Northbound Purple Express train car 2561 collided with an inbound Brown Line train at 5:31PM today while rounding one of the many turns between Merchandise Mart and Chicago.

I was dosing off, listening to music on my video iPod, when I heard the start of metal scraping up against metal. I looked up and out of the corner of my eye I saw a shower of sparks covering the window area of the EL car window.

The last car of the Purple Line that I was in had sideswiped the Brown Line car and was emitting an array of sparks. The collision jostled and a few Trixies and they were thrown off balance.

What did our CTA operator do? Slow down a little bit but after a few seconds we sped towards the Chicago stop.

The intersection of Route 14 and S Des Plaines Road is a nightmare in the morning. Inbound and outbound trains to Chicago stop and back up traffic for miles. I got impatient and decided to enter the left turn lane early and start the wait-in-line-for-turn-signal game. As I was completing my left turn onto Route 14, I was pulled over and ticketed.

I got a ticket for crossing a double yellow lane marker. I think I am going to pay the $115 and take the on-line course. The police car was sitting on Thacker St. He said that he catches 10-15 people a day that cross over the double yellow lines. Watch out if you ever find yourself on S Des Plaines Road.

Dear Police, 

You have better things to with your time and my tax dollars than ticketing me for crossing a double yellow line during rush hour. Go stop some drug smuggling in the suburbs or arrest a poor person.

Thank you,
lpchad.com