Impeding traffic in Michigan

Anyone who has visited our fine state knows that Michiganders drive very fast, but not necessarily very well. Visiting Californians, used to six lanes of traffic going eighty mph, are terrified by the Michigan freeways. Even the beer-swilling drivers of Texas seem cautious in comparison.

OK, so a few weeks ago I'm driving home on a nearly deserted road and get pulled over for speeding. The cop says he clocked me doing sixty in a forty-five and gives me a ticket for five over.

The next day I call the court clerk to see what the fine is. She says "The fine is 95 dollars. You can pay it and take two points, or you can get a court date and see if the prosecutor will let you pay the fine with no points." Naturally, I'm very interested in keeping points off my license. I also know that points are assessed by the state, and local courts and prosecutors supposedly have no authority to drop them.

So I ask for a court date, which was yesterday. The prosecutor says: "I'll make it a ticket for impeding traffic, it's a 145 dollar fine and doesn't go against your driving record." I take the deal and I'm out the door two minutes later.

Well there you have it. Michigan must be the only state in the country where driving 15 mph over the speed limit is considered "impeding traffic".

Sounds like it's all about the $, huh?

What kind of cop was this? City, county, state? Sounds like nothing more than a scam to raise money in a small town.
BTW, I'm from Texas and I am not a beer-swilling driver. I discovered the straw and now I suck and drive!

A law hit the books in IL a couple years back for just this. The lovely toll ways around the Chi town has almost no top end for speed except Sunday morning. Now when the car is in the left lane running 85 MPH and cars are stacking up behind the lead car this is impeding traffic per the code even at more than 20 over the posted limits. When lead vehicle fails to move over a ticket could issued. Remember when the poll is greased you are going to slide down into the tub of $hit. Sounds like a county mountie.

The law resulted when a state senator was flying down I 55 to Springfield with the Senate plate on the car got behind someone that would not pull over. The power of out fine elected officials at work. State is so broke road salt is a problem already.

The IL Gov yesterday had 3 ministers in his house to pray? Reminds me of Jesse SR and slick willie in the white house and all the time Jesse had a fresh daughter with hust money comming out of operation push (fed Money) for the new mother as I heard.

Hi RGV,

It's nice to know that things have progressed in Texas since thirty years ago when I was a resident of your fine state.

This was in a "township". A township is an area of about 36 square miles; states that were divided up by the Northwest Ordinance and afterwards all have townships, but they're typically not government entities. In Michigan, most townships that are not entirely within a city limits have their own governments, sort of like a city but not quite.

Welp in Ontario if you are caught 50KM over the posted limit, you get your car confiscated for a week and you get a court date for a 2000 dollar fine plus impound charges..and we have had garbage trucks, transport trucks evry kind of vehicle impounded and to date in Ontario over 6000 vehicles have been siezed, even had police report they nailed the same driver twice within a few days, second time with a rental car..imagine paying rental fees and impound fee on the same vehicle. Police say it can cost you $2400 plus several points and they say thats nothing, wait until the DOT imforms your insurance company!

I can relate to the most MI drivers and the speeding, I go there probably once a month at least and it never fails to amaze me how everyone flys down the roads that are known to have speed traps on them. I also know all about chicago drivers. I was just there last weekend to pick someone up from O'hare and I took I294. The posted speed limit is 55mph the whole way and theres a big road work area too. The slowest person was going 60mph, most of them had to be going 75 or more. Even had a cop pass me when I was going 65. Do they enforce the speed limits at all over there?

In Missouri if you are willing to pay DOUBLE the fine for speed it is listed as a "Defective Equipment" ticket and you do not have any points added to you license.

Kent

Having lived in both California and Michigan I can tell you that I would rather drive with 6 lanes of Califorians @ 85~90 mph than 2~3 lanes of Michiganders at 75~80 mph. Give me the 405 freeway in LA vs I-75 in Detroit any day.

Nobody should be surprised about the windage that the cops are using to generate income. The biggest money maker is the construction zone. I see the signs that say 60mph unless workers are present. I am often the only one who slows for a single guy on the side of the road either in a truck or outside. I can't tell you how many times there seems to be a laser gun somewhere close.

You shouldn't think that Michigan is the only state that gives you a buy-out option. Californians have been going to "traffic school" for years to avoid points. Keep in mind that sometimes even though you don't get points on your license, that doesn't mean that your insurance company won't see that ticket and index your rate. Happened to me back in the 70's during the 55mph days.

Car insurance is a concept that was started by Al Capone. Today's companies have simply refined his original marketing approach.

It's selective enforcement. If they feel like pulling you over,they do. If the cop would rather be sitting at the back of the fair grounds talking to young girls,you're safe to drive as fast as you want to. Many a summer evening when I'm sitting in my rocker on the front porch,I threaten to go in and get the shotgun and lay it across my lap. Some of those SOBs need to be taken out before they take out somebody else.

Thanks. My township just paid to get the county to pave my road. And if all the Texans buy their beer in my township, we will get that tax money from the state apportioned back to us.

Thats interesting about Chicagoland. I was over there in August for training at the GM Hinsdale facility. The instructor was telling about all of the "villages" and how their cops will issue a "State" ticket and a "Village" ticket. Basically double dipping. He was telling those of us from out of state that if we got pulled over and ticketed be sure to pay the state ticket and toss the village ticket in the nearest trash can. Don't know how that would turn out, so I just drove so I wouldn't get in trouble. One things for sure, they honk at you if you don't cut a green light like they do at a NHRA drag race.

It's funny that you should mention "construction" zones. Not that folks shouldn't slow down while in actual construction zones, we really should, but I'm hearing more and more complaints in general about "construction" zone signs going up or left up for no legitimate reasons, and then coming down...after enough revenues have been generated from tickets where the fines triple, quadrupal, etc. Let's face it, local, state, and federal governments are hurting for cash, and instead of cutting budgets like real people have to do when we're strapped for cash, they do what bank robbers do, look for some other bank to rob.

Mark

Mark: Where in Michigan does this wild driving take place? I live in Ontario, about 30 miles east of Port Huron, and I think you folks are quite tame compared to Ontario drivers.

Now Ontarians are taming down a bit, ever since the government introduced this new law of seizing your vehicle for a week if your 50 km over the posted speed limit, (30 mph over). The fine is $10,000. plus towing your vehicle, storage of the vehicle for the week. Most add up to $13,000. plus points before the infraction is over. Would you believe this, in the first 9 months police seized 5,000 vehicles across Ontario.

I used to go to Detroit twice weekly, made a few friends in Detroit over the years. We all knew a lot of Michiganites travelled in Ontario. My friends in Detroit used to torment me by saying, "All those Michiganites you see driving in Ontario are the one's who like to break the law and get away with it."

When I first moved here from Nova Scotia, I used to get a lot of, "don't you find the pace of life much faster than in Nova Scotia." My reply, " The only thing I see Ontarians do fast is drive, and any idiot can drive fast on straight roads, come to NS and we'll show you how to drive fast on crooked roads." When I was a teenager we had a doctor, could make it from village to village, 10 miles apart in 6 min, with his late 50s Olds. There wasn't a 1/4 mile of straight road between the two. We called him sawbones, and man could that guy cover road on an emergency call.

I think of tickets as a randomly collected driving tax. All have to pay at different times.

exactly correct!

Hi Hugh,

I'm in the Detroit area, but people drive pretty fast throughout Michigan. And if I'm driving out of state and get passed by a car travelling at an absurd speed, more often than not it has Michigan plates. On the other hand, I've never thought traffic was that fast in Ontario, although I get passed by plenty of Michiganders there as well.

The wife and I keep talking about visiting Nova Scotia. It sounds like a wonderful place, but it's a long trip from here.

Mark: Proves what I said, Michiganites that like to speed and get away with it, come to Ontario.

That is changing though, OPP are starting to have a real presence on our highways. 5 years ago I used to drive from Port Huron to Detroit twice weekly. I never made that trip without seeing at least 4 State Police cruisers, plus a few County sherrif's. From here it is roughly same distance to Toronto, and I've made that trip many times and never seen a police vehicle of any description. I don't think the OPP had any idea how bad it was, moreover I don't think the government gave them enough budget to be out there.

When they introduced this new law with confiscation of vehicle and $10,000. fine for being 50 km over posted speed limit, even the OPP Commissioner couldn't believe they impounded 5,000 cars in the first 9 months. I heard him being interviewed on radio, he was bowled over by the statistic. They've since added a lot of new equipment including a plane. I've heard of two cases drivers were clocked in excess of 200 kmph. Rather than give chase, plane followed them home, and they soon go a visit from a cruiser.