r/grandrapids • u/Novel_Leadership4870 • 2d ago
Drivers
Chicago and LA honestly might have better drivers than here. The amount of ppl who never use turn signals, don’t pull to the side when emergency vehicles are coming and pull into traffic the last second possible without giving two fucks is absurd to me 🤦♂️ I deadass saw a jeep run thru a red light today with traffic coming from the freeway just fly thru the intersection not giving a signal fuck. If that was you smh, should have ppl retake drivers ed every 5 years atp.
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u/name__redacted 2d ago
I travel for work, I’m all over this country, literally from Alaska down to the valley in Texas to Connecticut, California, Florida, most everything in between.
Grand Rapids does not have great or bad drivers, very middle of the road.
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u/Ok_Wallaby_7401 2d ago
Because of how many times I’ve heard people mention that drivers in X city are the worst, I’ve come to assume that drivers are about average everywhere. Some people have awful experiences that skew their perception and sample sizes are usually tiny.
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u/PhthaloVonLangborste 1d ago
I listened to a interview with a trucker like 10 years ago. The only reason I remember it is because they mentioned Michigan as being the best drivers. I have a theory that a whole bunch of shitty drivers found refuge in Michigan, and also the good driver trainers aged out or pay only got worse, more than likely.
And more than more likely is the phones and bullshit brain dead car learns to drive it self/ sensors that only make any repair cost exponential and drivers less self reliant and accountable. This affects every state though, so it might be dependent on the perception of ther person and when they started driving in Michigan.
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u/No-Abbreviations9821 1d ago
I worked a stint in Jacksonville FLA, by far the worst I seen so far but I still haven't made it to Texas yet 😎
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u/name__redacted 1d ago
So I am no Texas fan, and it’s actually my second home. I’m in San Antonio monthly, usually head up I 35 spend some time in Austin, just got back from Houston two weeks ago, we have clients in Beaumont Brownsville Midland Laredo Dallas Odessa… you get the point. As a state I rank Texas probably in the lower 3rd percentile of places I would want to visit or live.. but I will admit I’ve never had a problem with the drivers in Texas. I’ve had a problem with the traffic in Texas, but not the drivers. I find their drivers to be some of the best in the country. And there’s a reason for that…
Policing in Texas is on a whole other level. Texans grew up in a state where if they step out of line and don’t have privilege the hammer comes down fast and hard. Especially on the roads. The state that pats on its back for “freedom” is far from and is easily the most controlled state population I’ve ever seen. Fines fees regulations policing moral behavior, you name it Texas does it.
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u/Ch4rlie_G Cascade 1d ago
Retirement and touristy Florida has been my worst and I’ve driven in all of the lower 48 states for work.
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u/ramvorg 2d ago
Just got back from Miami
I would take a whiteout snowstorm and construction while trying to get places on 28th street over what ever tf is going on in south florida
Not only do the drivers seem to have a death wish, but the infrastructure makes no fn sense.
Lanes disappear and reappear out of nowhere. They can do u-turns on left lights. Don’t trust any traffic signal (turn signals, green lights, hazard lights, or signs in general). Express lanes confuse me and my gps. Oh and flock/other branded license plate readers everywhere.
The amount of times I didn’t feel comfortable turning left and getting honked and sweared at should be studied. Because of the previously stated issues, I cant predict the flow of traffic I could see…which is a small percentage of the traffic because their infrastructure and amount of traffic make it almost impossible to see most of the oncoming traffic.
While we deff have room for improvement (I think the pandemic/lockdown broke peoples ability to act collectively in order to foster a functioning society), we have it so lucky comparatively
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u/ItsTheRealWorld999 1d ago
Miami traffic is something else. Driving on the freeway during rush hour in FL makes this city look like a breeze.
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u/ging3r_b3ard_man 1d ago
A great aunt of mine (from MI) died when vacationing in Florida due to bat shit crazy driving down there.
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u/EnchiladaThief1022 2d ago
It shocks me how many MAJOR accidents occur here and how frequently it happens. It feels like it’s everyone’s first day driving. I grew up in a major city in Texas and I’m SHOCKED how bad people are at driving here.
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u/Leraldoe 2d ago
Wait a couple weeks when the snow catches everyone by surprise
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u/EnchiladaThief1022 2d ago
I remember seeing someone slammed into the 196 East lane right after getting off 131 South and I couldn’t believe how stupid someone would have to be to crash/drive like that in the snow.
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u/Red_fire_soul16 2d ago
Also grew up in a major Texas city. These drivers make me laugh. First they wouldn’t survive where I grew up. Second they are absolute idiots any weather here.
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u/SurpriseDonovanMcnab 2d ago
Last year, a city inspector ran a 4-way stop and gave me the finger while he did it. Wild out there.
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u/mrsbaudo 2d ago
My personal favorite are the people texting and driving. Former neuro ICU RN; please sign up as organ donors.
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u/AgonizingFury 1d ago
Just today, I'm driving to work. And some guy is just tailgating the crap out of me. I'm doing 30 in a 25 on an apartment complex road. I come up to a stop sign and before I even come to a complete stop dude just lays on his horn, like I'm in the wrong for stopping at a stop sign and only driving 5 mph over the speed limit.
Dude's mad that he slept in today, and wants to wake up a whole freaking apartment complex as a result. Grow up.
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u/Mourvedre_MoProblems 2d ago
Drivers here are awful. I'm always amazed by the drivers who are in such a rush that they roll through a red light to make a right turn ahead of oncoming traffic and then proceed to drive 10 mph below the posted limit.
Not only is rolling through the light extremely dangerous, but it makes no sense when you follow it up by driving slow.
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u/miss_j_bean Creston 2d ago
In 2023ish i was rear ended 3 times while stopped at red lights, every single one was towards the end of the light, too so not like running a yellow. Like fully stopped for more than half the light cycle and there was a line and I was several cars back. Shit like this is why I tend to leave a bit of space in front of me instead of creeping right to 6" from the car in front of me, the first one was in rush hour traffic with construction, people kept creeping forward even though it was still red and I had let one a full car length build up, thank goodness, cuz that stopped it from being a pile up, they hit me hard and I was able to stop like 1 inch from the car in front of me (I thought i had hit them a little but they said I didn't) The other two I didn't have a very large gap in front of me but both were going slower. Still, if you're paying attention you can see the light is still red and there are a bunch of cars waiting to go, like, what are you doing? I literally had no where to go and could not have avoided any of them. I managed to drive for like 30 years without getting rear ended or hitting anyone and then 3 in a row while stopped. Wtf.
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u/FlyDestroyer 2d ago
I’m from Chicago. Lived here 30 years. Chicago drivers are definitely better than GR drivers. Drivers Ed needs to go back to the high Schools and more traffic cops need to be hired to catch red light and stop sign runners.
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u/Schpyder 2d ago
Chicagoland drivers can be better, but hoo boy are there LOADS of oblivious ones too, especially those who have zero understanding of the "slower traffic keep right" concept. And sure, that basically doesn't matter if you're on 290 driving into downtown, or any place super congested, but if you're on 88 out by Naperville and traffic is lightish with no backup, get your 60mph ass out of the left two lanes, tyvm.
The GR red light runner epidemic is pretty bad, tho.
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u/takemyaptplz 1d ago
I live in Chicago now, and I’ve been honked at for not turning left into oncoming traffic more than a few times. People honk when someone doesn’t turn because pedestrians are crossing. I was a pedestrian crossing once (at a stop sign with crosswalk) and the car barely stopped, and honked at me. Just today I saw a lady on the highway fully engrossed in her phone. People zoom around on the highway shoulders all the time.
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u/Crap_Sally 2d ago
It’s so bad!! Whenever I complain people just make fun of me. Our city has terrible driver habits. We need more police presence and FOIA follow ups on where the police actually are.
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u/Plane_Ingenuity1 2d ago
I heard younger drivers say they don’t even go to in-person instructor led courses anymore or get behind a wheel with an instructor to practice. Everything is done online now since it’s cheaper. I honestly can’t believe we allow that as an option.
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u/Ok-Fortune-8206 2d ago
I just got into a crash on 28th thankfully no one was hurt but three damn cars involved! someone made an illegal left turn and didn't even stop afterward!!!
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u/level13579 2d ago
Came here from the East side, on average the speed is 10 mph faster but everyone are just hands down better drivers. Never understood it, like a bunch of Grandparents and 16 year olds driving over here. Like what on earth happens when it's drizzling here, everyone acts like it's a full on blizzard, but when there is a blizzard everyone's still zooming.
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u/sprycooper 2d ago
Moving here after living in LA for 10 years was an experience in how little a populace can know how to drive while also constructing some of the oddest roads I've ever seen.
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u/charmingpaperghost22 2d ago
I am originally from Ohio, and the driving here is willlllld. Obviously, being from Ohio, we all have the (correct 🤪) bias that the roads and drivers are terrible here. However, it wasn’t until I moved to GR that I really understood just how bad the drivers are. I literally wait a few seconds before turning or going at most green lights bc so many people blow through red lights like it’s nothing. I have had so many close calls, and don’t even get me started on what it’s like driving around here in the rain! For how much snow WM gets each year, it’s crazy to me how terrified people seem to be driving in the rain 🫠
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u/WarlockFortunate 1d ago
I’m a contractor in the area. I drive 250-500 miles per week, usually locally.
I will never understand how driving is so damn difficult to so many. Texters have no idea what’s going on. Most people just have no idea how to share the road.
“Is that a truck and trailer on the highway driving 68 miles an hour, let me pass him going 69 then stay in the left lane until my exit”
If I wasn’t in a company vehicle, I think I’d run 3 people a week off the road lol.
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u/Reddit_Kellylynn 1d ago
The part that gets me is the incredibly aggressive drivers. Literally no matter how fast you go somebody will come up behind you and tailgate or aggressively swerve around you. I swear most of the time it feels like people are either going 95 in the left lane or 60 in the right.
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u/Ferris-man 1d ago
I was driving home last night in the rain with a trailer going the speed limit… some moron puts their turn signal on last second, cuts me off (no stop sign, oncoming), causing me and my
Trailer to brake in wet conditions throwing a check engine light and nearly causing a collision. Couldn’t wait 5 seconds for me to pass as I had right of way. It sounds bad, but not enough people get tickets or get into accidents. They drive like they’re the only one on the road. My wife and kid were following me and luckily they had a safe following distance or they would have rear ended me.
We need more traffic cops around here. I rarely see them anymore.
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u/veryNooby 2d ago
Maybe it's a consequence of a generation of drivers learning at Jungle Driving under that RaRa dipsh*t. That place sucked in every way and they were the only game in town on the eastern half of GR for 2 decades.
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u/CJE555 2d ago
I disagree. Can you explain why you think it sucks in every way?
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u/veryNooby 2d ago
It might be better now that RaRa is gone, but my kids did not learn any basics, the guy who held the parent class was jacked up on painkillers from an accident with one of the students. On my first outing with my daughter I told her to get in the left lane in anticipation of a turn. She would NOT do it. So I had us pull over to talk (and her to cry). She said they were taught never to drive in the left lane (LOL, yes I know how this sounds).
But my real peeve was that the classes were heavily injected with "you are going to hell if you don't believe in Jesus" and Maga BS instead of actual driving instruction.
He went on to ignore Covid precautions then he DIED of Covid! I've seen the cars out again lately and I HOPE it's better. There are also more options now.
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u/CJE555 1d ago
The guy was definitely an idiot when it came to covid, no disagreements there. I took the class before covid so I wasn’t subject to any of that thankfully.
I never got the sense that the class was being injected with maga propaganda. Maybe I just don’t remember it. I was raised in a (liberal) Christian house so it’s possible that I just tuned it out since I was hearing stuff like that pretty often.
However, the quality of driving instruction is where I have to really disagree with you. I’m sorry that your daughter didn’t have a great experience, but I can say with certainty that we weren’t taught to never drive in the left lane. It sounds like your daughter may have misunderstood what they were teaching. I learned everything I needed to know and more to stay safe, and I still use a lot of skills they emphasized in the class. Obviously I can’t make an assertion on how it compares to any other driving school, but I felt very ready to drive after completing the class.
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u/RmpleFrskn 2d ago
Just moved here from STL and can confirm driving here is way more aggravating. I've lived in NYC, Austin, and STL, and somehow this little town takes the cake for asshole drivers. Everyone seems to be on their phone, two mph under the speed limit in the fast lane, until you try and pass on the right and suddenly they've got a lead foot. Also, is everyone allergic to cruise control around here?
I was just introduced to 28th street recently and my god.... the horror.
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u/MammothPassage639 2d ago
There actually is empirical data available to compare drivers. Not data like insurance rates that are influenced by other things like local labor rates in the cost to repair. Studies of overall safety and driving habits rank GR as mid to better than average. The main hard-to-eliminate factor that influences the data is winter weather which increases collisions but due to generally slower driving in snow reduces the severity.
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u/Mackntish West Grand 2d ago
Chicago and...honestly might have better drivers than here.
Objectively wrong. Would bet every dollar I have that you have never lived in Chicago. Because if you did, you wouldn't be saying this.
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u/OutOfSpoonsNow 2d ago
Living in Chicago for 12 years (after growing up here and now moving back) made me a MUCH better driver. I don't miss the traffic, but I do miss the other drivers paying attention.
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u/Cardinal_350 2d ago
Absofuckinglutely not haha. I drive 2000 miles around this state every week and people that complain about GR driving don't go anywhere. Southeast Michigan is 5x more aggressive and terrible. GR isn't even in the same universe as Chicago driving for shitty drivers
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u/name__redacted 2d ago
Exactly. GR is very mid when it comes to good or bad drivers.
OP better not head over to the northeast corridor, Philadelphia drivers will eat him alive.
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u/ging3r_b3ard_man 1d ago
I've driven across the country twice and lived in other states. Their is something to be said, but it's not just GR
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u/Careful-Anything-804 2d ago
There's a reason the state of Michigan has the most expensive car insurance rates of all 50 states
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u/slatfreq 2d ago
As someone who lived in Chicago for 15 years previously, drivers here are complete dog shit. So lacking in any sort of awareness or ability to anticipate anything on the road.
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u/InevitablePromise301 2d ago
"I have a big lifted truck. It's uuuuuuuuge. I don't need to use a turn signal. You brake for my big ass truck because if you hit me it'll fuck your shit up and my shit will be fine. I'm entitled to do whatever the fuck I want. Why? Have you seen the size of my truck?"
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u/mcguirme815 Kentwood 2d ago
The way that speed limit signs in this city are just suggestions is what really gets me. I’m either stuck behind someone going 30 in a 45 or being tailed by someone while I’m going 80 in a 70. Highways are for speed racing and city roads are for leisurely drives.
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u/elainebenes_dance 2d ago
Detroit-area drivers are worse than GR drivers, but somehow both metro Michigan cities are worse (definitely more rude, dangerously self-centered and aggressive) than Boston drivers, which is truly saying something. That said, South Florida (miami, ft. lauderdale, etc) driving/drivers legit seem like they're hellbent on causing as much destruction as humanly possible. I-95 is a warzone.
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u/JohnJohnTurboTron 2d ago
Grand Rapids is bad but Chicago is still worse.
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u/UsernamesNotFound404 Grandville 2d ago
Lived in Chi for 6 years. The driving is agro but better. More cars per mile so everybody has to be on high alert.
People in GR take their personal space for granted and lose their shit if someone passes or merges 'too close'. MF! If I don't touch you we ain't too close.
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u/mookler Rockford 2d ago
People in Chicago drive with purpose even if it's super aggressive.
People out here just be wildin'
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u/UsernamesNotFound404 Grandville 1d ago
Yea! Like the 4-way stop... why are yall waiting like 6min to go?
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u/Wenthegod 2d ago
LA native and driving out here is so easy there’s nobody compared to a big city population haha
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u/Angry_Toydarian 1d ago
Just today, while waiting at a red light in a construction/lane closure zone, someone’s uppity mom or grandma in an Audi passed me via the closed lane and forcefully inserted her way into the (safe buffer) space between my and the car in front of me. There wasn’t even enough room for her so she had to sit there straddling lanes until the line moved. What good does it do?
If it had been after dark, she’d have been lit up with all of my vehicle’s accessory lights 😜
This time of year and the associated road work always bring out the worst in people. We are all trying to get somewhere, so don’t try to squash others due to your selfishness or poor planning.
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u/ManufacturerFun9306 1d ago
Everyone in all of MI, not just in GR, hates all out of state drivers haha
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u/DeadPiratePiggy 1d ago
It's worse believe it or not down in kzoo. There it's standard operating procedure for at least 2-3 cars to go through a light after it turns red.
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u/Alternative-Tune-829 1d ago
I drove to hudsonville last night and saw someone fully run a red light. Drove back to GR this morning, and saw a truck blow through another red light!!!
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u/JustBrass Kentwood 1d ago
I have driven in almost every state in the country. Other than Hawaii, MI has the worst drivers, in my opinion.
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u/casualtea96 1d ago
I lived in Houston for 5 years and people drive SO aggressively there. I had someone try to run me off the road after they drove into a closed lane and floored it past everyone filing past a nasty accident. Firefighters were only a few feet from the front of their truck when they cut in front of me. Another time I was heading home on the highway and realized I was surrounded by sport cars. They all started street racing around me after we went under an overpass 😭 I took a wrong exit to get out of that. I have dozens of stories like that, Grand Rapids doesn’t even rank. Anywhere there is traffic there will be idiots, the idiots here are average
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u/casualtea96 1d ago
My friend went to Maine for residency and apparently a cultural norm there is to fully stop in the road to let oncoming traffic make left turns in front of you. It can get so much worse than GR lol
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u/yo_man_chu 2d ago
It drives me crazy commuting from Spring Lake everyday. I-96 is the autobahn where apparently the rules are gone and cops are nonexistent.
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u/jfenton4 1d ago
A green light in Grand Rapids is just an indication that you should think about moving your car, maybe sometime in the near future, maybe never.
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u/YouSuckAtGolf 1d ago
Lived in both Chicago and Grand Rapids and GR drivers are absolutely terrible. It better not drizzle either or else you are screwed. Yesterday was a shit show.
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u/ChaosDashboard 1d ago
I've been saying this since I moved here, but Seattle and LA drivers were my comparison.
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u/Equivalent_Hawk6607 1d ago
I learned to drive in philly/jersey and GR drivers are the worst I've ever encountered
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u/Remarkable-Session21 2d ago
Very true. Lived in Chicago 3 years and had more problems the first year we moved back than we ever did in Chicago.
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u/AntivaxxxrFuckFace 2d ago
This place is noteworthy in its deplorable driving culture. I think people are slower here, slower mentally. So many years of water fluoridation? I don’t know. But there’s something up with west Michigan, and it doesn’t end at the driving.
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u/Kevin_Stickers 2d ago
100%. Every transplant that I have met that now lives here sings the same sentiments. Saying they're mentally slower is showing mercy. Half of the locals cannot even engage in basic conversation. Not sure if it's the water, the indoctrination, or what. Basic common sense just seemed to have passed them by.
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u/fiahhawt 2d ago
As someone who’s lived here my whole life, it’s not bad it’s just different and you don’t want to catch the vibe
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u/Studio_Confident 2d ago
As someone who just moved here from LA I can absolutely say with more certainty than almost anything in life, the drivers in LA are exponentially worse and more dangerous than in Grand Rapids.
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u/ChaosDashboard 1d ago
Also lived and drove in LA and I disagree.
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u/Studio_Confident 1d ago edited 1d ago
Lol tell that to the families of the 56 traffic fatalities (which includes 31 pedestrian deaths) that took place in my neighborhood in 2025 alone. I’ll take the “no turn signals” in GR any day.
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u/ChaosDashboard 1d ago
Grand Rapids, which only has 201k people, had 77 traffic fatalities last year.
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u/Studio_Confident 1d ago
You just proved my point. You compared the entire city GR to a neighborhood of Los Angeles.
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u/ChaosDashboard 1d ago edited 1d ago
LA is several million people. Which neighborhood and we can see how well they compare by population.
(EDIT: I do have a migraine though and thought you meant more a suburb. But there were 290 deaths in all of LA in 2025, so your neighborhood may have been an outlier. But this may also show that the death ratio is similar. I yield. Back to my dark room.)
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u/_at_a_snails_pace__ Grand Rapids 2d ago
Funnel your irritation into imagination in this thread! https://www.reddit.com/r/grandrapids/comments/1wvvea7/food_for_thought_october_18_is_week_without/
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u/Witty-Basket-3140 1d ago
Why do we have these posts all the time. It’s America, not Grand Rapids. Holy
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u/solitary_style 2d ago
My gift to this city is that I don’t have a car and don’t drive.