Carlos Laack's Blog

Winter is coming up and I was surprised to find my car's windows full of ice. It's amazing how our first major bout of snow hit us like a ton of bricks.  When I woke up this morning, snow was still on the ground.  The temperature was in the teens.

With the winter conditions comes winter driving. As I was driving home in the snow, I noticed several people driving fast as if nothing was happening. This morning, more of the same. It seems like people are not too keen on driving in snowy and icy conditions.

If this is the way things will be, when a major winter storm hits, you better get out of the way. Happy motoring.

FOX 6's Justin Williams brings you a story about a couple who learn a lesson of what not to do in a road rage situation. The couple were driving home from having fun in downtown Milwaukee. In Greenfield, they get cut off. So they retaliate. The situation gets ugly when the couple is shot at by the other driver.

So now it's your turn to comment on this. Have you been involved in your own incidents of road rage? What tips do you have for someone who's caught behind an angry driver? Share your thoughts with us on this blog. 

I'm throwing this question out our blogger world here.  Does anyone know how to obtain an Interstate highway sign? 

 

I know such a weird question, but I am really curious about it.  Besides going and stealing it, I'm wondering if there's a place you can get one or any transportation contact you might be able to steer me to.

 

Call it my personal news story. I've been wanted to get one for a little while but I'm kinda disappointed with how much they charge on Ebay and through other people.

Time to play "Carlos--Where?" Special Edition.  This time I'm not in the picture and you're not trying to figure out where I am or where my car is. 

However, there is a car involved.  Look at the picture below.  Can you give me the year, make, and model of this car? 

If you can, I have a prize for you.  And for all you who are worried about the 90 day rule...ahem... that's all I'm going to say.  But, I want to see new faces, old faces, winners faces, kids faces, I want all your bloggers to get out there and play. Got it. GOOD!

Oh by the way, if you thought I forgot, I didn't...here's the rules.

Most of you may travel down the street on any given day and experience roads that seem like washboards or moon craters.  Weather has something to do with it, but investments in infrastructure plays a major role.

 

Is Wisconsin spending enough on roads in your opinion? 

 

Today, FOX 6 spent some time following pothole patchers sealing up cracks in the road on this warm February day.  Are we spending too much time patching the problem and not enough time creating solutions?

 

While our roads may not be clogged up as they are in California, but pollution is certainly an issue.  The standards to reduce emissions are adequate at best.

 

So tell us your thoughts about the state of our road system here.  If you have any stories, we'd like to hear them.

As I pointed out in the recent "Carlos -- Where?" blog that my car's tire was flat. Well, I went to fix it at Tire's Plus here in Brown Deer.  Here's a picture of what it looks like now.

 

 It's looking all better now.  While we're at it how are your cars holding up for winter?  Surviving in one piece.  Let's talk about it.

 

 

 

Two blogs in one day -- WOW! I am in a creative period my fellow bloggers.

Okay, you might be wondering why I am putting a story about airplanes and airlines in the Traffic section. Well, my loose interpretation of traffic includes transportation and by the time you get the six degrees of separation taken care of, you get traffic and airplanes like second cousins.

Now to the story -- I am thinking about taking flying lessons. I love to fly and getting up in an airplane gives me a thrill. Just being up in the clouds is a special feat.

Now I feel like I want to pilot that myself and be my own boss in the skies. I probably would be a better driver.

So if you know of any good flying schools, let me know. Thanks.

It's quite amazing to drive on the streets of Milwaukee and encounter a moonscape on the roads. I don't want to beat a dead horse here, but the roads are a mess.

The M-change project is something of local pride as that freeway gets improved. But many of our local streets need that much rehab help.

Now winter snow and summer rains make a mess of the streets. Expanding and contracting and expanding again. I know people need to report potholes better so the streets can be more tolerable.

I realize there are a few things your car needs to have to be safe on the roads. An emergency blanket, a first aid kit, food for getting stranded, a spare tire, and a great set of shocks to handle all the bumps.

Well, I'm off to the moon.

Have you noticed a lot of truckers driving in left lane on freeways? I know I have. It seemed so odd to me to see this, so I made a call to the Department of Transportation in Madison. Then I talked to Capt. Chuck Teasdale of the State Patrol.

Well the law is simple, there aren't any lane restrictions specifically for trucks. As long as they drive with the speed of traffic, they're fine. As with all vehicles, slow traffic needs to keep right.

Okay! Even so, there are a lot of states which restrict trucks to the right lane or right two lanes. Seeing a truck whip by at 65 or 70 miles an hour feels like an accident waiting to happen. Sometimes I witness trucks slowing down the flow of traffic in the left lane which means speeders have to move right to pass this mess. I don't know about you, but trucks in the left lane (especially on freeways with three or more lanes) should be outlawed.

I have no problem with trucks passing on left lane when its a four lane divided highway or freeway. I just see danger with semis keeping to left or worse speeding on the left lane.

Okay, it's time to place some blogs in the Traffic section. When I was a kid, I could get people to their destinations without getting lost. I knew all about cars and their makes and models. Traffic wasn't nearly as crazy as it is today. But I digress...

It's this left turn thing that's got me talking today. Ever since I have been back, I noticed the lack of left turn lanes or center lanes in the city to flow traffic better. So instead, I see people stopped making a left and then other cars weaving around to avoid them. But what happens is sometimes people weave in front of buses, people crossing the street, or drivers trying to pull out.

Sometimes when I hit the road in Milwaukee, I feel like I'm strapping myself in for a ride on the bumper cars. It seems like a free for all out there. And I thought we were supposed to have better drivers in this state. I feel like I'm in Chicago or Los Angeles.

Maybe having left turn lanes would be a solution to the problem, but since many of the roads are narrow, it would eliminate parking in the area. What a dilemma for a growing city.