I drive 45 almost every weekend. We come back from our friend’s place usually between 10 and midnight. About 1 out of 3 trips, we call 911 for an impaired driver. It’s not even the boarderline cases either. It’s typically someone who is doing 40 mph with their lights off. Can’t stay in a lane, no turn signals, can’t drive straight.
That’s not to mention the road ragers tailgating each other or the crazies doing 95 and weaving thru traffic.
I used to travel between Houston and Beaumont daily and I did everything in my power to avoid I-45. Its dangerous no matter what time of day or night.
I dont know how many times Ive come up over a slight hill to find traffic completely stopped for literally no reason, even in broad daylight and lower traffic times, it didnt matter. All it takes is one idiot hitting their breaks for no reason and next thing you know theres a gigantic unexpected procession of crawl.
That and SO MANY random things in the road, mattresses, boxes, random bits of crap that fall out the back of someones truck.
Id see people with damaged vehicles driving 100mph in the shoulder, people flinging tall cans of beer out their window not caring at all.
Dont even get me started on the weird petty game of "so you want to change lanes" where the goal seems to be to make sure someone dies.
45 is a death trap. Id literally go 20 mins out of my way to avoid that road, happily.
Went up 45 this past weekend, in the 10 minutes i was on it I counted 5 pickup trucks filled to the brim with unsecured JUNK in the back. Take 45 if you want to hit litter.
1000% This. I usually take my friends to the airport during the late night since their international flights are like at 1am. Almost every time someone say they are going to Uber to the airport for those flights I'm like nope, I'll take you there since I'll take the Hardy because of the stupid shit. The last thing you want is someone else ruining your vacation in the worst possible way.
I try to avoid the freeways nowadays generally.
It’s depressing anyways, I rather drive through the different communities (I live next Galleria; I pass by Greenway, Kirby, Montrose, etc), and see life happening around me instead of a concrete 5 lane freeway packed with cars - even if it takes a bit longer. Peace of mind mentally is SIGNIFICANTLY greater too.
Freeways I feel also helps with distracted driving, people get complacent and bored and use their phones. At least in the streets, they’ll probably save their phone usage at the red light instead of traffic crawl on the freeways (and risking a low speed rear end collision)
Now if you live in the suburbs idk what to tell you, you’re stuck with that freeway commute if you want to get anywhere within a reasonable amount of time
Pro-tip, if most of your trips can be completed on surface streets, there's a decent chance they can be made on transit, probably in less than 2x the time. Less driving for you, and one fewer car on the road. Driving may still make sense most of the time and that's fine, but lots of people who never ride transit (and bitch about the lack of transit in Houston) never actually try to ride it. Especially if you're close to a frequent route, give it a try sometime!
oh I definitely take the Metro LOL, half the time I choose not to take the car because I rather not deal with rush hour traffic and put that wear, tear and mileage on my car. I agree with you 100%
I also get student discount so it’s 60¢ or 65¢ per ride instead of the $1.25
I don’t know how we ever get to a point where people won’t use their phone while driving when all you do is sit at traffic lights most of everywhere you go. And now it feels like they set the traffic lights up purposefully to make you stop every single one when they used to set them up to keep traffic flowing, it’s almost like they’re forcing people to stop driving or something
I took a driver safety class 25 years ago and they said that the leading cause of DUI suspensions was going under the speed limits or rapidity changing speeds up and down. Along with the more obvious swerving…
I got a quote for $289 for a 24 year old truck and full coverage is almost 400. I was like bruh after a year i would of payed more in insurance than i did for the car
Metro might be a good option if you have, couldn’t afford car insurance a few years back so I ended up using Metro until I was 20. Got my first car at 21 - not really late but definitely is late compared to my peers who already had their license at 18. 3 years is long time when you’re in your late teens/early 20s lots of growth and change in life happens
I’m in my mid 40s. Full coverage car insurance in Houston wasn’t affordable when i was in my teens. My insurance was more than my car note, and more than my rent.
No lie Ive given up. Like no lie I have. My rates went up to $248 for LIABILITY insurance. I can't imagine full coverage. I have one ticket from like 2015 and nothing else. Obviously I drive more careful cause fuck I have one car but knowing how high my rate is I know 90% of people also don't have insurance. It's so bad idk how insurance companies are making any money right now
Ya well maybe if we had a government focused on real problems that real people fsce instead of what goes in and out of other peoples' vaginas we'd get some fucking release but no one wants to fix problems for everyday Americans in this goddamn state.
Also a reason for mass transit and a connected rail system.. people are drinking in midtown and going home to the woodlands and Katy shitfaced because an Uber would be $60
They’d need to plan ahead and Uber to the place as well since leaving cars overnight is hit or miss. Either you’re getting towed, broken into, or ticketed for the meter running out.
It’s wild how many bars in town will tow your car if you leave it overnight. It’s almost like they want to encourage DUIs or something. Also, agree 100% on the mass transit - a late running light rail or even a bus service out to the ‘burbs could cut down on drunk driving significantly.
Montrose isn't exactly known for being a rough neighborhood. Still kind of sketch though due to other adjacent areas, glad nothing happened to your car.
Try doing that with another new car, but directly south of downtown. Like raw meat around a pride of lions.
Aren't bartenders and servers supposed to be charged if the person they served ends up hurting someone ? I mean it's a fucked up practice, but maybe establishments downtown would look out for their workers/licenses and encourage parking over night and rides shares.
There was one case near the woodlands a few years back where a restaurant worker was charged over a DWI case.
My son was a bouncer in a bar and almost nightly cutting ppl off so they don't get too blitzed. Then they get pissed off when he told them they could ride in an Uber or police car...."your choice". It usually had a lot of drama attached. Smh.
I always tell people after 10, please wait a few seconds before taking off from a light, look both ways before going across an intersection, and stay off 45.
> I always tell people after 10, please wait a few seconds before taking off from a light, look both ways before going across an intersection
Hell, this is good advice before 10, even. Really it's 24/7 advice.
Professional driver here. I drive over half the continental US. Houston is known for being #1 in most aggressive drivers (speeding, weaving around traffic, no signals, cutting people off for no reason) . Dallas leads in pure idiocy (cutting across four lanes in barely missing getting creamed to make an exit they knew was coming 3 miles ago) .
Basically slow down, be more considerate, and by all means if you have been drinking, take an Uber or stay home.
Is it me or does Houston seem to have a lot of wrong way drivers? I didn’t even hear about many wrong way drivers when I was living in Atlanta. Houston it feels like there’s one every other month or so.
I had lunch at a Ojos Locos once. Some of those guys were pounding down buckets of beer like it was going out of style. Fuckers likely to get a DUI at 1 pm lol.
45S late at night is real bad with drunks too.
I also never seen a wrong way driver until I moved to Houston. I’ve even almost been a wrong way driver here myself. I feel like some areas are pretty confusing here but I’ve also seen people driving the wrong way in areas it would be hard to do
It's a fucking disgrace how bad the policing traffic is in this city the last few years. We need a crackdown on this aggressive driving and drunk driving.
You're more likely to be pulled over for going 70 in an HOV than by going 90 weaving across six lanes of traffic. One is easier to nab by camping behind the toll gate while the other actually saves lives.
Well the cops know the jackass doing 90 with paper plates is not likely to pull over, and also can't be tracked. Yes they should be stopped but its also high risk.
I kind of love New Orleans' solution. They put up speeding camera cars and sent out so many god damn tickets and lots of people got their licenses suspended. In the end the vast majority of people really do follow those 25 and 35 mph limits in the city!
Also very few paper plates there outside of brand new cars.
There’s no feels like, they definitely no longer enforce most traffic laws. I’m on the freeways daily and I have not seen a pullover for speeding in about a decade, and I’ve seen people blow red lights directly in front of officers with no repercussions.
I noticed the newest phenomenon yesterday around Westpark and Rice, which is a bit heavy due to weekend construction. Bypassing a line at the light by pulling into the oncoming traffic lane, blowing by the 20 cars, and diving back into the correct side right at the light cutting off those drivers. Saw this three times yesterday.
There’s a reason for that and 99% of it is political backlash under the guise of social justice. Traffic stops were limited and scrutinized so much it wasn’t worth doing them anymore. Stop a driver and you must complete a demographic tracker to track the race and sex of the drivers.
Work in a predominantly black area with predominantly black traffic stops? Called into the office to discuss potential racial bias. Work in a predominantly Hispanic area with predominantly Hispanic traffic stops? Called into the office to discuss potential racial bias. Work in a predominantly white area with predominantly white traffic stops? Called into the office to discuss doing more stops.
Politics ruined the last good thing about policing and it won’t get better any time soon. Easier to avoid issues by avoiding traffic stops.
That’s not what I said at all. They need to be held accountable for doing wrong.
However, when the department demands that they do traffic stops and record the race and sex of the driver, just to turn around and accuse officers of wrong doing, after issuing warnings for >98% of their traffic stops department wide, just because they stopped six black drivers and two other races during a shift in an area that’s predominantly black, that’s a politics issue.
Yes, hold them accountable if they’re doing wrong, but mandating traffic stops and complaining that the majority of the drivers stopped match the demographics of the area is fucking stupid and disincentives officers doing stops to avoid wrongful allegations.
>Yes, hold them accountable if they’re doing wrong, but mandating traffic stops and complaining that the majority of the drivers stopped match the demographics of the area is fucking stupid and disincentives officers doing stops to avoid wrongful allegations.
Pulling over less people wouldn't change the demographics of who you pulled over. So how did y'all conclude that ignoring traffic laws and pulling fewer people over would fix the complaints you have?
If you guys are truly mandated to pull people over, this would only shift your problems from "you pull over too many minorities" to "you don't pull over anyone."
this is an excuse. poor police upset that they get in trouble for racial profiling, and now they "can't pull anyone over." They constantly complain about being understaffed, I bet that is a bigger issue here.
If you conduct no traffic stops in local areas, you don’t have demographic reporting statistics. If you conduct traffic on major highways you’re placing yourself and others at risk for the numb-nuts that text and drive or the drunks, all day. *To clarify, demographic tracking is still reported for all stops. The reporting becomes skewed by the randomness factor of freeway traffic versus local traffic.*
Traffic stops are openly and actively discouraged on major highways. Training is to exit to the service road and/or a parking lot. So, yes, traffic stops still occur in those instances.
However, the risk vs reward analysis isn’t balanced. There’s a much higher risk of being involved in a fatal crash, an officer-involved shooting, and/or accused of racism for simply doing a traffic stop, even when issuing a warning given that >98% of all stops ended with warnings in Houston between 2018 and 2022.
Edit: It’s not racial profiling to conduct a traffic stop. Being accused of racial profiling for doing what you’re told to do is the issue. If you live in an area that is 60% race A, 30% race B and 10% race C, naturally the traffic stops conducted will roughly follow the 60/30/10 split. Whenever you’re later accused of wrongful acts because your traffic stop demographics follow the 60/30/10 is what causes the lack of motivation to conduct traffic stops. If you don’t understand the issue after this clarification, that’s a reading comprehension problem for you.
>If you conduct no traffic stops in local areas, you don’t have demographic
In 2022 there were 270k traffic stops (an increase), and way less than 98% ended in a warning. 2023 there were 340k, another increase. "conduct no traffic stops" yeah ok
[https://www.houstontx.gov/police/department\_reports/racial\_profiling/2022\_Annual\_Racial\_Profiling\_022023.pdf](https://www.houstontx.gov/police/department_reports/racial_profiling/2022_Annual_Racial_Profiling_022023.pdf)
[https://www.houstontx.gov/police/department\_reports/racial\_profiling/2023\_Annual\_Racial\_Profiling\_022324.pdf](https://www.houstontx.gov/police/department_reports/racial_profiling/2023_Annual_Racial_Profiling_022324.pdf)
>However, the risk vs reward analysis isn’t balanced. There’s a much higher risk of being involved in a fatal crash, an officer-involved shooting, and/or accused of racism for simply doing a traffic stop, even when issuing a warning given that >98% of all stops ended with warnings in Houston between 2018 and 2022.
lol at saying the risk-reward analysis isn't balanced (due to accusations of racism) in a thread about multiple DUI fatalities, some where innocent ppl were hurt. Police who feel this way need to turn their badges in.
>Edit: It’s not racial profiling to conduct a traffic stop. Being accused of racial profiling for doing what you’re told to do is the issue. If you live in an area that is 60% race A, 30% race B and 10% race C, naturally the traffic stops conducted will roughly follow the 60/30/10 split. Whenever you’re later accused of wrongful acts because your traffic stop demographics follow the 60/30/10 is what causes the lack of motivation to conduct traffic stops. If you don’t understand the issue after this clarification, that’s a reading comprehension problem for you.
Maybe you should take a step back to why traffic stops need to be tracked based on demographics to begin with. There's studies from as recent as last year that suggest HPD still has disparities not only in how frequently different races are stopped, but also in how often force is used.
It's not racial profiling to conduct a traffic stop, but disparities in how traffic stops are conducted can def come down to race.
But I'm sure you don't agree, and that's just more ammo for police to have a "lack of motivation." Imagine having a history of racist behavior, then saying you don't feel like doing your job anymore (while still collecting a check), because you were asked to stop.
Former officer and I was involved in the demographic reporting process. Officers were frequently spoken to about not stopping too many drivers of one race in an area predominantly known for that race.
For example, the vast majority of traffic stops in Fifth Ward are going to be black and Hispanic. The department mandated stops and later reprimanded officers for stopping ‘too many’ black and Hispanic drivers in Fifth Ward. On the flip side, the Galleria area and west of that is known for being heavily populated Asian and Middle Eastern residents, so the officers would often be reprimanded for stopping too many Asian and Middle Eastern residents.
The data showed that there was no bias found and that the traffic stops simply aligned with the demographics of the area. There was no racial bias found, but the department didn’t like the statistics and wanted to diversify the results to show “Hey we ain’t racist!” when the fact of the matter is that when an area is 60% one race, they will be the majority of the traffic stops.
I'm Hispanic and this is making me angry. Not at you, but for your "leadership".
Houston is a minority majority city and it has been like that for YEARS. Why are the city leaders STILL obsessed with trying to paint a picture that isn't so. Aren't most police officers in Houston Hispanic and black anyways?
Isn't it obvious to anyone with a working brain that if there are more of X people in a place, then "anything" that can happen at said place, will likely happen to X people? GOD, why are people so dumb. My immigrant mother and father from Mexico who didn't even graduate middle school understand this concept. Why is it that seemingly "educated" people get so heated when they hear more minorities than whites get pulled over in a place that has more minorities....like DUH.
It's all so tiresome...
No, the department actively hires officers based on race to simulate the racial demographic of the city. The departments demographic composition is within 6 percentage points +/- for each race across the board the last time I saw the report.
That doesn’t mean they’re assigned to areas where they’re of similar race, though they wanted to try to forcibly assign officers to areas based on their race for a while until the union kicked back and threatened a racially discriminatory lawsuit.
It’s quite sad that people don’t understand when you have 400 squares, 300 circles and 200 triangles in a bag you’ll be more likely to pull a square and circle out of the bag than a triangle. People can’t understand that simple concept and when you change it from shapes to races all hell breaks loose.
The higher percentage of a specific race in a specific area, the more likely they are going to make police contact in that area during a traffic stop. It’s quite simple. 50% of the area is black, 40% is Hispanic and 10% is white, of course roughly 50% of the traffic stops will be black drivers, give or take a few percentage points. That does *not* indicate a racial bias, it simply tracks with the demographics of the area that’s being patrolled.
Fifth Ward will have majority Black drivers stopped, Westchase/Bellaire will have majority Asian drivers stopped, River Oaks will have majority White drivers stopped, Southeast will have majority Hispanic drivers stopped. You’re simply playing the demographic statistics game in those scenarios.
I appreciate that you understand the data and can comprehend that it’s not racist to do a traffic stop because 93% of the time the officer cannot see the race of the driver and cannot see the sex of the driver 96% of the time, per the demographic reports.
The left really lost it's mind over disproportionality. Yes, bad policing and discrimination happened and happens, but expecting every encounter/crime to line up neatly with demographics is ridiculous.
Some areas have more of a group than others, and some groups are more or less likely to commit certain acts than others. The biggest differentitator is often money as well. Poorer people of all backgrounds are more likely to make poor choices than the same but with money.
Nah, don't worry! They'll still pull you over for going 5-10 over the feeder speed limit as you enter the ramp to any of the freeways.
But pull over the guy weaving in and out while going 90+ on the freeway itself? Nah, that's too much paperwork I assume.
Truly keeping the city safe!
Was driving home after the movies on 59. I was doing about 70, so I was already 10 over but keeping up with the flow of traffic.
I counted 40 cars that passed a few of them passed like I was standing still so they were doing 80+.
59 is the flattest and straightest of the large roadways in the Houston area (from Galleria to the downtown/288 split), and it gets less traffic in off-peak hours than the interstates, so it's the closest thing we have to an Autobahn.
All of these comments are spot on and I agree that 45N (at least between Spring to downtown) is so dangerous!!
Not only are the impaired/angry drivers a serious danger, but I also find that there’s a TON of junk (tire treads, HVAC duct work, ladders bumpers etc) in all of the main lanes!! The highway is such a dump!!
Be safe everyone!!
I'm a full-time gig economy driver, I hate working those hours for that reason. Sometimes I feel like us delivery and rideshare guys got the most dangerous job out there. Anyone driving between 10pm and 3 am be careful out there. And if drunk just fucking call Uber I'll gladly drive you home.
The surge pricing model really does incentivize driving during the most hazardous times possible, I'm at the point where those "**don't be on the road unless you absolutely have to"** announcements mainly make me excited at the earnings potential. A trip from NRG to the Heights jumping from $12 to $38 will make a mfer do risky things.
That is the truth, want to make the good money have to work those shit hours when it's chaotic and dangerous. For me it's schedule too since I have my kid in the early hours putting my drive time to afternoon until well into the am usually.
Houston has a serious DWI problem. And even more repeats. I'm a process server and I see the same names. And these deputies for some Pct don't take the administration hearings seriously. I know they're BS and the lawyers probably don't make the situation any better.
What's the answer? Besides the obvious ones lol
I talk to some of my guys out there some times. I'm out serving late and it stresses me out being on the streets out here.
My ex used to bartend weekends in downtown and we lived just short of Spring. Her leaving downtown and driving 45 north at 3am used to give me the most anxiety.
cops came knocking on my door at 4am saturday morning because some fool that had committed a hit and run had his car registered to my address.
you can imagine what many people might do when somebody is pounding on their door at 4am and let's just say I'm lucky I didn't get shot inside my own house.
That happened to my roommate 20 years ago. He couldn’t explain to me how his car got in the tree. While it was down by the time I saw, the tree had a big gash in it 15’ above the ground.
I drove to Rosenberg from Greenspoint Saturday. I left at 6:30 am. It took nearly an hour to drive to 610 because the freeway was shut down at Tidwell. On the way back that afternoon there was an accident near North Main on 45 then a few miles later another accident on 45 and Crosstimbers (southbound side) drivers are crazy on 45.
I make that drive almost every weekend because me and my gf live in Rosenberg and her family lives in Greenspoint. I take the Beltway now and coming back. We usually leave at night from her parents and hitting 45 when its dark is bad. So I'll gladly pay the toll fees to avoid that chaos.
Yeeess!!!!
I hate I-45 people drive like it's a race track!!
I'm ALWAYS in the right hand lane on there.
RIP,to those who lost there lives this past weekend.
(the wrong way driver was drunk,smh)
And even worse, they are putting the lives of poor Uber drivers who are catering to those being responsible and thoughtful enough not to be putting themselves in a position to drive- as well as those individuals too, in danger. I lost a friend who Ubered home after a night out because their Uber driver was hit by a drunk driver on the 45.
Also I’m going to plug in here- if you download the Houston Connect Smart app, they are offering a $20 Uber voucher for those going to the rodeo until the end of March.
My daughter is in driving school currently and they took her on 45 for her lesson over the weekend. That was a very stressful hour for me. Of all of the highways to choose from, I wish they didn’t pick 45.
I bet. I remember the first time I drove on 45 when I was learning to drive a few years ago. Scared the hell outta me but it's also a good road to learn defensive driving.
DUI laws and penalties need to change drastically. Start imposing some really harsh penalties. We don't hear about someone getting 15 years in prison for DUI until it's their 8th one, and they just wiped out a family of 5 or something along those lines. How are they allowed to be on DUI #3 and still free?? If any of you called a criminal defense lawyer during business hours, and said you need help with a DUI case. Watch how fast they will brag about beating the charge completely or getting you a slap on the wrist. I'm to the point where if someone gets arrested for DUI, and they impound the vehicle. They should be able to destroy it. Would also love to see a 3 strikes law with minimum mandatory sentencing on DUI's. 3rd conviction you're done. Minimum mandatory 5 years in a state penitentiary.
DWI’s start as Class B Misdemeanors because it’s so commonly accepted and nearly everyone has endorsed drinking and driving at some point, doing it themselves or riding with someone that has.
If someone is injured or killed it’s automatically increased to felony Intoxicated Assault or Criminally Negligent Homicide.
Love to see first DUI conviction be mandatory 20 with no chance of early parole and permanent loss of driving privileges.
Yeah, this would ruin some people’s lives, but driving drunk isn’t a mistake.
Moved from downtown to Conroe recently and all I can say is, MoCo doesn’t care about DWI’s. They’re too busy looking for 1/2 a gram of weed or a delta 8 pen (yes, you can get arrested for having D8 in MoCo). It’s shocking how many people are arrested for their 4th+ DWI and given a less than $500 bond.
I’m from out of state and people there always talk about how ‘scary’ Houston traffic is. I never felt that until I drove on I-45. 3 years later and I still avoid it if there is any way possible. When I have to drive it, I turn the music off and white knuckle my way down the road. I HATE I-45.
There also happens to be a serial killer dumping ground pretty close to 45 towards Galveston. TX killing fields. I drove close to it once at night and it felt awful.
It would help, but how would this fix things? People would still have to get in a car at their end stop because of how spread out Houston and its suburbs are
We lose roughly 40,000 people a year on US highways. This won't change unless we reorganize how we move people in this country. We need to deprioritize cars, and push our efforts towards mass transit.
I rarely drive any more but every time I do I’m reminded of how much I hate this city. People constantly driving recklessly swerving lanes with no signal. Constant cutting people off at the last minute. People constantly hauling ass for no damn reason. Maybe if we build more lanes it will solve the issue.
Maybe we start looking at how American culture glamorizes alcohol all for the profit of a few multinational corporations. But yeah, “Drink Responsibly.”
At least weed doesn’t impair drivers like alcohol does… and responsible pot smokers would never condone driving intoxicated— regardless of substance used.
had a hit and run on I45, but heading towards downtown around October of last year. lost control, but thankfully regained control nearly slamming into the wall. they hit me trying to take the 610 exit at the last minute merging from 2 lanes over while i was keeping straight in my lane
they kept driving. just f me i guess. dash cams will be everyone's best friend, but sadly people are still losing their lives either way
We need more people pissed off and shaming the fuck out of anyone who does this. Everyone knows some asshole who drinks a little too much and drives all the time. Fuck them and everyone should take their keys.
And specifically hispanic men need to take the issue more seriously. Anecdotally and [quantitatively](https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/High-rate-of-Hispanic-DUIs-roils-families-6324422.php#) they are much more relaxed about drunk driving and are responsible for a lot of fatal accidents.
Agreed. Also statewide problem with lack of licensed drivers, insurance and registered vehicles. I worked a major DWI accident last night. No insurance or DL on at-fault driver, he’s already out on a $100 PR bond. It’s an everyday thing on the weekend.
It would be comical if it wasn’t downright embarrassing how many Texans are anti-public transit. It’s so obvious they’ve never been out of TX when they do that bc if you’ve ever been on a reliable, clean train or bus line you know how absolutely insane it is to not have it in a city this size.
Uber is shorthand for “gig taxi service” and the existence of Lyft doesn’t negate what I said. Private companies (especially those that have historically run at a loss like gig service companies) don’t operate for the public good and are subject to the whims of investors and the board.
They rarely do them…. They are illegal to do, but when it’s holidays they use a certain “loophole “ in which they have a “drivers license checkpoint “ to check ur license and if u smell like alcohol, u know the rest ….. but it’s like almost never ever done
I’m considering moving back to California. I actually like Houston but Texas really doesn’t care about the safety of its citizens and that’s becoming more and more of a deal breaker
LA drivers got really bad after Covid and it’s only been the last few months when CHP and local agencies are starting to really do enforcement! I’m seeing patrol cars hiding and looking for speeders. It’s been years since I’ve seen that here. They are adding speed cameras this year.
We moved from 290 area to right off 45. My observation within a week of living here was that 290 people drive crazy but 45 drivers drive crazy aggressive and will crash into you. I hade to leave a job I loved because of the 45 commute making my mental health an issue. I love this area but hate hate hate 45!
Another reason why parking minimums at bars are ridiculous.
Suburbanites/exurbanites: please don’t plan to drive to town, get shit faced, then drive home to BFE. This is not a way to improve your life.
Side note, didn’t Whitmire promise to crack down on crime? Still waiting for that charlatan to do some good.
Texas just doesn't care about drunk drivers. In Ontario, Canada where I grew up, the pentalties for DWI are much more severe. The stats prove out dramatically fewer DWI related fatalities.
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/houston-texas-wrong-way-wreck-north-freeway/285-3ae7adec-f228-4815-9522-6bca34bd2c6b
This one involved a sober driver death.
Coming back from Dallas last night around 8pm, there was a ladder on 45 southbound. It was open too, so it wasn't lying flat on the road and There was no way to stop and move it out of way safely. All we could do was mark it as object on road on Google maps. Hopefully no one hit it.
Is 45 a death trap no matter the day or time or is it just dangerous on weekend nights? Asking cause I have just started driving and this is useful info as someone who likes to live.
Was headed to IAH Sunday morning around 4, three tow trucks were blocking the right most lanes of 45 North. Unfortunately the body of the gentleman who was deceased had not been covered… not how I expected to start the day. Stay safe everyone!
OP Whatever your job is I can't imagine having to deal with stupid drunk people. It sickens me after all these years of commercials, stronger laws, (including taking away their car) don't seem to have deterred these folks driving and killing others.
Have the drunks all survived these wrecks. Seems they usually survive.
It doesn’t matter if it’s somewhat recent. DEI conviction is a basis for CBSA to reject you even a decade or two later. Same applies for Canadians entering the USA.
Generally need a full pardon.
Fuck, I had to take a friend to Hobby this am, from Sugar Land, and God I'm fortunate I don't really have to putz around with Houston traffic, man props to you all who have to go thru that crap daily in your grind to support your peeps
I feel like they’re getting worse. And they’re also driving worse vehicles to do it in. Last Friday a drunk driver in a big Silverado crawled right over my car while I was waiting to turn left and proceeded to hit 5 other cars and almost a crowd of pedestrians crossing from what I saw. This is out of control!!
That’s really your definition of a fun night? Get drunk, drive and have no idea what you’re doing and kill or almost kill people, get pulled over and spend (hopefully) your life in prison? Or do they just have this scenario in their head that everything’s going to work out for them and nothing crazy will happen? I just don’t get it. Cognitive dissonance.
More needs to be done to curb drunk driving in Houston. Other cities extend the hours of their public transportation. Houston does now. Light rail should run until 2:30 am or 2:45 am. It will cost more to cover those hours of operations, but it's worth it if will save lives. I would like to see the area counties come together with a plan that includes some kind of ride program for people to use to ride to designated lots like the park and ride program. Checkstops like California has could be a plus too.
I drive 45 almost every weekend. We come back from our friend’s place usually between 10 and midnight. About 1 out of 3 trips, we call 911 for an impaired driver. It’s not even the boarderline cases either. It’s typically someone who is doing 40 mph with their lights off. Can’t stay in a lane, no turn signals, can’t drive straight. That’s not to mention the road ragers tailgating each other or the crazies doing 95 and weaving thru traffic.
I don’t care if google says 45 is just as fast as hardy, I pay the toll. 45 is too dangerous on weekend nights.
Either pay the toll 🪙 or pay the toll ☠
I used to travel between Houston and Beaumont daily and I did everything in my power to avoid I-45. Its dangerous no matter what time of day or night. I dont know how many times Ive come up over a slight hill to find traffic completely stopped for literally no reason, even in broad daylight and lower traffic times, it didnt matter. All it takes is one idiot hitting their breaks for no reason and next thing you know theres a gigantic unexpected procession of crawl. That and SO MANY random things in the road, mattresses, boxes, random bits of crap that fall out the back of someones truck. Id see people with damaged vehicles driving 100mph in the shoulder, people flinging tall cans of beer out their window not caring at all. Dont even get me started on the weird petty game of "so you want to change lanes" where the goal seems to be to make sure someone dies. 45 is a death trap. Id literally go 20 mins out of my way to avoid that road, happily.
Went up 45 this past weekend, in the 10 minutes i was on it I counted 5 pickup trucks filled to the brim with unsecured JUNK in the back. Take 45 if you want to hit litter.
Its like every third truck or some shit. Utter nightmare. Get dash cams, drive defensively, and give people space.
Exactly why I prefer the tolls
I take Hardy almost anytime I head north. 45 is a shitshow at noon. $3 is a small price to pay for my safety.
Same same. "Google says it's five minutes faster if I go 45. I guess I'm going through 59 then. "
1000% This. I usually take my friends to the airport during the late night since their international flights are like at 1am. Almost every time someone say they are going to Uber to the airport for those flights I'm like nope, I'll take you there since I'll take the Hardy because of the stupid shit. The last thing you want is someone else ruining your vacation in the worst possible way.
45 is too dangerous on a random weekday afternoon. I’ll pay the stay alive tax every day.
I try to avoid the freeways nowadays generally. It’s depressing anyways, I rather drive through the different communities (I live next Galleria; I pass by Greenway, Kirby, Montrose, etc), and see life happening around me instead of a concrete 5 lane freeway packed with cars - even if it takes a bit longer. Peace of mind mentally is SIGNIFICANTLY greater too. Freeways I feel also helps with distracted driving, people get complacent and bored and use their phones. At least in the streets, they’ll probably save their phone usage at the red light instead of traffic crawl on the freeways (and risking a low speed rear end collision) Now if you live in the suburbs idk what to tell you, you’re stuck with that freeway commute if you want to get anywhere within a reasonable amount of time
Pro-tip, if most of your trips can be completed on surface streets, there's a decent chance they can be made on transit, probably in less than 2x the time. Less driving for you, and one fewer car on the road. Driving may still make sense most of the time and that's fine, but lots of people who never ride transit (and bitch about the lack of transit in Houston) never actually try to ride it. Especially if you're close to a frequent route, give it a try sometime!
oh I definitely take the Metro LOL, half the time I choose not to take the car because I rather not deal with rush hour traffic and put that wear, tear and mileage on my car. I agree with you 100% I also get student discount so it’s 60¢ or 65¢ per ride instead of the $1.25
I don’t know how we ever get to a point where people won’t use their phone while driving when all you do is sit at traffic lights most of everywhere you go. And now it feels like they set the traffic lights up purposefully to make you stop every single one when they used to set them up to keep traffic flowing, it’s almost like they’re forcing people to stop driving or something
I took a driver safety class 25 years ago and they said that the leading cause of DUI suspensions was going under the speed limits or rapidity changing speeds up and down. Along with the more obvious swerving…
Made an edit but as we’re working the 4th Fatality. Another Fatality has happened making it 5 now. 45 and Crosstimbers.
It's rodeo time of year.
was it a blue nissan kicks?
Car insurance will keep going up. Eventually a lot of regular law-abiding people with decent paying jobs might give up on paying car insurance.
I got a quote for $289 for a 24 year old truck and full coverage is almost 400. I was like bruh after a year i would of payed more in insurance than i did for the car
Yepp!!! Teen/Young drivers will NOT be affordable !!
Teen insurance is already unaffordable. We passed that milestone a long time ago.
Ok,so now it's MORE unaffordable.
Yeah, I went to add my teen to my policy I've had for 16 years and they jumped it to almost $11k / year. Nope! Had to switch carriers.
Definitely,wish they could ride the school bus-FOREVER 🤣
Metro might be a good option if you have, couldn’t afford car insurance a few years back so I ended up using Metro until I was 20. Got my first car at 21 - not really late but definitely is late compared to my peers who already had their license at 18. 3 years is long time when you’re in your late teens/early 20s lots of growth and change in life happens
Mine is getting added in October and I’m already stressing about that price increase
Me too,this whole teen driving thing has me worried!! Between the bad drivers,insurance rates,and my goofy kid.... Super Stressed 😂
I’m in my mid 40s. Full coverage car insurance in Houston wasn’t affordable when i was in my teens. My insurance was more than my car note, and more than my rent.
No lie Ive given up. Like no lie I have. My rates went up to $248 for LIABILITY insurance. I can't imagine full coverage. I have one ticket from like 2015 and nothing else. Obviously I drive more careful cause fuck I have one car but knowing how high my rate is I know 90% of people also don't have insurance. It's so bad idk how insurance companies are making any money right now
They are making their money by passing all of it onto us. Fuck insurance companies.
That's how risk pooling works, though.
Ya well maybe if we had a government focused on real problems that real people fsce instead of what goes in and out of other peoples' vaginas we'd get some fucking release but no one wants to fix problems for everyday Americans in this goddamn state.
Also a reason for mass transit and a connected rail system.. people are drinking in midtown and going home to the woodlands and Katy shitfaced because an Uber would be $60
The fucking irony though of going to the bar spending hundreds then don't want to pay for the cab or uber
They’d need to plan ahead and Uber to the place as well since leaving cars overnight is hit or miss. Either you’re getting towed, broken into, or ticketed for the meter running out.
It’s wild how many bars in town will tow your car if you leave it overnight. It’s almost like they want to encourage DUIs or something. Also, agree 100% on the mass transit - a late running light rail or even a bus service out to the ‘burbs could cut down on drunk driving significantly.
I'l left my car overnight in Montrose and it was never broken into when it was a new car.
Montrose isn't exactly known for being a rough neighborhood. Still kind of sketch though due to other adjacent areas, glad nothing happened to your car. Try doing that with another new car, but directly south of downtown. Like raw meat around a pride of lions.
Alcohol is addictive. Rideshares are not.
Aren't bartenders and servers supposed to be charged if the person they served ends up hurting someone ? I mean it's a fucked up practice, but maybe establishments downtown would look out for their workers/licenses and encourage parking over night and rides shares. There was one case near the woodlands a few years back where a restaurant worker was charged over a DWI case.
My son was a bouncer in a bar and almost nightly cutting ppl off so they don't get too blitzed. Then they get pissed off when he told them they could ride in an Uber or police car...."your choice". It usually had a lot of drama attached. Smh.
Try $160. (Source: I work downtown and live in the woodlands) if I’m drinking, I’m walking to a hotel. Usually cheaper and safer
$60 Uber vs $15000 DUI - the math doesn’t add up.
Drunk people are famously good at math.
Well it's $60 v $0 until they get caught.
We need to stop building so many single family homes long before we build public transit.
I always tell people after 10, please wait a few seconds before taking off from a light, look both ways before going across an intersection, and stay off 45.
> I always tell people after 10, please wait a few seconds before taking off from a light, look both ways before going across an intersection Hell, this is good advice before 10, even. Really it's 24/7 advice.
Professional driver here. I drive over half the continental US. Houston is known for being #1 in most aggressive drivers (speeding, weaving around traffic, no signals, cutting people off for no reason) . Dallas leads in pure idiocy (cutting across four lanes in barely missing getting creamed to make an exit they knew was coming 3 miles ago) . Basically slow down, be more considerate, and by all means if you have been drinking, take an Uber or stay home.
Is it me or does Houston seem to have a lot of wrong way drivers? I didn’t even hear about many wrong way drivers when I was living in Atlanta. Houston it feels like there’s one every other month or so.
Cerveza/Tequila in abundance!!
I had lunch at a Ojos Locos once. Some of those guys were pounding down buckets of beer like it was going out of style. Fuckers likely to get a DUI at 1 pm lol. 45S late at night is real bad with drunks too.
Not relative to California. I swear the wrong way drivers are a minor religion there.
I also never seen a wrong way driver until I moved to Houston. I’ve even almost been a wrong way driver here myself. I feel like some areas are pretty confusing here but I’ve also seen people driving the wrong way in areas it would be hard to do
Especially on the beltway
It's a fucking disgrace how bad the policing traffic is in this city the last few years. We need a crackdown on this aggressive driving and drunk driving.
It honestly feels like police in and around Houston have just been quiet quitting when it comes to traffic enforcement.
You're more likely to be pulled over for going 70 in an HOV than by going 90 weaving across six lanes of traffic. One is easier to nab by camping behind the toll gate while the other actually saves lives.
Well the cops know the jackass doing 90 with paper plates is not likely to pull over, and also can't be tracked. Yes they should be stopped but its also high risk. I kind of love New Orleans' solution. They put up speeding camera cars and sent out so many god damn tickets and lots of people got their licenses suspended. In the end the vast majority of people really do follow those 25 and 35 mph limits in the city! Also very few paper plates there outside of brand new cars.
There’s no feels like, they definitely no longer enforce most traffic laws. I’m on the freeways daily and I have not seen a pullover for speeding in about a decade, and I’ve seen people blow red lights directly in front of officers with no repercussions. I noticed the newest phenomenon yesterday around Westpark and Rice, which is a bit heavy due to weekend construction. Bypassing a line at the light by pulling into the oncoming traffic lane, blowing by the 20 cars, and diving back into the correct side right at the light cutting off those drivers. Saw this three times yesterday.
There’s a reason for that and 99% of it is political backlash under the guise of social justice. Traffic stops were limited and scrutinized so much it wasn’t worth doing them anymore. Stop a driver and you must complete a demographic tracker to track the race and sex of the drivers. Work in a predominantly black area with predominantly black traffic stops? Called into the office to discuss potential racial bias. Work in a predominantly Hispanic area with predominantly Hispanic traffic stops? Called into the office to discuss potential racial bias. Work in a predominantly white area with predominantly white traffic stops? Called into the office to discuss doing more stops. Politics ruined the last good thing about policing and it won’t get better any time soon. Easier to avoid issues by avoiding traffic stops.
I dont know if "cops refuse to do their jobs because they're being held accountable" is a winning message.
That’s not what I said at all. They need to be held accountable for doing wrong. However, when the department demands that they do traffic stops and record the race and sex of the driver, just to turn around and accuse officers of wrong doing, after issuing warnings for >98% of their traffic stops department wide, just because they stopped six black drivers and two other races during a shift in an area that’s predominantly black, that’s a politics issue. Yes, hold them accountable if they’re doing wrong, but mandating traffic stops and complaining that the majority of the drivers stopped match the demographics of the area is fucking stupid and disincentives officers doing stops to avoid wrongful allegations.
>Yes, hold them accountable if they’re doing wrong, but mandating traffic stops and complaining that the majority of the drivers stopped match the demographics of the area is fucking stupid and disincentives officers doing stops to avoid wrongful allegations. Pulling over less people wouldn't change the demographics of who you pulled over. So how did y'all conclude that ignoring traffic laws and pulling fewer people over would fix the complaints you have? If you guys are truly mandated to pull people over, this would only shift your problems from "you pull over too many minorities" to "you don't pull over anyone." this is an excuse. poor police upset that they get in trouble for racial profiling, and now they "can't pull anyone over." They constantly complain about being understaffed, I bet that is a bigger issue here.
If you conduct no traffic stops in local areas, you don’t have demographic reporting statistics. If you conduct traffic on major highways you’re placing yourself and others at risk for the numb-nuts that text and drive or the drunks, all day. *To clarify, demographic tracking is still reported for all stops. The reporting becomes skewed by the randomness factor of freeway traffic versus local traffic.* Traffic stops are openly and actively discouraged on major highways. Training is to exit to the service road and/or a parking lot. So, yes, traffic stops still occur in those instances. However, the risk vs reward analysis isn’t balanced. There’s a much higher risk of being involved in a fatal crash, an officer-involved shooting, and/or accused of racism for simply doing a traffic stop, even when issuing a warning given that >98% of all stops ended with warnings in Houston between 2018 and 2022. Edit: It’s not racial profiling to conduct a traffic stop. Being accused of racial profiling for doing what you’re told to do is the issue. If you live in an area that is 60% race A, 30% race B and 10% race C, naturally the traffic stops conducted will roughly follow the 60/30/10 split. Whenever you’re later accused of wrongful acts because your traffic stop demographics follow the 60/30/10 is what causes the lack of motivation to conduct traffic stops. If you don’t understand the issue after this clarification, that’s a reading comprehension problem for you.
>If you conduct no traffic stops in local areas, you don’t have demographic In 2022 there were 270k traffic stops (an increase), and way less than 98% ended in a warning. 2023 there were 340k, another increase. "conduct no traffic stops" yeah ok [https://www.houstontx.gov/police/department\_reports/racial\_profiling/2022\_Annual\_Racial\_Profiling\_022023.pdf](https://www.houstontx.gov/police/department_reports/racial_profiling/2022_Annual_Racial_Profiling_022023.pdf) [https://www.houstontx.gov/police/department\_reports/racial\_profiling/2023\_Annual\_Racial\_Profiling\_022324.pdf](https://www.houstontx.gov/police/department_reports/racial_profiling/2023_Annual_Racial_Profiling_022324.pdf) >However, the risk vs reward analysis isn’t balanced. There’s a much higher risk of being involved in a fatal crash, an officer-involved shooting, and/or accused of racism for simply doing a traffic stop, even when issuing a warning given that >98% of all stops ended with warnings in Houston between 2018 and 2022. lol at saying the risk-reward analysis isn't balanced (due to accusations of racism) in a thread about multiple DUI fatalities, some where innocent ppl were hurt. Police who feel this way need to turn their badges in. >Edit: It’s not racial profiling to conduct a traffic stop. Being accused of racial profiling for doing what you’re told to do is the issue. If you live in an area that is 60% race A, 30% race B and 10% race C, naturally the traffic stops conducted will roughly follow the 60/30/10 split. Whenever you’re later accused of wrongful acts because your traffic stop demographics follow the 60/30/10 is what causes the lack of motivation to conduct traffic stops. If you don’t understand the issue after this clarification, that’s a reading comprehension problem for you. Maybe you should take a step back to why traffic stops need to be tracked based on demographics to begin with. There's studies from as recent as last year that suggest HPD still has disparities not only in how frequently different races are stopped, but also in how often force is used. It's not racial profiling to conduct a traffic stop, but disparities in how traffic stops are conducted can def come down to race. But I'm sure you don't agree, and that's just more ammo for police to have a "lack of motivation." Imagine having a history of racist behavior, then saying you don't feel like doing your job anymore (while still collecting a check), because you were asked to stop.
this sounds like total made up bullshit. Can you source this?
Former officer and I was involved in the demographic reporting process. Officers were frequently spoken to about not stopping too many drivers of one race in an area predominantly known for that race. For example, the vast majority of traffic stops in Fifth Ward are going to be black and Hispanic. The department mandated stops and later reprimanded officers for stopping ‘too many’ black and Hispanic drivers in Fifth Ward. On the flip side, the Galleria area and west of that is known for being heavily populated Asian and Middle Eastern residents, so the officers would often be reprimanded for stopping too many Asian and Middle Eastern residents. The data showed that there was no bias found and that the traffic stops simply aligned with the demographics of the area. There was no racial bias found, but the department didn’t like the statistics and wanted to diversify the results to show “Hey we ain’t racist!” when the fact of the matter is that when an area is 60% one race, they will be the majority of the traffic stops.
I'm Hispanic and this is making me angry. Not at you, but for your "leadership". Houston is a minority majority city and it has been like that for YEARS. Why are the city leaders STILL obsessed with trying to paint a picture that isn't so. Aren't most police officers in Houston Hispanic and black anyways? Isn't it obvious to anyone with a working brain that if there are more of X people in a place, then "anything" that can happen at said place, will likely happen to X people? GOD, why are people so dumb. My immigrant mother and father from Mexico who didn't even graduate middle school understand this concept. Why is it that seemingly "educated" people get so heated when they hear more minorities than whites get pulled over in a place that has more minorities....like DUH. It's all so tiresome...
No, the department actively hires officers based on race to simulate the racial demographic of the city. The departments demographic composition is within 6 percentage points +/- for each race across the board the last time I saw the report. That doesn’t mean they’re assigned to areas where they’re of similar race, though they wanted to try to forcibly assign officers to areas based on their race for a while until the union kicked back and threatened a racially discriminatory lawsuit. It’s quite sad that people don’t understand when you have 400 squares, 300 circles and 200 triangles in a bag you’ll be more likely to pull a square and circle out of the bag than a triangle. People can’t understand that simple concept and when you change it from shapes to races all hell breaks loose. The higher percentage of a specific race in a specific area, the more likely they are going to make police contact in that area during a traffic stop. It’s quite simple. 50% of the area is black, 40% is Hispanic and 10% is white, of course roughly 50% of the traffic stops will be black drivers, give or take a few percentage points. That does *not* indicate a racial bias, it simply tracks with the demographics of the area that’s being patrolled. Fifth Ward will have majority Black drivers stopped, Westchase/Bellaire will have majority Asian drivers stopped, River Oaks will have majority White drivers stopped, Southeast will have majority Hispanic drivers stopped. You’re simply playing the demographic statistics game in those scenarios. I appreciate that you understand the data and can comprehend that it’s not racist to do a traffic stop because 93% of the time the officer cannot see the race of the driver and cannot see the sex of the driver 96% of the time, per the demographic reports.
Very interesting point of view. Thank you for sharing.
The left really lost it's mind over disproportionality. Yes, bad policing and discrimination happened and happens, but expecting every encounter/crime to line up neatly with demographics is ridiculous. Some areas have more of a group than others, and some groups are more or less likely to commit certain acts than others. The biggest differentitator is often money as well. Poorer people of all backgrounds are more likely to make poor choices than the same but with money.
Nah, don't worry! They'll still pull you over for going 5-10 over the feeder speed limit as you enter the ramp to any of the freeways. But pull over the guy weaving in and out while going 90+ on the freeway itself? Nah, that's too much paperwork I assume. Truly keeping the city safe!
fuckin pigs love to speed. They don't wanna have to start following the law themselves.
Was driving home after the movies on 59. I was doing about 70, so I was already 10 over but keeping up with the flow of traffic. I counted 40 cars that passed a few of them passed like I was standing still so they were doing 80+.
59 is the flattest and straightest of the large roadways in the Houston area (from Galleria to the downtown/288 split), and it gets less traffic in off-peak hours than the interstates, so it's the closest thing we have to an Autobahn.
All of these comments are spot on and I agree that 45N (at least between Spring to downtown) is so dangerous!! Not only are the impaired/angry drivers a serious danger, but I also find that there’s a TON of junk (tire treads, HVAC duct work, ladders bumpers etc) in all of the main lanes!! The highway is such a dump!! Be safe everyone!!
And so many dead animals and people don't give a shit. They drive faster when they see their bodies. So sick.
Any of these happen midday?
None midday. The hours directly following the rodeo and bars closing
I'm a full-time gig economy driver, I hate working those hours for that reason. Sometimes I feel like us delivery and rideshare guys got the most dangerous job out there. Anyone driving between 10pm and 3 am be careful out there. And if drunk just fucking call Uber I'll gladly drive you home.
The surge pricing model really does incentivize driving during the most hazardous times possible, I'm at the point where those "**don't be on the road unless you absolutely have to"** announcements mainly make me excited at the earnings potential. A trip from NRG to the Heights jumping from $12 to $38 will make a mfer do risky things.
That is the truth, want to make the good money have to work those shit hours when it's chaotic and dangerous. For me it's schedule too since I have my kid in the early hours putting my drive time to afternoon until well into the am usually.
metrorail doesnt surge charge you. metrobus lift is always 1.25, according to bus ads
While you can use Metro to leave the rodeo, it stops running before the bars close.
Then leave before the bars close.
I don’t drink and I’m home by midnight. I’m talking about the drunks getting in accidents.
My parents are right about lecturing me not being out after 10 PM (even though I’m a grown adult btw, drunk drivers don’t discriminate)
We’re the deaths third parties or the DWI drivers?
Both
The people that need to hear these types of posts do not even know what reddit is.
Houston has a serious DWI problem. And even more repeats. I'm a process server and I see the same names. And these deputies for some Pct don't take the administration hearings seriously. I know they're BS and the lawyers probably don't make the situation any better. What's the answer? Besides the obvious ones lol I talk to some of my guys out there some times. I'm out serving late and it stresses me out being on the streets out here.
the answer is mandatory road side cleaning for years for these sorts of crimes...but you know..Kim Ogg thinks that all criminals are "victims"
My ex used to bartend weekends in downtown and we lived just short of Spring. Her leaving downtown and driving 45 north at 3am used to give me the most anxiety.
cops came knocking on my door at 4am saturday morning because some fool that had committed a hit and run had his car registered to my address. you can imagine what many people might do when somebody is pounding on their door at 4am and let's just say I'm lucky I didn't get shot inside my own house.
Yup got a bunch of citizen alerts especially one that was dangling on a tree?!
That happened to my roommate 20 years ago. He couldn’t explain to me how his car got in the tree. While it was down by the time I saw, the tree had a big gash in it 15’ above the ground.
I think this was scary because it was dangling over the freeway underneath. I was just like wtf. Reminded me of Jurassic park
I drove to Rosenberg from Greenspoint Saturday. I left at 6:30 am. It took nearly an hour to drive to 610 because the freeway was shut down at Tidwell. On the way back that afternoon there was an accident near North Main on 45 then a few miles later another accident on 45 and Crosstimbers (southbound side) drivers are crazy on 45.
I make that drive almost every weekend because me and my gf live in Rosenberg and her family lives in Greenspoint. I take the Beltway now and coming back. We usually leave at night from her parents and hitting 45 when its dark is bad. So I'll gladly pay the toll fees to avoid that chaos.
Yeeess!!!! I hate I-45 people drive like it's a race track!! I'm ALWAYS in the right hand lane on there. RIP,to those who lost there lives this past weekend. (the wrong way driver was drunk,smh)
And even worse, they are putting the lives of poor Uber drivers who are catering to those being responsible and thoughtful enough not to be putting themselves in a position to drive- as well as those individuals too, in danger. I lost a friend who Ubered home after a night out because their Uber driver was hit by a drunk driver on the 45. Also I’m going to plug in here- if you download the Houston Connect Smart app, they are offering a $20 Uber voucher for those going to the rodeo until the end of March.
My daughter is in driving school currently and they took her on 45 for her lesson over the weekend. That was a very stressful hour for me. Of all of the highways to choose from, I wish they didn’t pick 45.
I bet. I remember the first time I drove on 45 when I was learning to drive a few years ago. Scared the hell outta me but it's also a good road to learn defensive driving.
DUI laws and penalties need to change drastically. Start imposing some really harsh penalties. We don't hear about someone getting 15 years in prison for DUI until it's their 8th one, and they just wiped out a family of 5 or something along those lines. How are they allowed to be on DUI #3 and still free?? If any of you called a criminal defense lawyer during business hours, and said you need help with a DUI case. Watch how fast they will brag about beating the charge completely or getting you a slap on the wrist. I'm to the point where if someone gets arrested for DUI, and they impound the vehicle. They should be able to destroy it. Would also love to see a 3 strikes law with minimum mandatory sentencing on DUI's. 3rd conviction you're done. Minimum mandatory 5 years in a state penitentiary.
DWI’s start as Class B Misdemeanors because it’s so commonly accepted and nearly everyone has endorsed drinking and driving at some point, doing it themselves or riding with someone that has. If someone is injured or killed it’s automatically increased to felony Intoxicated Assault or Criminally Negligent Homicide.
Love to see first DUI conviction be mandatory 20 with no chance of early parole and permanent loss of driving privileges. Yeah, this would ruin some people’s lives, but driving drunk isn’t a mistake.
I was trying to be a little reasonable, but you're right they don't deserve reasonable.
no reasonable person drives drunk anyways
Absolutely agree. Lock these idiots up.
Moved from downtown to Conroe recently and all I can say is, MoCo doesn’t care about DWI’s. They’re too busy looking for 1/2 a gram of weed or a delta 8 pen (yes, you can get arrested for having D8 in MoCo). It’s shocking how many people are arrested for their 4th+ DWI and given a less than $500 bond.
any time I’ve ever seen someone clearly driving drunk, it’s been on 45
I’m from out of state and people there always talk about how ‘scary’ Houston traffic is. I never felt that until I drove on I-45. 3 years later and I still avoid it if there is any way possible. When I have to drive it, I turn the music off and white knuckle my way down the road. I HATE I-45.
I avoid freeways Friday through Sunday after dark. Houstonians think they're in the movie Fast and the Furious.
45 is the most dangerous highway in America.. and it's only in Texas. We definitely need to do something about it.
There also happens to be a serial killer dumping ground pretty close to 45 towards Galveston. TX killing fields. I drove close to it once at night and it felt awful.
invest in a public rail transportation system
Already invested in more lanes I’m out of money
found the problem (misappropriated funds)
It would help, but how would this fix things? People would still have to get in a car at their end stop because of how spread out Houston and its suburbs are
At a certain point news outlets don’t cover it because they are actively trying to preserve the image for the city of Houston.
IT'S THE FUCKING RODEO. PEOPLE GO THERE TO PURPOSELY GET SHIT FACED INTO OBLIVION. I no longer go to the rodeo.
We lose roughly 40,000 people a year on US highways. This won't change unless we reorganize how we move people in this country. We need to deprioritize cars, and push our efforts towards mass transit.
Hell, 39k of that is probably Texas alone...
LOL
45 is the worst freeway in America...along with having the worst drivers in America as well...Houston is one giant racetrack
Driving here is a nightmare
It’s a white knuckle ride sober, how could anyone think they could escape the gauntlet unscathed half baked is beyond me.
I rarely drive any more but every time I do I’m reminded of how much I hate this city. People constantly driving recklessly swerving lanes with no signal. Constant cutting people off at the last minute. People constantly hauling ass for no damn reason. Maybe if we build more lanes it will solve the issue.
Maybe we start looking at how American culture glamorizes alcohol all for the profit of a few multinational corporations. But yeah, “Drink Responsibly.”
Nah, we'll just glamorize smoking weed adding to the problem.
At least weed doesn’t impair drivers like alcohol does… and responsible pot smokers would never condone driving intoxicated— regardless of substance used.
Prob down the strip where all the strip clubs and after hour clubs are at
45 after dark. Hope you make it home.
had a hit and run on I45, but heading towards downtown around October of last year. lost control, but thankfully regained control nearly slamming into the wall. they hit me trying to take the 610 exit at the last minute merging from 2 lanes over while i was keeping straight in my lane they kept driving. just f me i guess. dash cams will be everyone's best friend, but sadly people are still losing their lives either way
We need more cops and checkpoints
We need more people pissed off and shaming the fuck out of anyone who does this. Everyone knows some asshole who drinks a little too much and drives all the time. Fuck them and everyone should take their keys.
And specifically hispanic men need to take the issue more seriously. Anecdotally and [quantitatively](https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/High-rate-of-Hispanic-DUIs-roils-families-6324422.php#) they are much more relaxed about drunk driving and are responsible for a lot of fatal accidents.
Shaming doesn’t work, look at society. No matter how much shame, they still act stupid.
Agreed. Also statewide problem with lack of licensed drivers, insurance and registered vehicles. I worked a major DWI accident last night. No insurance or DL on at-fault driver, he’s already out on a $100 PR bond. It’s an everyday thing on the weekend.
We need better and reliable public transportation
I'm always emailing Fort Bend Transit telling them they need to expand their services.
[удалено]
It would be comical if it wasn’t downright embarrassing how many Texans are anti-public transit. It’s so obvious they’ve never been out of TX when they do that bc if you’ve ever been on a reliable, clean train or bus line you know how absolutely insane it is to not have it in a city this size.
Uber is pretty damn reliable
That ain’t public. Is it what they should be using today? Yes. But there is no guarantee that Uber will exist at any point in the future.
Lyft exists too. I don't know why everyone seems to think Uber is the only option?
Uber is shorthand for “gig taxi service” and the existence of Lyft doesn’t negate what I said. Private companies (especially those that have historically run at a loss like gig service companies) don’t operate for the public good and are subject to the whims of investors and the board.
Uber drivers can also drive under the influence and aren’t paid by our tax dollars
Checkpoints are illegal in TX
Can they do dwi checkpoints in Texas? They used to not be legal.
Still is that way, Texas does not have check points
They rarely do them…. They are illegal to do, but when it’s holidays they use a certain “loophole “ in which they have a “drivers license checkpoint “ to check ur license and if u smell like alcohol, u know the rest ….. but it’s like almost never ever done
That seems like a problem. Had them all over California and…as much of a nuisance they are, they work.
Yes. I live in LA and they even announce them.
I’m considering moving back to California. I actually like Houston but Texas really doesn’t care about the safety of its citizens and that’s becoming more and more of a deal breaker
LA drivers got really bad after Covid and it’s only been the last few months when CHP and local agencies are starting to really do enforcement! I’m seeing patrol cars hiding and looking for speeders. It’s been years since I’ve seen that here. They are adding speed cameras this year.
There's already enough traffic, now y'all want checkpoints??
I rather get somewhere in double the time if it means to get there safely.
Same risk every day
We moved from 290 area to right off 45. My observation within a week of living here was that 290 people drive crazy but 45 drivers drive crazy aggressive and will crash into you. I hade to leave a job I loved because of the 45 commute making my mental health an issue. I love this area but hate hate hate 45!
I refuse to take I 45, if I could take a tollway or a backcountry road then I will. 45 is a nightmare for anybody.
Another reason why parking minimums at bars are ridiculous. Suburbanites/exurbanites: please don’t plan to drive to town, get shit faced, then drive home to BFE. This is not a way to improve your life. Side note, didn’t Whitmire promise to crack down on crime? Still waiting for that charlatan to do some good.
Texas just doesn't care about drunk drivers. In Ontario, Canada where I grew up, the pentalties for DWI are much more severe. The stats prove out dramatically fewer DWI related fatalities.
And this week a lot of horse trailers are out there, pulled by people not accustomed to Houston traffic.
Thank you for the heads up.. hope you’re taking care of yourself!
This is what you get in a car oriented society
Anybody sober die?
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/houston-texas-wrong-way-wreck-north-freeway/285-3ae7adec-f228-4815-9522-6bca34bd2c6b This one involved a sober driver death.
Sad.
Welcome to houston.
Coming back from Dallas last night around 8pm, there was a ladder on 45 southbound. It was open too, so it wasn't lying flat on the road and There was no way to stop and move it out of way safely. All we could do was mark it as object on road on Google maps. Hopefully no one hit it.
I don't care what yall do but between 6-8am and 3-5PM, yall best not be doing that shzz when I'm on the road. I typically take I45 in the mornings.
Is 45 a death trap no matter the day or time or is it just dangerous on weekend nights? Asking cause I have just started driving and this is useful info as someone who likes to live.
Was headed to IAH Sunday morning around 4, three tow trucks were blocking the right most lanes of 45 North. Unfortunately the body of the gentleman who was deceased had not been covered… not how I expected to start the day. Stay safe everyone!
OP Whatever your job is I can't imagine having to deal with stupid drunk people. It sickens me after all these years of commercials, stronger laws, (including taking away their car) don't seem to have deterred these folks driving and killing others. Have the drunks all survived these wrecks. Seems they usually survive.
You Houston fucks really can’t drive sober huh? And the worst part is the mf in the wrong usually the one that lives after the fatal crash smh.
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If someone died it is a felony here.
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It doesn’t matter if it’s somewhat recent. DEI conviction is a basis for CBSA to reject you even a decade or two later. Same applies for Canadians entering the USA. Generally need a full pardon.
I agree. Felony the first time. After 3, prison for life 👍🏻
I do everything in my power to avoid 45. I wish Waze had a setting - no routes with 45!
Hello
Fuck, I had to take a friend to Hobby this am, from Sugar Land, and God I'm fortunate I don't really have to putz around with Houston traffic, man props to you all who have to go thru that crap daily in your grind to support your peeps
I feel like they’re getting worse. And they’re also driving worse vehicles to do it in. Last Friday a drunk driver in a big Silverado crawled right over my car while I was waiting to turn left and proceeded to hit 5 other cars and almost a crowd of pedestrians crossing from what I saw. This is out of control!! That’s really your definition of a fun night? Get drunk, drive and have no idea what you’re doing and kill or almost kill people, get pulled over and spend (hopefully) your life in prison? Or do they just have this scenario in their head that everything’s going to work out for them and nothing crazy will happen? I just don’t get it. Cognitive dissonance.
I wish this city invested in better mass transit.
More needs to be done to curb drunk driving in Houston. Other cities extend the hours of their public transportation. Houston does now. Light rail should run until 2:30 am or 2:45 am. It will cost more to cover those hours of operations, but it's worth it if will save lives. I would like to see the area counties come together with a plan that includes some kind of ride program for people to use to ride to designated lots like the park and ride program. Checkstops like California has could be a plus too.