Drivers Who Regularly Take The Dan Ryan Say It's Dangerous, But They Have No Choice
CHICAGO (CBS) -- License plate reading cameras are now being installed on the Dan Ryan and other Chicago expressways.
Drivers say it's about time. With shootings, carjackings and nighttime drag racing, they have had enough.
When it comes to the Dan Ryan, it's the road many south of the city take to get downtown.
"I travel to and from the south suburbs pretty much every day," said Early Walker.
Yet Walker's daily drive has become a bit more dangerous lately.
"Especially with the uptick of violence as of late, I think everyone is paying attention," he said. "Everyone is wathing their backs and who's driving next to them."
Drivers say they are seeing too many dare devil moves from speeding car.
"You have people who are driving like maniacs these days," Walker said. "The problem is that with everything going, you don't know if they're just driving crazy or if they're driving in the midst of a crime."
There have been more than 50 shootings on the Dan Ryan this year, and just this week two people were shot in two separate incidents. Denise Huguelet was killed when a bullet hit her as she rode in a car after leaving a White Sox game. And Thursday someone fired three shots, killing a man riding the "L", which runs along the Dan Ryan.
"If they miss the person they're aiming for, it could go out that window and hit someone on the expressway, so you're not safe one way or another," said LaMonte Wilson, a native South Sider who is hesitant to hop on the Dan Ryan.
"On the Dan Ryan I rarely see ISP. I hate to say it," he said.
People online are voicing concerns, writing "time to demand adequate coverage and police presence on the Dan Ryan." Another added, "I was never scared to drive down the Ryan when I worked at Meigs. Now I never will."
But as fear sets in, many drivers don't have a choice.
"It's no alternative getting from the south suburbs to downtown," Wilson said.
