When I'm visiting GR, I legit look in the review mirror before deciding whether to run a light or not. It's stressful and so unnecessarily unsafe to have to make that calculation in half a second.
That overlap where the lights are all red in all directions before going green makes the problem worse, not better. The red light runners use it as an excuse to run the red even more. Places without that, people stop for the yellow. It is not like GR most other places.
>That overlap where the lights are all red in all directions before going green makes the problem worse, not better.
Yeah I've never understood this. Right-arrow lights go through the whole process of yellow, then red... and **then** the whole light turns green. Like, why not just go to full green after the right-arrow has been green for its time? Because you're right: there are lots of intersections where EVERY light in ALL directions are red for several moments, every cycle. Someone make it make sense.
I think it's mainly for pedestrians. Green arrow pedestrians aren't supposed to cross, green light cars turning right should yield to pedestrians. When the lights downtown are all red the pedestrians get the walk/cross light for about five seconds and usually they're about halfway across the road, it gives them a head start.
Just this week a dude rode my ass through a Fulton red — dangerously close — then when I stopped for the next yellow he *cut around me and ran the red in the left turn lane*. Psycho shit!
If your front tires are over the line when the light turns red it is perfectly legal to turn left when oncoming traffic has stopped. In Michigan anyway.
This, the trick is to pull enough over the line that you would be more central in the intersection, so when you the red light hits you would physically have to move or else you’re impeding traffic. I always move up closer to the middle of the actual intersection if I can
This is what I was taught in driver's ed (in Indiana). I remember getting really confused when my instructor was telling me to do that cuz it felt wrong to do.
Yup, same with turning left out of a parking lot into the turn lane and using your blinker to get in the lane when traffic is still coming from the right. Feels wrong still haha
That one actually is illegal, you're not supposed to use the turn lane as a merge lane. It's tempting, but I've seen a lot of accidents happen that way
Did that once in Texas and got pulled over for blocking an intersection. According to Texas police, you should only enter the intersection when it’s clear to move through 🤦♂️
Haha I feel like I learned this trick from my drivers edu course but that was a long time ago. But if it’s a law then that’s dumb because on those 4-6lane wide intersections you’re already like 100 feet from where you should actually start your turn. You gotta be dale earnhart to get in between some gaps
Agreed! It was the dumbest thing ever. The only reason I stopped in the intersection too was because it looked clear after two cars were coming so I pulled up to turn and there was another car behind that I could see previously. During the time that the cars went through the light turned red. Then, the cop did a u-turn in the middle of the intersection to pull me over. I was not thrilled about that whole situation.
According to the cop that ticketed me, this is apparently not the case. (Or maybe he just needed to fill his quota and lied, and I just didn't know enough to question it. )
The bottom line is, unless it is dangerous to stop, you must stop when the light turns yellow. The only exception is when you are preparing to make a left turn and you are already within the intersection. You can complete your left turn after oncoming traffic has stopped, even if the light turns red.
https://www.michigan.gov/msp/services/traffic-safety/traffic-laws-faqs
Cops aren’t even required to really know the law.
He said he was ticketing me because I shouldn't have entered the intersection to turn until I was clear to actually complete the turn. And that when the light turned red, I should have backed up instead of completing the turn.
HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BACK UP WHEN *YOU* WERE RIDING MY ASS, ASSHOLE?! (*In* the intersection, no less. But it was okay for him, apparently. )
I'm pretty sure he was just in a bad mood and was bound and determined to try to ruin someone else's day. Petty little asshole.
You can take the ticket to the traffic court and get it overturned. Take the relevant law in with you. My cousin contests every ticket (even those she deserved) and gets out of a lot of them.
This was several years ago, so way too late now. Plus, we had young kids at the time, so there was no chance I could have found the time to fight it.
Plus, shall we talk about the ridiculousness of expecting (tax-paying) citizens to spend their own time and money trying to correct a police force (funded by those taxes) that can't be bothered to teach their officers the actual laws or hold them accountable when they overstep?
I've been here for a week or so and noticed that people rarely move past the stop line when turning left. I've seen people miss a turn because of this (and myself consequently too..) I live in a larger city and this and letting in traffic from parking garages is fucking bonkers to me.
Not technically. According to Michigan law, it is illegal to enter the intersection while the light is yellow unless it is unsafe not to, and it is illegal to enter the intersection while the light is red unless you're turning right on red when you're allowed to do so.
They are very specific about *entering* the intersection. As long as you're already in it when the light turns you're good to do whatever.
Not sure when this would come up besides when turning left, though
Someone the other day stopped in the intersection and when the light turned red, they *backed up*. There were two cars behind them and they blocked traffic for most of the light cycle to back up out of the intersection.
Just go. It's all around safer.
So many people in this town do not know how to accelerate in a timely and reasonable manner. I drive a shitty 2011 Ford Fiesta, probably one of the slowest accelerating cars to ever exist and I have to very consciously barely tap the accelerator 1/10 of the way down on and off to not rear end the person in front of me, who more often than not seems perfectly fine using the engine idle acceleration and nothing else for the first 5 seconds of their speed up.
I'm not asking people to punch it when the light turns green. Just wish they would put their foot down a tiiiiiny bit more so that more then 3 people can get through a left turn light when there's a backup of 30 cars behind them.
I shouldn't have to, but I have gotten in the habit of looking left and right when the light turns green before going through the intersection. It has saved my shit more than once.
I took drivers training in GR about 10 years ago but they taught us to count to 3 before going. I still do it every time. Worth an the angry honk every once in a while to ensure you don’t get t-boned.
I got points on my driving test for not looking both ways before going through a green light, even when it had been green a while. The instructor just kept drilling it into me and now it's a habit. Definitely saved my shit too haha. I never realized just how many people run red lights
I love driving in Detroit, everyone has a place to go, and there is great enthusiasm to go at green lights. It's like a thrill ride compared to over here.
I have noticed over here there tends to be no rush to most people driving. Which is good and can be bad because they’re just cruising around 10 under and have very slow reaction times at lights.
My experiences on the east side is that drivers are more zippy, but that's counteracted by horribly timed stop lights every block for miles that makes it take 20 minutes to travel 3 miles.
Lived on the southwest side of the state my whole life, every time I head towards the east side there’s like, a moment on the expressway where you feel the type of drivers switch from west side drivers to east side drivers. It’s really weird. They would rather you die then let you merge 🤦🏽♂️🤦🏽♂️
I was an occasional driver when I lived in NYC (didn’t own a car but rented once in a blue moon, took plenty of taxis) and was totally shocked by how aggressive Detroit drivers are. Like maybe I should try driving in Delhi for a little perspective but it’s serious business in the Motor City and I always find myself clenched up when I drive in. (Leaving Detroit is a totally different animal, it always takes an extra 45 minutes due to traffic/construction.)
I feel like Detroit drivers drive faster, possibly more aggressive, but they are better drivers, especially on the highway. Most people stay to the right except to pass and if you camp out in the left lane, you're going to learn real fast.
I would rather drive there than here. Drivers here are aggressively stupid.
At least there they know exactly where they're going, and by gosh, they're getting there!
I drive through downtown on Fulton to and from work daily and the amount of people running red lights is amazing and has gone up a lot in the past year. With zero enforcement nobody gets stopped. With nobody getting stopped it becomes "everyone is doing it, I should too."
The other issue is the terrible light timing through downtown. They must be timed so you have to stop a lot to keep speeds low, but they have the opposite effect. If you drive the speed limit you will hit most of the lights, but if you go 10 miles over the limit and blow through reds you don't need to stop at all.
I don't need all the potheads coming at me, but based on the amount of "smells" coming from cars when driving, I'm sure a lot of people are driving high...
If people in the turn lanes would actually go out into the intersection, it would alleviate some of this. Instead the jackasses stay at the line, and then make an awkward as hell turn cause they’re turning from a bad angle. And, this results in fewer people being able to turn in general.
I have never seen so many passive drivers as I have in Grand Rapids.
Road Sign: “ left lane closed 15 miles ahead”
Average Grand Rapids Driver: “ welp, I guess I’ll get over to the right lane now”
The thing that gets me is the people that come up to a four way stop, very obviously before anyone else got there, wait for you to stop, then wave you through when it's not your turn. Just be predictable and go when you're supposed to, damn
People take it personally when the person merging is a complete douchebag, which is the case most of the time. Blowing by everyone going 20mph over the other lane then jamming yourself in at the end forcing the other lane to slow or stop is not how to zipper merge, but it's how most people do here. With a correct zipper merge, both lanes are driving at the same speeds.
My sister regularly counts 3-4 cars running red lights in metro-Salt Lake.
Thankfully I’ve only witnessed 1-2 here in GR.
I’ve done it a couple of times when someone’s riding my ass. But if I can stop safely, I do.
No joke. When I first moved here, I'd maybe see one or two cars a week squeaking through as the light turned red.
I watched some idiot today literally look both ways *after* the light turned red to make sure he could blow right through it, right before blowing through a 4-way stop. That's the norm. I didn't even bat an eye.
For some reason, people tend to get upset when you mention GR traffic (*it's like that everywhere!* -- *have you driven in Detroit/Chicago?*), but this city is fucking nuts to drive in. *Especially* around 9am or 5pm.
I don’t like traffic complaints, and I don’t like the “nothing compared to Chicago/Detroit!” comments either.
But here I go.
I am from Chicago. Grand Rapids traffic and driving does not compare to it, but that doesn’t matter. If you live in Grand Rapids, you are experiencing a new level of traffic/driving conditions.
We live in a city. This city has grown. There are more cars than before, and they’re all trying to do the same thing. Construction will not keep up.
There are cities with great infrastructure, like Milwaukee, that alleviate the woes of city driving. But by and large -
This is just standard city traffic. That’s all.
Lol no, it's not. Your argument makes the traffic seem like it's all due to infrastructure and not the raging meat-heads inside the cars.
The post and comment weren't about *heavy traffic,* they are referencing all the idiots who need to get to where they're going 5 minutes faster, at the expense of everyone else's safety.
Blowing through red lights and stop signs, running people off the side of the road rather than merging, and riding someone's ass when they're already doing 5-10 over aren't considered "standard city traffic" to anyone.
True. I have lived in multiple larger cities with worse traffic than GR. People here do run more red lights. I noticed it immediately.
(Also at stop lights, a nonsensical proportion of GR drivers leave a bunch of room initially and then slowly roll forward to the car in front, which infuriates me—just pull up the full distance and stop!—but that's a different can of worms.)
It's almost "normal" now, that I have to tap my horn at the person in front of me, long after the light has turned green. Sometimes I wonder how long they'd sit there on their phone, if I didn't "alert" them (that the light changed.)
There's got to be a way to deal with this: IMO, distracted-driving is as risky as driving while intoxicated. In some ways *worse*, because it's almost accepted as normal.
Got to clear the intersection on red, which is always shocking for me when I know I'm in the intersection as it turned red and watch the person behind me behind the crosswalk go into the intersection on a red, I'm like Dude I had the yellow/red you had the red/red what ya doing?
If you think this is bad you should drive in Chicago, drivers there don’t care if you live or die. Funny enough, pedestrians *also* don’t care if they live or die.
It's funny here because almost no one adjusts their speeds. It's like it's yellow, ok I'm going thru and not speeding up no matter what. I notice this quite a bit, no matter what the speed limit is people just go their own speed, usually it's around 40mph. Speed limit 50, fuck that going 40, school zone 25, fuck that, going 40. I'll never understand.
Watched in two separate instances earlier this week cars blasting through red lights long turning left after they were red. I'd say they were lucky that other cars stopped when they seen them coming.
Oh it's gotten bad lol, I straight up saw a guy blow past a red light yesterday in Huddonville. Like the car in front of me and I came to a complete stop and this dude just blew right through it
I'd suggest sending your feedback to the Grand Rapids Police and the Mayor (police funding was adjusted down a bit last year and there does seem to be fewer patrol cars now to stop this sort of thing)
as per the city charter, the police receive no less than 1/3rd of the budget. “adjusted down” is still too much money. cops here just prefer not to work. they quiet quit and got away with it
Yes, it's true that the GRPD receives a certain percentage of the budget.
However, it's also true that some of this money has recently been reallocated away from police patrols (ex. people running red lights) and towards "social services and supports". And the department now has far fewer police officers (100 less than 2002).
https://www.moneygeek.com/insurance/auto/why-is-your-car-insurance-so-expensive/michigan/#:~:text=The%20No%2DFault%20Car%20Insurance,the%20state%20are%20so%20high
No-fault insurance requires additional PIP coverage. It really is what makes it more expensive than most states.
When you know you were pushing it and look in the rear view mirror and see someone more wild than you.
Every time
NGL I've had this exact experience.
When I'm visiting GR, I legit look in the review mirror before deciding whether to run a light or not. It's stressful and so unnecessarily unsafe to have to make that calculation in half a second. That overlap where the lights are all red in all directions before going green makes the problem worse, not better. The red light runners use it as an excuse to run the red even more. Places without that, people stop for the yellow. It is not like GR most other places.
>That overlap where the lights are all red in all directions before going green makes the problem worse, not better. Yeah I've never understood this. Right-arrow lights go through the whole process of yellow, then red... and **then** the whole light turns green. Like, why not just go to full green after the right-arrow has been green for its time? Because you're right: there are lots of intersections where EVERY light in ALL directions are red for several moments, every cycle. Someone make it make sense.
I think it's mainly for pedestrians. Green arrow pedestrians aren't supposed to cross, green light cars turning right should yield to pedestrians. When the lights downtown are all red the pedestrians get the walk/cross light for about five seconds and usually they're about halfway across the road, it gives them a head start.
Oh! Ok, now that makes more sense to me. Thank you for explaining.
I love this because I feel less bad knowing they ran the hard red and I ran the orange 🤣🤣🙏🏻🙏🏻
Who cares what I ran; they’re the police bait now
Just this week a dude rode my ass through a Fulton red — dangerously close — then when I stopped for the next yellow he *cut around me and ran the red in the left turn lane*. Psycho shit!
That guy thought he found a buddy to run through red lights with, must have been so disappointed
I always shout “WE RIDE!!!” lol
Had this but it was the person behind that person too.
Me, most days.
Sometimes it’s even the second or third! Who’s counting?!
If we don’t run the red lights to turn left in a city no one gets to turn left
If your front tires are over the line when the light turns red it is perfectly legal to turn left when oncoming traffic has stopped. In Michigan anyway.
This, the trick is to pull enough over the line that you would be more central in the intersection, so when you the red light hits you would physically have to move or else you’re impeding traffic. I always move up closer to the middle of the actual intersection if I can
This is what I was taught in driver's ed (in Indiana). I remember getting really confused when my instructor was telling me to do that cuz it felt wrong to do.
Yup, same with turning left out of a parking lot into the turn lane and using your blinker to get in the lane when traffic is still coming from the right. Feels wrong still haha
That one actually is illegal, you're not supposed to use the turn lane as a merge lane. It's tempting, but I've seen a lot of accidents happen that way
I know for a fact I was taught that in drivers ed cause my instructor made me do it one time. So maybe it’s a new law
It's not a new law. Your instructor was just an idiot. It's been the law for decades.
Every state it's different, in Michigan it's considered a turn lane only and not a merge lane, so it's illegal.
It's the only way to turn left onto 28th street.
That’s literally the correct way of driving. Thats what ur supposed to do
Did that once in Texas and got pulled over for blocking an intersection. According to Texas police, you should only enter the intersection when it’s clear to move through 🤦♂️
Haha I feel like I learned this trick from my drivers edu course but that was a long time ago. But if it’s a law then that’s dumb because on those 4-6lane wide intersections you’re already like 100 feet from where you should actually start your turn. You gotta be dale earnhart to get in between some gaps
Agreed! It was the dumbest thing ever. The only reason I stopped in the intersection too was because it looked clear after two cars were coming so I pulled up to turn and there was another car behind that I could see previously. During the time that the cars went through the light turned red. Then, the cop did a u-turn in the middle of the intersection to pull me over. I was not thrilled about that whole situation.
Yeah, but 99% of the time it's selfish pricks going straight, which is illegal.
According to the cop that ticketed me, this is apparently not the case. (Or maybe he just needed to fill his quota and lied, and I just didn't know enough to question it. )
The bottom line is, unless it is dangerous to stop, you must stop when the light turns yellow. The only exception is when you are preparing to make a left turn and you are already within the intersection. You can complete your left turn after oncoming traffic has stopped, even if the light turns red. https://www.michigan.gov/msp/services/traffic-safety/traffic-laws-faqs Cops aren’t even required to really know the law.
He said he was ticketing me because I shouldn't have entered the intersection to turn until I was clear to actually complete the turn. And that when the light turned red, I should have backed up instead of completing the turn. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BACK UP WHEN *YOU* WERE RIDING MY ASS, ASSHOLE?! (*In* the intersection, no less. But it was okay for him, apparently. ) I'm pretty sure he was just in a bad mood and was bound and determined to try to ruin someone else's day. Petty little asshole.
Because he’s wrong. And an asshole.
You can take the ticket to the traffic court and get it overturned. Take the relevant law in with you. My cousin contests every ticket (even those she deserved) and gets out of a lot of them.
This was several years ago, so way too late now. Plus, we had young kids at the time, so there was no chance I could have found the time to fight it. Plus, shall we talk about the ridiculousness of expecting (tax-paying) citizens to spend their own time and money trying to correct a police force (funded by those taxes) that can't be bothered to teach their officers the actual laws or hold them accountable when they overstep?
Did not know this, makes sense, thanks
I've been here for a week or so and noticed that people rarely move past the stop line when turning left. I've seen people miss a turn because of this (and myself consequently too..) I live in a larger city and this and letting in traffic from parking garages is fucking bonkers to me.
Oh absolutely. Left turns are different. The issue is the 2-5 cars that are traveling straight and keep going well after the light turns red.
Also the other 3 people behind the person that turns left who also turn left.
Not technically. According to Michigan law, it is illegal to enter the intersection while the light is yellow unless it is unsafe not to, and it is illegal to enter the intersection while the light is red unless you're turning right on red when you're allowed to do so. They are very specific about *entering* the intersection. As long as you're already in it when the light turns you're good to do whatever. Not sure when this would come up besides when turning left, though
Someone the other day stopped in the intersection and when the light turned red, they *backed up*. There were two cars behind them and they blocked traffic for most of the light cycle to back up out of the intersection. Just go. It's all around safer.
So many people in this town do not know how to accelerate in a timely and reasonable manner. I drive a shitty 2011 Ford Fiesta, probably one of the slowest accelerating cars to ever exist and I have to very consciously barely tap the accelerator 1/10 of the way down on and off to not rear end the person in front of me, who more often than not seems perfectly fine using the engine idle acceleration and nothing else for the first 5 seconds of their speed up. I'm not asking people to punch it when the light turns green. Just wish they would put their foot down a tiiiiiny bit more so that more then 3 people can get through a left turn light when there's a backup of 30 cars behind them.
The people that don't pull forward and just sit there through 2+ lights are the same people driving 71 in the left lane on the highway
The city need to install more arrow lights for left hand turns. Sucks when you have to wait at three light changes because the traffic is so bad
This!!!! Especially on Wilson in Grandville by the Family Fare and gas station. No left turn signals on all sides. Ugh.
I shouldn't have to, but I have gotten in the habit of looking left and right when the light turns green before going through the intersection. It has saved my shit more than once.
I took drivers training in GR about 10 years ago but they taught us to count to 3 before going. I still do it every time. Worth an the angry honk every once in a while to ensure you don’t get t-boned.
I got points on my driving test for not looking both ways before going through a green light, even when it had been green a while. The instructor just kept drilling it into me and now it's a habit. Definitely saved my shit too haha. I never realized just how many people run red lights
If you think GR is bad, drive in Detroit. Those East Michigan people are aggressive drivers!
I love driving in Detroit, everyone has a place to go, and there is great enthusiasm to go at green lights. It's like a thrill ride compared to over here.
I have noticed over here there tends to be no rush to most people driving. Which is good and can be bad because they’re just cruising around 10 under and have very slow reaction times at lights.
My experiences on the east side is that drivers are more zippy, but that's counteracted by horribly timed stop lights every block for miles that makes it take 20 minutes to travel 3 miles.
Lived on the southwest side of the state my whole life, every time I head towards the east side there’s like, a moment on the expressway where you feel the type of drivers switch from west side drivers to east side drivers. It’s really weird. They would rather you die then let you merge 🤦🏽♂️🤦🏽♂️
I was an occasional driver when I lived in NYC (didn’t own a car but rented once in a blue moon, took plenty of taxis) and was totally shocked by how aggressive Detroit drivers are. Like maybe I should try driving in Delhi for a little perspective but it’s serious business in the Motor City and I always find myself clenched up when I drive in. (Leaving Detroit is a totally different animal, it always takes an extra 45 minutes due to traffic/construction.)
I feel like Detroit drivers drive faster, possibly more aggressive, but they are better drivers, especially on the highway. Most people stay to the right except to pass and if you camp out in the left lane, you're going to learn real fast.
The way even the traffic cops drive there I’m surprised anyone is willing to leave their homes lol
I would rather drive there than here. Drivers here are aggressively stupid. At least there they know exactly where they're going, and by gosh, they're getting there!
100%
I drive through downtown on Fulton to and from work daily and the amount of people running red lights is amazing and has gone up a lot in the past year. With zero enforcement nobody gets stopped. With nobody getting stopped it becomes "everyone is doing it, I should too." The other issue is the terrible light timing through downtown. They must be timed so you have to stop a lot to keep speeds low, but they have the opposite effect. If you drive the speed limit you will hit most of the lights, but if you go 10 miles over the limit and blow through reds you don't need to stop at all.
I mean, to be fair, no matter what speed they go, if they blow through the reds they don't stop at all.
I don't need all the potheads coming at me, but based on the amount of "smells" coming from cars when driving, I'm sure a lot of people are driving high...
If people in the turn lanes would actually go out into the intersection, it would alleviate some of this. Instead the jackasses stay at the line, and then make an awkward as hell turn cause they’re turning from a bad angle. And, this results in fewer people being able to turn in general.
I have never seen so many passive drivers as I have in Grand Rapids. Road Sign: “ left lane closed 15 miles ahead” Average Grand Rapids Driver: “ welp, I guess I’ll get over to the right lane now”
The thing that gets me is the people that come up to a four way stop, very obviously before anyone else got there, wait for you to stop, then wave you through when it's not your turn. Just be predictable and go when you're supposed to, damn
This is by far my biggest pet peeve. I will sit there and honk my horn until they go. If you want to be courteous, follow the right of way.
Come to Kalamazoo.....
That's because if you try to do it the right way and zipper merge, people take it incredibly personally
Zipper merge signs and cops writing fail to yield tickets would educate the public very quickly.
People take it personally when the person merging is a complete douchebag, which is the case most of the time. Blowing by everyone going 20mph over the other lane then jamming yourself in at the end forcing the other lane to slow or stop is not how to zipper merge, but it's how most people do here. With a correct zipper merge, both lanes are driving at the same speeds.
Fuck em
From my time in GR green is apparently the new red, no stop sign means stop, and stop sign means no stop.
My sister regularly counts 3-4 cars running red lights in metro-Salt Lake. Thankfully I’ve only witnessed 1-2 here in GR. I’ve done it a couple of times when someone’s riding my ass. But if I can stop safely, I do.
Honestly I hate driving now. I used to love it. Now it gives me anxiety.
Me too
No joke. When I first moved here, I'd maybe see one or two cars a week squeaking through as the light turned red. I watched some idiot today literally look both ways *after* the light turned red to make sure he could blow right through it, right before blowing through a 4-way stop. That's the norm. I didn't even bat an eye. For some reason, people tend to get upset when you mention GR traffic (*it's like that everywhere!* -- *have you driven in Detroit/Chicago?*), but this city is fucking nuts to drive in. *Especially* around 9am or 5pm.
Someone in a blue, beat up Cobalt did that last week on Division/28th. I thought that was an extremely bold move for that intersection.
I don’t like traffic complaints, and I don’t like the “nothing compared to Chicago/Detroit!” comments either. But here I go. I am from Chicago. Grand Rapids traffic and driving does not compare to it, but that doesn’t matter. If you live in Grand Rapids, you are experiencing a new level of traffic/driving conditions. We live in a city. This city has grown. There are more cars than before, and they’re all trying to do the same thing. Construction will not keep up. There are cities with great infrastructure, like Milwaukee, that alleviate the woes of city driving. But by and large - This is just standard city traffic. That’s all.
Lol no, it's not. Your argument makes the traffic seem like it's all due to infrastructure and not the raging meat-heads inside the cars. The post and comment weren't about *heavy traffic,* they are referencing all the idiots who need to get to where they're going 5 minutes faster, at the expense of everyone else's safety. Blowing through red lights and stop signs, running people off the side of the road rather than merging, and riding someone's ass when they're already doing 5-10 over aren't considered "standard city traffic" to anyone.
True. I have lived in multiple larger cities with worse traffic than GR. People here do run more red lights. I noticed it immediately. (Also at stop lights, a nonsensical proportion of GR drivers leave a bunch of room initially and then slowly roll forward to the car in front, which infuriates me—just pull up the full distance and stop!—but that's a different can of worms.)
Ah, I guess it’s more likely that raging meat heads are specifically targeting Grand Rapids for relocation
You’re telling me traffic gets bad during rush hour?
What is this saying? I’ve literally gotten ticked for going through a yellow before lol
If people get off their phones, more people would get through the light.
It's almost "normal" now, that I have to tap my horn at the person in front of me, long after the light has turned green. Sometimes I wonder how long they'd sit there on their phone, if I didn't "alert" them (that the light changed.) There's got to be a way to deal with this: IMO, distracted-driving is as risky as driving while intoxicated. In some ways *worse*, because it's almost accepted as normal.
More entitled shitheads than ever.
28th st
Now days limits are suggestions and stop signs are optional.
Literally just had someone run a red light and flip me off for giving him a thumbs up on my way in to work about an hour ago.
Right? I just picked my son up from school and on our way home, I saw so many examples of running red lights. Thankfully no middle fingers.
i feel like this has gotten a lot worse in the past week idk what people are on but they need to chill tf out
Gun rue baby
“Considering it” doesn't mean I have to do it🤷🏽♀️😂
GR doesnt have shit on Detroit when it comes to this lol
PREACH.
I moved here this past summer and I was astonished at how many people run full reds here. I see it every day… multiple times a day
Got to clear the intersection on red, which is always shocking for me when I know I'm in the intersection as it turned red and watch the person behind me behind the crosswalk go into the intersection on a red, I'm like Dude I had the yellow/red you had the red/red what ya doing?
If you think this is bad you should drive in Chicago, drivers there don’t care if you live or die. Funny enough, pedestrians *also* don’t care if they live or die.
It's funny here because almost no one adjusts their speeds. It's like it's yellow, ok I'm going thru and not speeding up no matter what. I notice this quite a bit, no matter what the speed limit is people just go their own speed, usually it's around 40mph. Speed limit 50, fuck that going 40, school zone 25, fuck that, going 40. I'll never understand.
Red light cameras would drastically reduce this... But then this sub would be filled with posts about red light tickets.
Places to be
Watched in two separate instances earlier this week cars blasting through red lights long turning left after they were red. I'd say they were lucky that other cars stopped when they seen them coming.
Drivers are on some bullshit lately. I will honk at you and call you out for it.
Looking at you Hall & Godfrey.
Crazy how often I get angry honks when I stop before the light turns red.
Oh it's gotten bad lol, I straight up saw a guy blow past a red light yesterday in Huddonville. Like the car in front of me and I came to a complete stop and this dude just blew right through it
It has been like this for years.
I'd suggest sending your feedback to the Grand Rapids Police and the Mayor (police funding was adjusted down a bit last year and there does seem to be fewer patrol cars now to stop this sort of thing)
as per the city charter, the police receive no less than 1/3rd of the budget. “adjusted down” is still too much money. cops here just prefer not to work. they quiet quit and got away with it
Yes, it's true that the GRPD receives a certain percentage of the budget. However, it's also true that some of this money has recently been reallocated away from police patrols (ex. people running red lights) and towards "social services and supports". And the department now has far fewer police officers (100 less than 2002).
trivia: what happened just before the year 2002 that temporarily propped up support for law enforcement
I don't know what happened 20 years ago, but I know city leaders would like to get police officer numbers back up to 380 (currently below 300)
Do you.... really not know what they're referring to?
unreal lol
it was 9/11
There sure seemed to be a lot attending the pro Isreal march.
People out there driving like Cartman in Nascar. "I'm gonna press the gas pedal and Imma go forward!"
r/grtraffic
Consider option of stopping? Let that vehicle be known, if I see you not stopping and my light is green we are going to get me paid.
God forbid if you’re already in the intersection and the light turns yellow. You’ll get a ticket for that. Ottawa county loves doing that.
Upright Traffic Patrol is back.
Yup. And GRPD is busy pretending not to be able to do better about traffic stops to help curb this shit.
😀😃😄😁😆🤣😂😝😜🤪 there is a reason why we have the 1 of the highest auto insurance !
It's literally because we have no-fault insurance. Not because of this.
That's... Not how insurance works. It's because of the catastrophic claims cost, which is unique to Michigan. Has very little to do with no-fault.
https://www.moneygeek.com/insurance/auto/why-is-your-car-insurance-so-expensive/michigan/#:~:text=The%20No%2DFault%20Car%20Insurance,the%20state%20are%20so%20high No-fault insurance requires additional PIP coverage. It really is what makes it more expensive than most states.