• UncleGrandPa@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    31
    ·
    22 days ago

    I just moved to Michigan

    I have never seen a group of drivers so committed to Tail Gateing … Like it’s the state sport

    • lengau@midwest.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      13
      ·
      22 days ago

      Visit Tennessee and get back to me. Moving from Tennessee to Michigan I noticed a distinct uptick in the quality of driving.

    • didntbuyasquirrel@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      22 days ago

      I was driving in slowish freeway traffic in Detroit and the guy behind me plowed right into me, didn’t even slow down, didn’t even look away. He sort of bounced off of me, pulled onto the shoulder, and squeeled off while I had to find some sketchy spot to stop and make sure my bumper wasn’t dragging too much.

      A person I was visiting there in Detroit told me that insurance wasn’t required so many people run off rather than risk getting blamed and the cops wouldn’t even bother with a report.

      • greenhorn@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        22 days ago

        Insurance is required in all of Michigan, with fines, license suspension, and jail all possible for not having it. With Michigan’s no-fault insurance we have some of the highest rates in the country in Detroit—especially relative to income—and almost no viable alternative to owning a car.

        That said, as a native Detroiter I feel safer in Detroit driving around other Detroiters, the suburbanites and out of state folks are always in the way.

        • didntbuyasquirrel@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          22 days ago

          I thought I heard that insurance laws changed maybe since then or around that time and there was a reason for a lot of hit and runs. I don’t know, but that was my experience a while ago. The weird part was mostly how the dude had no visible reaction at all except to take off, which probably could’ve been anywhere.

          As an out of towner I did have trouble with the short on ramps. I wasn’t sure how to get into a rhythm because there was no place to get up to speed. I didn’t like feeling like I had to shove my way in and it was hard to tell how to let others in safely. I suppose you just know those things when you live there long enough.

          • greenhorn@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            21 days ago

            Those are some of the first below-grade expressways built in the country, so the shorter on ramps are from an era with fewer and slower cars, and there isn’t space to lengthen them. The law only changed to stop the insurance companies from using zip codes to determine rates, and reduced the maximum payout for healthcare related costs from a crash, with the aim of lowering costs, but of course the insurance companies worked around it.

            • didntbuyasquirrel@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              21 days ago

              I learned about the infrastructure at the time but that’s why being unaccustomed was a hinderance, especially when it’s unexpected. The insurance stuff seems likely more in line with what I was told than what I was remembering in short.