Encounter with tbe Michigan Highway Patrol

[Desert_Captain]

Rolling north on I-94 northbound out of Indiana bound for Plainwell MI, heavy rain but light traffic. Potholes (as in large enough to swallow a VW), especially along the right lane where I travel at 58 mph in our 24' Class C.

I saw the MHP SUV hanging at my 7 but ignored his presence until all of those red and blue lights lit up. :E. A very young officer came up to our passenger window, we handed him my license and registraton and asked why we were stopped. He was very nice and said he saw me repeatedy swerve left crossing into the right edge of the middle (#2), lane.

I explained that I was dodging all, or at least trying to dodge as many of the serious potholes as possible but ONLY when the #2 lane was empty. He laughed and apologized on behalf of the state of Michigan. I could see you moving left and then back right but couldn't see the potholes when you did. I was afraid you were falling asleep.

Naturally he ran my license, came up clean. chatted a couple of minutes about where we were headed, suggested the UP and wished us well. We urged him to be carefull and safe and drove off.

He looked sooo young, pehaps 23 or 24, my bride thought he was cute, but the whole time he stood at our C's passenger door I could see his partner, right hand resting on the butt of his pistol standing at the right, rear corner of the coach. Nice to see that they are cautious AND corteous.
:C

[travelnutz]

Desert Captain,

The MDOT Map of road projects this summer/year on I-94 is 56.3 miles long on the stretch you had taken. However, only 8.1 miles is being repaved, starting just east of Benton Harbor and where I-196 joins I-94. The rest of the construction is for adding a median cable barrier and replacing 1 bridge. Another about 10 miles long section of I-94 being repaired is west of Jackson and a smaller section of I-94 not far from Detroit Metro Airport but those wouldn't affect you.

Several roads/Interstates with construction around the Grand Rapids area and some Detroit areas and a there's lot in Ottawa County including a new additional limited access highway with a new .8 mile long bridge over the Grand River. The 6th longest bridge in the state and 3 of those are for going over the wide Great Lakes rivers to Canada. All tiny compared to the 5 mile long Mackinac Bridge that links the L.P and the U.P. The west side of the State ghrew and is growing fast in population while the east side is losing/lost population and that's why there's so much more road work being done in the west half as that's the future is in the state.

I can post the link to the PDF map if wanted or you can simply google it.

[obgraham]

I continue to have great respect for our police services. Particularly when I hear of things like the loss of three RCMP officers in the quiet town of Moncton, New Brunswick.

For most of us, the most serious encounter we have with them is some traffic violation, and we are almost always quick to explain how we didn't deserve that ticket.

But among the population is a small percentage who wish them physical harm, and young officers continue to die doing the tasks we ask them to.

God bless them all.

[JiminDenver]

I remember the roads buckling and longggggg back ups as one car at a time went over the bump.

We see the same temps here but without the humidity. -20 to 105 in one year but ya gotta love 5% humidity when it gets hot. Then again the ponds they have the nerve to call lakes here are almost cute. lol

[Matt_Colie]

Yes, MSP are usually professional and courteous.
But, Michigan has two road strikes against it at the start. And, a third is hiding in the woodpile.
The two up front are an absolutely brutal temperature range and the heavy weight of allowed trucks.

This winter we did have temperatures in the -10°F region in the southern part of the state. When (if) summer ever gets here, we can expect 100°+ days. Maybe not many, but they make the concrete of the older road buckle at the joints. This can even happen when the concrete has been covered with McAdam.

If you have never seen a Michigan gravel or steel hauler, you are in for a treat. 42 tires on the ground. A max load of 175K#, and they (particularly the steel haulers that get paid by the pound) try to beat it. That is exactly why the Detroit area roads are so bad.

The one most people don't see is that Michigan was until recently a strong labor state. This mean that any road work is real expensive. And if it can happen (i.e. around the new DTW terminals), the work done is all of inferior quality and even the concrete pavement that was undercover was breaking up where there is no heavy traffic.

I dodge pot holes too.

Matt

[2500HDee]

We live in a small town in Michigan and last week my wife and I were riding bikes with my son who is almost 3. As we were riding down the sidewalk a Michigan State Police car slowed as he passed us and then turned on his lights. He pulled over to the side of the street with a bunch of cars behind him and got out of his car. At first I thought he was going to approach the house he parked in front of but then he started walking toward us.

I had no idea what this could be about. He looked me right in the eye and said, "Excuse me sir, may I please give something to your son?" I replied in the affirmative and he proceeded to bend down and explain to my son that he was giving him a gift certificate for a free ice cream cone for being safe and wearing his bike helmet. He thanked my son, walked back to his car and drove off.

How cool is that?

[wa8yxm]

Interesting story

1: I=94 runs east and west till you get to the far east end (East of Detroit) Indiana is under the WESTERN half of MI.

Second Michigan does not have a Highway Patrol,,, Though the Detroit freeway post has been called that from time to time.. Michigan has the Michigan State Police....

So this story a few pot holes in it as well....

HOWEVER.. a couple things it got right.

You must be 21 to enter the MSP academy, which is you you get your badge, You do not need a criminal degree and any other police training is well, not going to get you your badge,, All troopers go to MSP school (Academy) just west of Lansing (Diamondale).

Second: Of all the police I have ever dealt with the MICHIGAN STATE POLICE rate #1 in courtesy and professionalism. The only agency I'd mark as their equal (None better) is the Lansing, MI Police, and they are trained at the very same Michigan State Police academy to the same standards.

So he got the last line right, "Nice to see that they are cautious AND corteous"

Yes they are, in fact, the department training and screening are among the best if not the best in the country. MSP washouts often get jobs with lesser departments.

[PartyMarty]

Francesca Knowles wrote:

Lowsuv wrote:
I have to kick the Michigan-ers when they are down .
I have driven in 44 of the states .
I think I have to give Michigan the trophy for the worst roads out of those 44 .

...........much snipping to get to the meat of the matter...........

We got rear ended while at a stoplight . We were stationary .
Ann Arbor about 5 pm .
An officer arrived and explained to me about the " no fault " policy .
Not fair in this particular case . There was a car immediately in front of me and I could not go if I wanted to .

:S

One plus one equals...????

Francesca ,
I do not understand this post .

[Gjac]

camperforlife wrote:
I'm impressed you made it off our crappy Indiana roads without a blow out. Our Governor should be ashamed.

I hit a pothole that I did not see in time(was following a friend in his MH going about 30 mph) It bent the rim in my MH and the tow car both. Also lost the hub cap on the tow car. Neither tire blew out or lost air. I straightened the rims out as best I could with a hammer and moved the bent one to a spare when I got home. It was not fun, would not want to hit it going 60 mph.

[valhalla360]

The MSP is generally a very professional organization. Way back I worked for the state and had training a few times at the MSP training building in lansing. It was basically military bootcamp for new recruits with marching in order as they enter the cafeteria and strict disapline.

Keep in mind, your idea of a big pot hole and his may be a different thing.

If you are coming into the metro detroit area and will be on the north side, definetly consider flint or even the lansing airport. Far easier and not much difference in flight costs. The airport is outside the city and once you are more than a mile or so from downtown flint, the area is perfectly safe if not wealthy.

[2500HDee]

JiminDenver wrote:

2500HDee wrote:

I fly in and out of Flint for work all the time. I love Bishop airport as it is never busy and there is no traffic to get there. They recently remodeled the terminal and it is really bright and clean . You can arrive 30 minutes before your flight and get from your car and through security in a bout 10 minutes. Also parking right at the terminal is the same price as parking off site at Metro.

One nice thing about Bishop is I can get my favorite hotdogs and chili sauce all packed and ready to go right before I get on the plane. They thought I had a bomb when I brought Pickled Bologna home and that was in the 80's. I better order it on line this time. lol

Serve the Curve!

[JiminDenver]

2500HDee wrote:

I fly in and out of Flint for work all the time. I love Bishop airport as it is never busy and there is no traffic to get there. They recently remodeled the terminal and it is really bright and clean . You can arrive 30 minutes before your flight and get from your car and through security in a bout 10 minutes. Also parking right at the terminal is the same price as parking off site at Metro.

One nice thing about Bishop is I can get my favorite hotdogs and chili sauce all packed and ready to go right before I get on the plane. They thought I had a bomb when I brought Pickled Bologna home and that was in the 80's. I better order it on line this time. lol

[lbrjet]

camperforlife wrote:
I'm impressed you made it off our crappy Indiana roads without a blow out. Our Governor should be ashamed.

And embarrassed... I sold my house last summer and just sold my RV lot last week. We leave Indiana on June 16th and have no plans to return.

[JiminDenver]

travelnutz wrote:
JiminDenver,

Bishop Airport in Flint is on the southwest side so luckily you wont have to go thru Flint as it's not a nice or safe place anymore.

I don't know where you are flying in from etc but there's Lansing Capitol Airport or the 2nd largest airport in the state at Grand Rapids - GR Ford International. Direct flights from GR all over the U.S. including to Denver on United, United Express and Southwest.

You are right, Flint sucks. Unfortunately my family lives in Goodrich just south of there. GR wouldn't be bad as some of the folk are out that way. (Portage outside of the Zoo)

[2500HDee]

JiminDenver wrote:

travelnutz wrote:
Didn't know I-94 was in that bad of shape with large potholes and thanks to you, we'll avoid it. I-96, I-196, I-75, and I-69 and quite smooth and don't have potholes as we have traveled all of them in the last about 2 months. Haven't been on I-94 for the last couple years as it's a madhouse trucking link between Chicago and Detroit areas and we live 75 miles north of it.

Lots of roadwork going on in the S.E. (Detroit area) part of the state and the 4 lane and 2 lane highways that aren't Interstates and most roads are quite good. Bet they are going to repave the bad area of I-94 this year then. I'll have to check the MDOT web site as it tells where all construction is or will be for each year.

Glad your experience was a good one and the police (all agencies) do stop any vehicle here they see not being driven normally. Drunk or drugged drivers do some crazy stuff so the police cover each other as they should.

Welcome and enjoy yourself!

I need to make it home soon and usually drive up from Detroit. Might be worth it to fly into Flint instead.

I fly in and out of Flint for work all the time. I love Bishop airport as it is never busy and there is no traffic to get there. They recently remodeled the terminal and it is really bright and clean . You can arrive 30 minutes before your flight and get from your car and through security in a bout 10 minutes. Also parking right at the terminal is the same price as parking off site at Metro.

[Francesca_Knowl]

Lowsuv wrote:
I have to kick the Michigan-ers when they are down .
I have driven in 44 of the states .
I think I have to give Michigan the trophy for the worst roads out of those 44 .

...........much snipping to get to the meat of the matter...........

We got rear ended while at a stoplight . We were stationary .
Ann Arbor about 5 pm .
An officer arrived and explained to me about the " no fault " policy .
Not fair in this particular case . There was a car immediately in front of me and I could not go if I wanted to .

:S

One plus one equals...????