Driving Requires Attention

[Aspen500]

Plus they have to keep additional damage to both the car and building to a minimum.

 

[kkritsilas]

The type of tow truck that is used to pick up semi trailers, or a full on crane (cranes are crazy expensive to rent, and the semi-tow truck won't be cheap). A Semi tow truck is about $C500-800/hour, just to lift. You will pay for mileage to get the the trailer home if it isn't drive-able (need a huge ass semi that the trailer could be put on if not drive-able) which is also very expensive.

 

[Aspen500]

Just call O'Hare Towing!

 

[kkritsilas]

There's a show on History Channel (I don't know if you get it in the US) called "Highway Through Hell". It is based in Alberta, mostly through the passes in the mountains (Rogers, Coquihalla) and Highway 63 (to Fort McMurray) where the forest fire is). The show centers on a couple of Heavy Rescue tow companies. Ohare has it easy, they are in the city, and while it does have traffic around, it isn't full oh highway in winter conditions. They also tend to hot have to lift stuff buried in forest. There ws one episode in which the semi was in so deep, two of their own trucks were not powerful enough, so they brought in a 16 wheel drive truck/monster (think tank retriever sized), and chained it to the tractor trailer, and got it out that way. Heavy Rescue trucks are as big as the biggest of the Ohare trucks.

 

[Aspen500]

Don't get that one here in the U.S.
I only know of O'Hare from the show they used to be on. "Wrecked" I think it was. Even in the city, they got into some hairy recoveries.

 

[Aspen500]

Next time I have a day off and decide to go over to the bank in the afternoon, please shoot me. It's about 8 mile round trip with 1/2 of it on the freeway and took 45 minutes. Only 5 of those minutes was actually in the bank. Everyone was driving just fine, the problem was there are just so many damn everyone's! Guess I forgot what weekday traffic is like around here. Now I remember,,,,,,,,,,it's bleeping insane As an example, the left turn lane for the on ramp I used on the return trip is about 25 cars long. I'd estimate I was about 50 cars away from even being IN the turn lane when I first stopped. Granted, with the lights having sensors the arrow stays on a long time for that many vehicles but it still has a time limit of (I'd guess) a minute or so. Moral of the story: Unless absolutely necessary, do NOT go out in mid day traffic weekdays!

You'd think I'd have turned around and came back home when I saw the 2 left turn lanes to get on the freeway by my house were backed up quite a ways. Stupid, stupid, stupid, lol. I'm home and not going anywhere anymore today and that's final. Oh yeah, it's Friday so I'm DEFINATELY NOT going anywhere this evening either. No freaking way. Have I mentioned lately how much I hate traffic? There, I'm OK again.

 

[7T8 Custom]

Spend way too much time in midday traffic Monday to Friday myself going from one service call to the next and I gotta tell you that it`s no different here. Booked most of the day off today to use up some of the week of banked time that I have so I get to avoid it today at least.

 

[Aspen500]

I just saw the schedule was light for today and decided to burn a day of vacation. It's been busy and next week is pretty much full schedule. Like no one wanted to get their cars fixed today.

Where I work is in the far southern part of the metro area and there's traffic but compared with the rest of the area, it's nothing. Normally that's all I see M-F 7:30-4:30 and I just forget how it is elsewhere. The difference is almost like Mayberry and the NW suburbs of Chicago as far as traffic volume. I'll take Mayberry please!

Always thought it would be relaxing to move to one of the outlying communities where it's quiet but you'd still have to come into the city for work and to buy anything other than groceries. Not sure it's worth the trade off. Off course, houses are about 1/2 the price in those places................... Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm,,,,,,,,as I sit here listening to the non-stop roar of the 8-lane friggin' freeway 100 yards from my front door.

 

[7T8 Custom]

Could be worse. Average house price in my neighborhood ranges from 1.1 to 1.5 mil. and I am outside of the metro core in an outlying community.

 

[Justwondering]

That just plain gives me stomach acid.

 

[7T8 Custom]

Me too as I`m looking to move to a new place. Need a 3-car garage instead of the 2-car I have now.

 

[Aspen500]

In this area you can buy a 5,000 sq ft beautiful home with 250 feet of lake frontage for $525,000. There's one at the end of my street for sale on the lake side of that street (ironically Lakeshore Drive) for exactly that. For 1.5 mil you could buy 2 whole blocks of the average suburban ranch houses. Seriously, you can get a darn nice 2,000-2,500 sq ft house on a decent lot for under $150,000. Go to the far outlying areas and the average house is more like $75,000-$100,000. Or you can go to area IN the city with really cheap houses (like $25,000) but you would NOT want to live there even if you got the house for free, if you get my drift.

Seems though, every house has at least 2 drivers and they're all on the road at the same time, all the time! lol

 

[7T8 Custom]

Sadly I live in the middle of the most expensive housing market in Canada. #3 in North America. Great if your selling but not so much if your buying. My first house was 216,000 about 18 years ago. Sold it ten years later for more than double that and bought a new house for a little more than what I sold for. Now I`m told this one would sell for well over twice what I paid for it. New build 4500-5000 sq. ft. house on a 10000 sq. ft. lot in my neighborhood is going for 2.5 to 3 mil.A little(alot) beyond my budget. I work for a living.

 

[Justwondering]

wow.
sticker shock is unbelievable.

 

[7T8 Custom]

No kidding but then milk is $4 a gallon as well and gas has gone back up to $1.25 a liter. Multiply by 3.8 for U.S. gallon.

 

[kkritsilas]

And take off 20-25% for exchange rate.

Vancouver right now is in one of the biggest housing bubbles ever seen in Canada. Also seem to have some external forces (foreign owners, questionable real estate practices going on (all legal, but questioniable ethics and outdated provincial legislation regarding regulation of real estate agents conduct)). Calgary's real estate market was reaching for the sky as well, but the world price of oil went through the floor, and knocked the wind out of its sails.

 

[7T8 Custom]

There are at least a dozen houses valued at more that a million dollars(at current pricing) in the neighborhood that are foreign owned and empty. No one lives in them and they were just bought as an investment.

 

[Justwondering]

Somehow thats just wrong.

 

[Jack Meoff]

A bungalow here is now average 1.2 mil.
A bungalow.
A three storey is two and change.

 

[Justwondering]

Amazing.. I had no idea.