[Willie Green]

(Houston) Main Street was dangerous before the rail, records show

Revoke their licenses and make 'em ride the Metro.

[Willie Green]

Clang, clang, clang went the trolley...
Ding, ding, ding went the bell...

[Dog Gone]

The train doesn't go anywhere.

Here's a good rule of thumb when driving in Houston. Three cars are permitted to run a red light after the signal changes. If you're the second car, don't stop at the light or you will get hit from the rear.

[threat matrix]

I thought Chicago was treacherous, until I visted Houston..

[mlbford2]

People here in Houston absolutely cannot drive. The soccer moms in their Hummers and Navigator (on the phone of course) mixed with the Hispanics (who drive like maniacs--but amazingly seem to stay out of wrecks), make driving in Houston a real life or death experience. I'm thinking about moving to Atlanta where I hope the drivers are better.

[NJ_gent]

"High Houston Crash Rate Drives Up Insurance Costs"

Heh, cry me a river.

[Ditter]

Houstonions drive too fast. They cut in & out of traffic around the drivers who are obeying the speed limit. The freeways are the same. Impatient people & too much traffic. When you add construction projects that go on forever & badly timed lights, its enough to make you want to move to the country.

Did I say move to the country?.................. NO NEVER! Not the country, its boring there.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I lived in Houston from 1992 to 2002. Got rear-ended in stop-and-go morning traffic on 59 once, and rear-ended sitting at a stoplight another time.

Both times it was by Hispanics without insurance.

Both times I paid for the damage myself out of my own pocket.

Trying to get them to pay for anything is like trying to get blood out of a turnip.

[SpyGuy]

How many of these accidents are caused by illegal aliens?

[heleny]

The area also has a large number of illegal immigrants with no driver's licenses or training, the newspaper reported.

According to http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1120760/posts, "federal immigration officials explained the U.S. government cannot automatically expel the [illegal alien] men just because they are illegal."

That policy needs to change.

[r9etb]

I lived in Houston for 9 years, and found Houston drivers to be some of THE worst drivers I've ever encountered. They're rude and aggressive, and have no clue that their traffic problems would be helped by actually being polite to others.

And it really is Houston drivers, too -- outside of easy driving distance from Houston I found Texas drivers to be among the most courteous. Once you got within an hour or so of Houston, though, the drivers became obviously worse.

My favorite example: when driving at night and somebody's lights were in my side mirror, the best way to address the problem was to hit the turn signal to indicate a "planned lane change." INVARIABLY the fellow behind would speed past, so I couldn't "get in front of him." (Actually, it was a pretty useful tactic, so I can't complain all that much....)

[Diddle E. Squat]

The reason for the high rate is far simpler than the article suggests. Its not growth, DFW is growing faster than Houston, has a similar backlog of needed road projects, has a similar proportion of illegal immigrants and transplants from other states, yet has a lower accident rate.

What's the real reason? Weather. Houston gets far more heavy downpours, fog, routine flooding, and has poor drainage compared to DFW. Another less significant factor is that in DFW jobs are somewhat more evenly dispersed(and thus there is slightly less congestion and miles traveled per commuter), but weather is the big factor here.

[Howie66]

"Revoke their licenses and make 'em ride the Metro."

Are you serious? Do you think that better than half the ILLEGAL population driving around Houston even has a flipping drivers license to revoke?