Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Detroit Driving Tips

Rodney Fournier posted a series of humorous (but true) tips for driving in Detroit. I tried to add the following comment, but something did not work, so I just decided to post them here:

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I've noticed that while driving in DEEtroit that the left turn lane is actually the right-most lane. You must turn right onto the road that you're trying to turn left on, immediately get into the left lane, and then wait in a quasi- U-turn lane for traffic to clear, and then you can turn left.

So, the observation here: the infinite wisdom of the DEEtroit traffic engineers didn't want you to turn left at a light, where they can "safely" control the flow. Instead, they want you to turn left from a U-turn lane with oncoming traffic.

But, I guess that's what no-fault insurance is for...

Oh, and if you happen to be on a side street (i.e., not a Mile road or major North-South road), left turns do exist. But, when you're first in line at a red light, and that light starts flashing, that's actually a cue that you can turn left after yielding to oncoming traffic. Waiting for a green light will definitely get you shot.