Wolf Pack shifts from one day to the next. A couple of days ago, they were out on 88 at Highland. Last night, they were on 355 at Maple.
It appears there's a Wolf Pack in Indiana too. US-30 near Warsaw was full of cops pulling people over.
Quote from: Truvelo on November 05, 2012, 10:12:13 PM
It appears there's a Wolf Pack in Indiana too. US-30 near Warsaw was full of cops pulling people over.
May have been my cousin!
Quote from: hobsini2 on November 03, 2012, 06:24:22 PM
And the Wolf Pack shifts from one day to the next. A couple of days ago, they were out on 88 at Highland. Last night, they were on 355 at Maple.
who wants to develop an app that broadcasts its location on any given day?
Quote from: agentsteel53 on November 06, 2012, 09:56:11 AM
Quote from: hobsini2 on November 03, 2012, 06:24:22 PM
And the Wolf Pack shifts from one day to the next. A couple of days ago, they were out on 88 at Highland. Last night, they were on 355 at Maple.
who wants to develop an app that broadcasts its location on any given day?
I would love that app.
Also on occasions with ISP district 15 cops, I been seeing Cook County Sheriff(In the Cook County Section of the Tri-State) pulling over, or already puled over people on the tollway, & seen them doing speed traps also, I thought it was only ISP #15 suppose to patrol 294. I been seeing CCS at least 3 to 4 times a month on it, & Increasing.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on November 06, 2012, 09:56:11 AM
Quote from: hobsini2 on November 03, 2012, 06:24:22 PM
And the Wolf Pack shifts from one day to the next. A couple of days ago, they were out on 88 at Highland. Last night, they were on 355 at Maple.
who wants to develop an app that broadcasts its location on any given day?
That'd be a great app, but I would recommend the WAZE navigation app. It's a social networking navigation app where users report cops, accidents, etc while they are driving. In larger cities it seems to work pretty well.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on November 06, 2012, 09:56:11 AM
Quote from: hobsini2 on November 03, 2012, 06:24:22 PM
And the Wolf Pack shifts from one day to the next. A couple of days ago, they were out on 88 at Highland. Last night, they were on 355 at Maple.
who wants to develop an app that broadcasts its location on any given day?
They used to post the location at the Tollway's webpage: http://www.illinoistollway.com/ Not sure if they still do.
On a different topic I would like some advice on the following.
Last night I had to use the tollway to reach O'Hare due to other routes being gridlocked. I had plenty of paper bills but not many coins. The toll plazas on the mainline have an attendent who give change but this (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=o'hare+airport&hl=en&ll=41.986708,-87.864047&spn=0.001178,0.002293&sll=52.8382,-2.327815&sspn=7.793676,18.786621&hq=o'hare+airport&t=k&z=19) one at the airport doesn't. Therefore I had to wait several minutes for a car to pull up behind to get some change. When I put the required amount into the bin the green light failed to illuminate so I put the last two quarters I had in and still no green light. With two hours before my flight departs I decided to proceed. I have studied the tollway's website about 7 days to pay missing tolls but it gives an impression that it doesn't apply to rental cars. There is also something about proceeding if the green light doesn't come on. What I want to know is the chance of receiving a bill from the rental car company together with a $25 admin fee for processing violations.
Quote from: Truvelo on November 07, 2012, 11:10:27 AM
On a different topic I would like some advice on the following.
Last night I had to use the tollway to reach O'Hare due to other routes being gridlocked. I had plenty of paper bills but not many coins. The toll plazas on the mainline have an attendent who give change but this (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=o'hare+airport&hl=en&ll=41.986708,-87.864047&spn=0.001178,0.002293&sll=52.8382,-2.327815&sspn=7.793676,18.786621&hq=o'hare+airport&t=k&z=19) one at the airport doesn't. Therefore I had to wait several minutes for a car to pull up behind to get some change. When I put the required amount into the bin the green light failed to illuminate so I put the last two quarters I had in and still no green light. With two hours before my flight departs I decided to proceed. I have studied the tollway's website about 7 days to pay missing tolls but it gives an impression that it doesn't apply to rental cars. There is also something about proceeding if the green light doesn't come on. What I want to know is the chance of receiving a bill from the rental car company together with a $25 admin fee for processing violations.
You can pay on line at the Illinois Tollway website. However, you will need to have the rental car's license plate number (make and model too, I believe). Try to recall the date and time as well, IIRC. Otherwise, the rental agency will get a violation notice in the mail and you will get
their bill with the violation - and a bill that will be significantly higher still, including markups. It could easily be a $100 bill for you.
If the light did not go on, then the rental car's "etoll" or other pre-installed transponder (if they had one) did not connect. And coins could have been stuck in the gullet of the basket, which blocks the coins from triggering the "paid" light. Either way, you did not get credit for paying. So, I'd recommend that you pay the tab on-line and be done with it. Print the receipt when done and document EVERYTHING.
Quote from: StogieGuy7 on November 07, 2012, 03:16:56 PM
And coins could have been stuck in the gullet of the basket, which blocks the coins from triggering the "paid" light. Either way, you did not get credit for paying.
Looks like it would be better to just pay online than to ever attempt to use the coin machines then.
Quote from: Truvelo on November 07, 2012, 11:10:27 AM
On a different topic I would like some advice on the following.
Last night I had to use the tollway to reach O'Hare due to other routes being gridlocked. I had plenty of paper bills but not many coins. The toll plazas on the mainline have an attendent who give change but this (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=o'hare+airport&hl=en&ll=41.986708,-87.864047&spn=0.001178,0.002293&sll=52.8382,-2.327815&sspn=7.793676,18.786621&hq=o'hare+airport&t=k&z=19) one at the airport doesn't. Therefore I had to wait several minutes for a car to pull up behind to get some change. When I put the required amount into the bin the green light failed to illuminate so I put the last two quarters I had in and still no green light. With two hours before my flight departs I decided to proceed. I have studied the tollway's website about 7 days to pay missing tolls but it gives an impression that it doesn't apply to rental cars. There is also something about proceeding if the green light doesn't come on. What I want to know is the chance of receiving a bill from the rental car company together with a $25 admin fee for processing violations.
Just go through the toll plaza, remember which number plaza it is, or the location (I think you went through either O'Hare West or O'Hare East). Pay directly on-line with the Tollway: http://www.illinoistollway.com/ within 7 days. It applies to all vehicles from rental cars to semis.
Quote from: deanej on November 07, 2012, 03:45:59 PM
Quote from: StogieGuy7 on November 07, 2012, 03:16:56 PM
And coins could have been stuck in the gullet of the basket, which blocks the coins from triggering the "paid" light. Either way, you did not get credit for paying.
Looks like it would be better to just pay online than to ever attempt to use the coin machines then.
No, they usually work. You just had bad luck. But they will bust you, so I would recommend paying online this time.
Online payment is only available to US residents. A violation is $20 plus $25 what the rental company calls a 'processing' fee. Two days have now passed and I'm not sure if mailing the payment will arrive in time.
With hindsight I should have obscured the rear license plate. The car is from PA so doesn't have a front plate.
Quote from: Truvelo on November 08, 2012, 10:33:38 AM
Online payment is only available to US residents. A violation is $20 plus $25 what the rental company calls a 'processing' fee. Two days have now passed and I'm not sure if mailing the payment will arrive in time.
With hindsight I should have obscured the rear license plate. The car is from PA so doesn't have a front plate.
Sorry, I did not realize that you were from abroad! Yes, I'm afraid that makes a difference.
Oh what a mess; please accept my apologies on behalf of my fellow Illini because this was not fair!
Quote from: StogieGuy7 on November 08, 2012, 10:07:21 AM
Quote from: deanej on November 07, 2012, 03:45:59 PM
Quote from: StogieGuy7 on November 07, 2012, 03:16:56 PM
And coins could have been stuck in the gullet of the basket, which blocks the coins from triggering the "paid" light. Either way, you did not get credit for paying.
Looks like it would be better to just pay online than to ever attempt to use the coin machines then.
No, they usually work. You just had bad luck. But they will bust you, so I would recommend paying online this time.
Do I look like Truvelo?
Quote from: deanej on November 08, 2012, 12:28:10 PM
Do I look like Truvelo?
I dunno. have the two of you ever been seen in the same room together?
Quote from: Truvelo on November 08, 2012, 10:33:38 AM
Online payment is only available to US residents. A violation is $20 plus $25 what the rental company calls a 'processing' fee. Two days have now passed and I'm not sure if mailing the payment will arrive in time.
With hindsight I should have obscured the rear license plate. The car is from PA so doesn't have a front plate.
Email them or call them and explain the situation. Hopefully you have the license plate number on the rental form.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on November 09, 2012, 10:00:52 AM
Quote from: Truvelo on November 09, 2012, 06:47:04 AM
Quote from: Steve on November 08, 2012, 09:12:29 PM
Quote from: deanej on November 08, 2012, 12:28:10 PM
Do I look like Truvelo?
Yes.
How do you know how I look :hmmm:
he's met deanej.
Actually, I haven't. But once a moderator uses the purple text, it becomes fact.
Nearly two months has passed and I've heard nothing so I assume the toll must have registered even though the red light didn't change to green. Next time I will choose an earlier flight, maybe the 4pm departure, so I can get to the airport via free roads before the rush hour starts.
Quote from: Truvelo on December 31, 2012, 11:12:09 AM
Nearly two months has passed and I've heard nothing so I assume the toll must have registered even though the red light didn't change to green. Next time I will choose an earlier flight, maybe the 4pm departure, so I can get to the airport via free roads before the rush hour starts.
Not necessarily. The IL Tollway often sits on violations until they get 2 or 3 assessed to the same license plate before sending out a violation notice. I realize that this makes no sense, but that's how they roll.
Whenever I've gotten notices, there's always a total of three violations and the first one may have occurred 8 months ago! My issue is that I have a NH EZ-Pass in one of my cars and the IL Tollway equipment has had (in the past, at least) occasional issues not picking up my transponder. Which was - and is - in good working order. What follows is a real headache of my gathering a bunch of info to send them to prove that my EZ-Pass is in good stead (even if the "violation" happens on the same day that i pay 8 other tolls to them with no issue). They then write off the fines and I just have to pay the past due tolls - full fare, no discount.
I've just done the same thing again at the same plaza. Having given exact change at the previous plazas I turned off for O'Hare and got to the barrier and realised I don't have $1.50 in coins except for a ton of low value coins such as 5¢ and pennies. I put the whole lot in and the light didn't change so I had no option but to proceed. There is still no option for non US citizens to use the online form to pay an unpaid toll. I tried it but the state and zip code are required. All this crap just for the sake of a lousy $1.50 makes me sick.
^^ I wouldn't worry about it. They can see on camera that you put change in. I've had it happen to me occasionally in the pre-I-Pass days.