Dallas Driving

After 14 months of commuting by foot, train, or taxi, I finally returned to the wonderful and reckless world of Dallas driving. Yep, you heard me right…100% non-defensive death-wish driving. And the reality of the hopeless and hapless situation hit me full force last night.

My roommate from college lives close to the Dallas’ trendy Greenville Ave. Convenient to many a Dallasite, but not so much from where I grew up in Carrollton. When I asked my father how to get there, this was what he said: “take the George Bush Tollway to the Dallas North Tollway then 635 to 75 south.” Four highways? You gotta be kidding me!

But here’s the kicker…he said I might consider going straight to 635: “those tollway drivers go way too fast.” Now dads never stop being dads; but, come on. I grew up flying down 35 and zipping along 121 and 635. I knew Dallas highways and knew how to drive on them. But seeing as I am a pre-George Bush Tollway transplant out-of-state, I took my dad’s advice and went the sure way to avoid getting lost. And boy was I glad I did.

I was barely on the entrance ramp to 635 when a driver almost hit me from behind. Quickly getting away from the entrance and exit points to avoid a similar (and perhaps less lucky) situation, I clicked my signal and headed left. Not two minutes later I was slamming on my breaks (and my horn) for another driver who obviously didn’t check his blind spot. By this time, I had to make my grand exit-ramp entrance onto Central Expressway. Two cars in front of me, I see a car shoot across the solid white line right in front of the ramp divider, barely missing the safety barrels and causing everyone in front of me to stop short. If 635 is considered “safer,” I can’t imagine the tollway tribulations!

This morning, my prejudice against Dallas driving was reinforced. Shutting down the entrance from 635 to the tollway was a tanker that shook buildings as it collided, exploded, and not doubt killed its driver. And this isn’t the first time a wreck so dramatic has topped the news. On my last visit to the D-town a semi fell from an upper ramp to a lower ramp, crushing cars and stopping traffic for hours.

Now you may say this sort of stuff happens everywhere, and it does. But I’ve driven in lots of cities with lots of traffic (Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco); and nowhere else have I found a consistent disregard for and a general collusion against anything and everything that travels over 55 miles per hour. Maybe we should all take dad’s advice and go the sure way.