Discuss Detroit » Archives - July 2007 » Basic traffic law compliance in the D « Previous Next »
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Ahartz
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Username: Ahartz

Post Number: 2
Registered: 04-2007
Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 10:42 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I am becoming increasingly concerned about seemingly everyone running through stop signs in the City. Friends have stopped driving through the city for this reason. I know this is nothing new, but is it becoming much worse??..or just my perception. ...andy
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Steelworker
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Username: Steelworker

Post Number: 948
Registered: 02-2004
Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 10:44 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

not worse the same.
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Charlottepaul
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Username: Charlottepaul

Post Number: 1351
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 12:53 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

There is an extremely noticeable difference from one side of Eight Mile to the other. Not sure why. Maybe something to do with the two lane roads in Detroit that are not quite wide enough to be four, maybe the fact that DDOT buses and police drive through red lights if there is no cross traffic. I guess it is all part of the CULTURE and ENVIRONMENT.
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Buyamerican
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Username: Buyamerican

Post Number: 105
Registered: 02-2007
Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 1:09 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

No respect for life is my guess. Who cares that someone may be coming the other way and get killed because of your carelessness. Me! Me! Me! That's what it's all about!
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Mackinaw
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Post Number: 3461
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Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 1:15 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

This is one definite neighborhood problem. On major thoroughfares, the big problem is speeding. Both should be enforced. There are so many neighborhoods, though. The police would have to start with a few traps.

Many neighborhoods, at least on the NE side, have yield signs for cross-streets and no signs for the perpindicular. This helps to keep cars moving when there is no other traffic around, but I think people who get used to this imagine that 4-way stops don't exist when they do come upon them, and treat them like optional yields.
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Chub
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Post Number: 479
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Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 1:19 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

When you have a police force that doesn't operate properly and a city full of people that just don't give a damn, this is the kind of stuff that you see happening.
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Charlottepaul
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Username: Charlottepaul

Post Number: 1353
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Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 1:21 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

When I moved down here to Charlotte, I was surprised to see speed bumps or "road humps" basically on all of the main neighborhood roads. Thinking back, I can't recall seeing one on any Detroit street. For example, the speed hump wouldn't go on McNichols or Livernois, but the main side street like Fairfield...

Then again, these don't solve the problem of running through a stop sign.
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Steelworker
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Post Number: 949
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Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 1:23 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

When i was in arizona i was angry at all the speed humps every single street seemed to have them
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Mayor_sekou
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Username: Mayor_sekou

Post Number: 1216
Registered: 09-2006
Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 1:25 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

^^ In that area especially stop signs seem to be more so an option for most motorist instead of the rule.
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Flybydon
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Username: Flybydon

Post Number: 156
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Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 6:40 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

No no no, all you out of towers have to realize that traffic control in Detroit is nothing more than a suggestion.

Detroit only driving rules.

All stop signs: Only a suggestion.
The yellow traffic light is your signal to: Go faster.
Yield signs: Its time to play chicken.
Merge with care: Hell with that I’m late for work.
Speed limit signs: Another suggestion, plus 25 to 30.
No turn on: Only if the cops aren’t around, then so what.
Right or left turns: from any lane you’re in regardless of traffic conditions.

Learn these rules and you may survive your visit.
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Urbanize
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Username: Urbanize

Post Number: 2079
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Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 6:57 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

This isn't just Detroit, but all of Michigan.

Many people argue that our state has the Drivers with the Need For Speed.

In Detroit, you must drive 90 MPH or Greater on our Expressways (Inner City).
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Urbanize
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Username: Urbanize

Post Number: 2080
Registered: 02-2007
Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 6:59 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

That's why it only take most Suburbanites (just using the Secondary Streets) no more than 15 minutes to gcome to and from downtown (even with Traffic).

Detroiters know how to keep up with the Traffic Flow as well (which is a good thing, because it eases the congestion).
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Mcp001
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Username: Mcp001

Post Number: 2898
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Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 9:06 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Ha haha haha hahaha hahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

.....

a-hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahaha.

Sorry.

No pun intended, but how people follow traffic laws is literally as different as night and day once you go over the border of Detroit, and no, I don't mean just Eight Mile.

I've seen people run red lights, stop signs, speed (and a little more than 5-10 over), pay no attention to people crossing the street (most of whom, are woefully ignorant of what corners are for), weave from lane to lane (usually to avoid the cratered roads that pass for streets...but rarely look before changing lanes).

Chub pretty much hit the nail on the head as to the "why" part.
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Mackinaw
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Username: Mackinaw

Post Number: 3469
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Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 9:19 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I think on the interstates people are just as inclined to speed outside of Detroit as inside. I don't ever go over 65 mph on the urban portion of I-94, and it's only a few renegades-- people of all types, not just city dwellers-- who drive with wreckless abandon through the city. I don't know where Urbanize gets the sense that going 35 mph over on city expressways is the standard.

But this is really about the neighborhoods. I agree that the bad drivers are everywhere. For people in a hurry, stop-and-go neighborhoods just don't work. Across the border here in my childhood gp neighborhood, people still get up to 35-40 mph in a 25 mph zone, even though they know the next stop sign is 150 yards away, and plenty of folks roll through stop signs. It's a culture. It's a culture of being in a hurry. The byproduct is a culture that doesn't respect other motorists and especially pedestrians.

Now with cross-streets and thoroughfares, it's absolutely true that you go 10-15 mph faster one you cross Alter i.e. on Mack or Jefferson. Everyone else is doin' it, and the cops haven't taken a stand against it in my lifetime.
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Texorama
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Post Number: 33
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 9:29 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I've actually found that Detroit drivers are often slower and more careful than those in the suburbs--a bit poky, even. And I've assumed the reason is that they're worried about the minority that really care only about themselves. Watch the middle-aged guys: they keep it to 25 or 30, and they're very aware of what's happening in the cross street.
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Iheartthed
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Username: Iheartthed

Post Number: 1297
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 10:20 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"I've seen people run red lights, stop signs, speed (and a little more than 5-10 over), pay no attention to people crossing the street (most of whom, are woefully ignorant of what corners are for), weave from lane to lane (usually to avoid the cratered roads that pass for streets...but rarely look before changing lanes)."

Maybe it's all those suburbanites that I've heard say they are too scared to stop at traffic lights in Detroit?
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English
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Post Number: 553
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 10:45 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"I've actually found that Detroit drivers are often slower and more careful than those in the suburbs--a bit poky, even. And I've assumed the reason is that they're worried about the minority that really care only about themselves. Watch the middle-aged guys: they keep it to 25 or 30, and they're very aware of what's happening in the cross street."

The ONLY true post in this thread! Detroit drivers aren't anything to write home about, but driving in Oakland County (highways and thoroughfares) is quite frankly frightening. And it's not some silly city resident then, it's always some privileged young or middle aged dude in a late-model or brand new vehicle who is trying desperately hard to run you off 275 or North Woodward (I always drive the speed limit or just over, and I've got a little car). Drivers in western Wayne County and Washtenaw are much more considerate.

Case in point: as a Detroit resident for 28 years and a driver for 10, I NEVER got in an accident.

The second my family and I moved? Been hit twice.

My theory: CHEAP INSURANCE! I paid $5000 per year in Detroit... and around $1000 per year now. Paying less than $100 per month in insurance is something I'm grateful for, but it makes me angry because even after being hit twice, it hasn't gone up. Had someone hit me twice in the D, it would have been a DIFFERENT story. Except for the drunk or drugged-up Detroiters, many are underinsured or have no insurance and are SCARED to get into an accident.

Also? There's far more traffic in the burbs than there is in the city... especially around rush hour. Road rage abounds.
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Mcp001
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Post Number: 2900
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Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 10:50 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I can't say for certain, Iheartthed.

It's not like I went after and stopped each one to see where they live.

But based on my observations, I'd say that it's about an even mix.
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Urbanize
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Post Number: 2096
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Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 11:43 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Mackinaw, (if I interpreted correct) people do tend to slow up or speed up significantly once they Cross Alter Road because of the law enforcement. If you notice traveling E-W down Warren, Mack, Kercheval, Vernor, Charlevoix, there's sort of like a Bump. I'm guessing that's there to slow people down too (or it could be the crappy street repair). I think everyone drives the same, whether it's suburbs or city. The difference is, Suburban drivers are more cautious because they live in areas where they have a greater chance of getting caught. However, the speed limit is slightly lower within the city simply because there's more people, businesses, neighborhoods, etc. around.

"I don't know where Urbanize gets the sense that going 35 mph over on city expressways is the standard."

I heard that from many not just Detroit drivers, but all Michigan drivers. Maybe it's just you that the cars fly around. Doing 90MPH or greater is the norm from what I hear for sure.
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Deteamster
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Username: Deteamster

Post Number: 30
Registered: 07-2007
Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 11:56 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Detroit drivers don't strike me so much as Detroit pedestrians.
I have come to the conclusion that the avenues, streets, and boulevards of the city are nothing more than elongated plazas in which people may roam freely.
It doesn't matter that there are two traffic lights 50 feet apart, at both of which these motorists will be stopped, because Kwame's cousin or whoever times the lights of this city so whimsically. There will be some thrill seeker risking it all, sauntering into oncoming traffic, and then perching precariously on the double yellow line.
Use the f-ing crosswalk!
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Sticks
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Post Number: 341
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Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 9:53 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I have to assume the opposite of Texorama. Growing up downriver I never once saw a car pull up to a red light, come to a complete stop, and then just proceed through it. However, that is a weekly occurrence here in Detroit.

Whenever I'm out walking, I always keep my head on a swivel when crossing the street. Some people I'm with like to step out in front of cars that are slowly approaching. I tell them to watch the fuck out, this is Detroit, not Ann Arbor.
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Mackinaw
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Username: Mackinaw

Post Number: 3499
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Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 10:35 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Urbanize, 90 mph IS NOT the norm. I agree that people speed, but the fastest standard speed I've encountered in Michigan is 80-82 mph on 94 between Ann Arbor and the west side of the state. I-75 up north usually averages about 80 mph. The inner city freeways average 65 mph (with plenty of people going 70, but few higher than that) when there is no congestion, which is 10 over.

I agree, though, people clearly feel more comfortable speeding west of Alter/south of 8-mile. If the DPD chose one day to do an all-out sting operation, they could make a lot of money.
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321brian
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Post Number: 401
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Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 10:47 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I seems like I see a lot more people running red lights in Detroit than I do anywhere else.

Speeders are everywhere but I'll admit when I speed in Detroit I am pretty confident that I won't get a ticket.

I also see a lot more people just walking in the street. Busy streets like Woodward near 7 mile. Why is this? There are perfectly good sidewalks right next to the road.

I totally disagree with you English. I don't think "it's always some privileged young or middle aged dude in a late-model or brand new vehicle who is trying desperately hard to run you off 275 or North Woodward".

It seems to me like the people driving that way are usually of middle eastern descent, in their early twenties to mid-thirties, wearing a hat sideways, and driving in a large SUV.
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Urbanize
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Post Number: 2151
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Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 11:10 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =MkZcG_pgp0Q

or just Rednecks with big fat trucks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =zQJkec5OcKw&mode=related&sear ch=
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Jt1
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Post Number: 9735
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Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 11:14 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Are we really stereotyping drivers in a city vs. suburb manner? This is just stupid. There are good and bad drivers on both sides of 8 mile.

There are people that live in Detroit that disregard the laws and there are many from the suburbs that do the same in the city. The only difference as Brian states above is that people believe they can get away with things in Detroit they wouldn't do in their own neighborhood. The real question is "If you don't drive like that in your neighboood why would you choose to do so in mine?"
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Russix
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Post Number: 30
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Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 11:31 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

[joke]While riding with an associate, he would speed through every red light, when i asked him why, he replied "its ok, its ok, my brother does this all the time" a few more lights we come to a green one, he hits the breaks and comes to a dead stop, "Now what are you doing" i asked, "My brother might be coming the other way"[/joke]
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Urbanize
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Post Number: 2155
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Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 11:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

^^^

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Quozl
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Post Number: 1152
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Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 12:02 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

quote:

There are good and bad drivers on both sides of 8 mile.

Very true, just as there are good and bad drivers on both sides of Alter Road, unless of course you are a pretentious, east coast Law School wannabe know-it-all little punk who lives in A2 that pretends to have all the answers.
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Jt1
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Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 12:06 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I try to play the know it all punk role but I fail on the rest of the criteria.
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Fareastsider
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Post Number: 513
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Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 6:35 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

When I drove miles and miles at my old job I remeber a guy I worked with taught me Detroit driving. HE basicaly taught that you have to be offensive and not let others run you around or they will do it constantly. He was right Detroit driving is a thing all its own. HE also said expect anything at anytime from anywhere and hell is that true....people merging for no reason, coming off of sidewalks, turning around instantly. One time at 7 and GR a woman going Wbound turned in the middle of the intersection to go Wbound on GR but turned the WRONG way on the one way RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!!! I had to swerve out of the way going 45 mph! she turned on a dime in the wrong direction where you should not even turn!??!? PLus the old roads are to narrow and nobody slows down. Hell drive the Davison from Dequindre to Mound and you will see some speed! SPeaking of that stretch hell there are to many parts of town that look like that. We have seen enough downtown but we need to clean up more blown out individual neighborhoods like that in the city....
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56packman
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Post Number: 1599
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Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 8:42 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Flybydon--great list of rules, but you forgot a couple:

the curb lane is for parking AND high-speed passing

It is perfectly acceptable to proceed down the freeway at 70+ MPH in the left lane, see the exit you want and cut across all lanes of traffic to exit
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Thejesus
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Post Number: 1783
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Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 8:54 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

When I'm in Detroit, I notice a lot of red lights being run...I always assumed it due to a lack of fear that police will ever enforce traffic laws b/c they have their hands full with other BS Detroit cops have to deal with
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56packman
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Post Number: 1600
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Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 9:06 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Most suburbanites are just as bad in their own way. The SUV/big truck crowd (toy/lifestyle trucks, not people who work with their truck)
stand out as some of the worse offenders.
No one understands how a four-way stop works anymore--you approach an intersection with a power outage and the whole idea of cars proceeding one at a time, the car to the right goes, you go, repeat--it's as though no one ever really learned the procedure.
Now it's "well, I guess I'll pull out a little bit, maybe we can go now, Oh, he going, I guess I'll go too, Ah! we're all going now--until someone wishing to go the opposite direction inches forward, or has the balls to just pull into the intersection.

(Message edited by 56packman on August 07, 2007)
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Mackinaw
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Post Number: 3504
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Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 9:14 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

So Quozl, I'm a know it all on this thread because I shot down Urbanize's idea that everyone is driving though Detroit at 90mph.

I don't just sit in Ann Arbor and make shit up. I'm in Detroit all the time. I'm not going to explain myself. What the hell is your problem all of a sudden.
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Sturge
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Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 9:21 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I notice the lanes around Campus Martius are ignored a lot. Cars will cut over 1 or 2 lanes without regard for anyone around them. Running the lights is also very usual there. You have to carefully check for oncoming cars before crossing.

Believe it or not, I have actually been pulled over by a Detroit cop once for speeding. I was in shock! I guess I had become to brazen.
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Mackinaw
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Username: Mackinaw

Post Number: 3507
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Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 9:42 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Sturge, you're right. Somewhere around 1001 Woodward there should be a sign that says "two right lanes --> Jefferson via Woodward" and "two left lanes --> Cadillac Sq. and Monroe St." Or perhaps directional signs that hang from the streetlight arms? You don't want to clutter up the area too much, but you need to help all the newcomers passing through.

In the meantime, the people who get caught in the wrong lane should should just go through the loop again and proceed correctly instead of cutting in front of people.

...shit there I go again. Being a know it all, sharing some thoughts on detroityes.
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Urbanize
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Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 10:58 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

^^^The way you describe your driving Mackinaw, Those East Coast Drivers (Particularly the New York and Philadelphia Commuters) will eat you up like Fresh Meat on those Roads.
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Dan_the_man
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Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 11:57 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Mackinaw is right about the speeds on freeways. On 94 in the city most people go between 65 and 70, it's pretty much impossible at most times to go any faster than 75. The Lodge tends to be a little slower, in the 60-65 range, and 75 and 96 are a little faster, but there is nowhere where people even come close to averaging 95 on a freeway in Detroit.
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Homer
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Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 12:00 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"I notice the lanes around Campus Martius are ignored a lot"

This "Euro Circle Jerk" of a road is a pain in the a**. I see where I need to go and damn the lights, I'm never in the correct lane so look both ways and plow through.
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Yvette248
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Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 1:08 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

What about all the idiot pedestrians in the suburbs who think they are too special to look both ways before crossing the street or who slowly strides down the middle of the parking lot, like they have a God-given force field around them. Unbelievable!

p.s. Detroit driving is mild compared to NYC and Chicago. Red lights are COMPLETELY ignored there.
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Mackinaw
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Post Number: 3513
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Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 1:41 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yo Urb, I don't have any plans to move, for the record, except to Detroit as soon as I graduate. If I do, I'll let you know how the driving is out there. Seriously. I want to know how Detroit driving stacks up.

One thing that's for sure is we're way less congested that most other cities, partly due to our enormous roads, and partly because we do not have one, dominant jobs center, rather, several small ones and an anemic downtown. Our friend Lobsterpots from Boston, who just posted about his Detroit trip, made his observation about little traffic congestion here very clear.
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Scs100
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Post Number: 1356
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Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 1:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

quote:

p.s. Detroit driving is mild compared to NYC and Chicago. Red lights are COMPLETELY ignored there.



Seoul is definitely the worst offender. There aren't any traffic laws as far as I know, besides the speed limit, the bus lane, and no left turns in most areas (not that people listen to the left turn one anyways).
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Fishtoes2000
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Post Number: 265
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Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 1:59 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

It seems to me that many of the City's traffic control devices are now longer necessary as many traffic levels have dropped over the years. Drivers tend to adhere to the rules that they judge are most appropriate. That's one reason why adding stop signs in neighborhoods does not necessarily decrease speeds. How many times do you have to sit (or trackstand) at a stoplight and never see another vehicle before you start treating it like a stop sign?

Police enforcement is never going to be the complete solution. I sit on Royal Oak's traffic and safety committee, so I'm well aware of how thin our police are stretched when it comes to enforcement. Increased enforcement comes with a price tag.

Better road engineering is part of the solution: traffic calming, clearer signage, more appropriate TCDs, etc. That has a cost too.

And as a cyclist, I typically feel safer on Detroit roads than most of the suburban roads. There are bad drivers everywhere, but I don't get the "this is my road" attitude in the city that I get in places like the "Hills" of Farmington, Rochester, and Auburn.
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Hawthorne
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Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 2:32 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I agree that stop signs at residential neighborhood intersections are often overkill. No sign on the street with more traffic volume and yield signs on the cross street are usually more appropriate. There is no reason to stop your vehicle if there is no other traffic in sight.

However, a stop sign is appropriate whenever entering a busy street or wherever visibility is limited. Although not part of any written law that I have read, I feel that traffic should not be permitted to cross or turn onto a main street marked with a stop sign if by doing so they would cause any oncoming traffic to slow down to avoid them. In other words, "stop" means stop your vehicle and proceed ONLY when the way is clear. Of course, enforcing this rule is not always very practical.
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Urbanize
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Username: Urbanize

Post Number: 2173
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Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 2:43 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

^^^Yeah, drivers in Detroit do that a lot. They make their turns and merges in the slightest little hole they can get into.
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Woodward
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Post Number: 27
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Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 2:50 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

quote:

I have come to the conclusion that the avenues, streets, and boulevards of the city are nothing more than elongated plazas in which people may roam freely.



Haha, true. Or what about the people at the crosswalks who step into the street against the light at a full stride and THEN stop to look for that car (mine) barreling down on them.
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Terryh
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Username: Terryh

Post Number: 439
Registered: 11-2006
Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 7:48 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Greenfield and Fenkell by Sanders barbecue is pretty wild. I notice lots of banged up cars in the city.
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Rockcity2windycity
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Username: Rockcity2windycity

Post Number: 175
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 7:51 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Because police have more pressing issues than traffic citations.
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Ct4life
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Username: Ct4life

Post Number: 2
Registered: 07-2007
Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 9:14 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

One of the biggest traffic problems in Detroit is with regards to jaywalkers. Too many people seem to have no problem crossing major streets on foot. McNichols (6 Mile) on the west side of Detroit seems to be especially notorious for jaywalkers, even at night. With the lack of adequate street lighting, it can be especially difficult to see someone in the middle of the street, where you least expect them to be.
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Stryker81
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Username: Stryker81

Post Number: 54
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 9:29 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Woodward is also bad for jaywalkers, especially up around Highland Park.
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Dustin89
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Username: Dustin89

Post Number: 90
Registered: 07-2006
Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 10:22 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Stryker81--I second that; I've noticed a lot of jaywalking in that small commercial strip on Woodward in HP where that old Highland Appliance building is located.
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Mackinaw
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Username: Mackinaw

Post Number: 3516
Registered: 02-2005
Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 10:23 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Jaywalking is tough in Detroit. Too many wide avenues. Woodward, Jefferson, and Gratiot are risky business. It's do-able in most of downtown though.
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Vetalalumni
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Username: Vetalalumni

Post Number: 551
Registered: 05-2007
Posted on Saturday, August 18, 2007 - 3:35 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

This is not a Detroit phenomenon. Many "minor" traffic laws are skirted in most of the areas that I've been in. This includes large metropolitan areas like NYC and L.A., to smaller cities like Ann Arbor and Battle Creek. Until serious accidents or injuries occur, or citizens loudly complain, law enforcement considers it low priority to warn or ticket for running a stop sign.

As a parent of small children, I become frustrated with speeders passing through my subdivision. We have no speed bumps, however some of us have purchased those "slow, children playing here" yellow fold-outs and they do help. It is as if absent-minded drivers must be reminded that speeding through residential areas is dangerous. Most driver's would probably be devastated if they were to injure or kill a child (or anyone) while speeding or talking on the cell phone.

It seems like quite a few basic traffic safety measures are ignored these days. Drivers frequently do the following while driving:
- talk on the cell phone
- apply makeup
- watch DVD's or television
- blast the stereo so loudly that they would not be able to hear emergency vehicles etc...

And most people probably know of someone becoming intoxicated right before and during driving.

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