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

[wa8yxm]

Regarding US-Highway v/s Interstate.....

In many states the US-Hwy may be county maintenance and the Interstate state, but more important than that is the Freeway is where folks like my brother spend most of their time.. He drove a Semi truck, Flat bed, Licensed for 160,000 pounds CGVW. That is one heavy truck and does serious damage to the road.. He did not spend nearly as much time on the US-Highways as he did the Interstate.

THUS, It is not better maintenance,,,,, It is less damage.

I mean if his route took him past home,, He parked about 100 yards OFF the interstate, if that. (Lot shared a line fence) Parked there myself a couple times.

[Bill1374]

Steveh, be careful what you wish for.We already have that in NY, and the roads are still in not great shape. ride a motorcycle where you can actually see the road and you will wonder what keeps the thing together. I have seen holes in the pavement and cracks that go through to the sub surface. And yet, we have about the highest tax and fee structure in the country. Truth is, in the north country, the roads do take a real beating from the weather.

[Jarlaxle]

Lowsuv wrote:
We very often use the US Highways instead of the Interstates .
This is not scientific but I have a " fuzzy feeling " that the US Highways in some states are better than the Interstates that run parallel .
It would be a different answer for each state .
In Michigan , are the Interstates better maintained than the US Highways ?
How about Indiana ?

US30 across IN was superb.

[wa8yxm]

ChuckV1 wrote:

He smiled and yes you were, but I just wanted to also tell you that you were
the slowest Strohs truck I have seen all morning, please slow down a little
more and be safe, have a nice day. With that he smiled truned aound a walked
back to his car, I stood there for a moment in shock, got back in the truck
and left heeding his word

Chuck W5KAV

I recall one day I was pushing it a bit going to work (Detroit Freeway Post, dispatcher) and as I was one of the faster cars on the freeway a patrol car went past me.

Well when we all arrived in the locker room he mentioned something to me about being the fastest car (Save him) on the freeway... He said it did not look good.

I told him what looked worse was him passing me while I was the 2nd fastest car on the freeway.. He agreed, but said what looked even worse than that was the Stroh's truck passing HIM as he was passing Me while I was the 2nd fastest car on the freeway.

Which is why the Semi Driver got the ticket.

I have to say I liked that job, It got a bit worse when we centerlized in some ways and better in others.

But then the cliques and the bull droppings started and there was a mis-guided attempt to get me fired which backfired and got the conspirators 30 days no pay,, And I became eligable for early retirement and booked.. (Quit while the quitting was profitable).

But there were some darn good days there... And more than a few folks who truly wish I had not been there... But then.. Those folks all have something in common "Clients of the Department of Corrections" (IN Prison).

[Bluhorn]

Great story! But roads are usually bad up North because the weather causes way more damage. Costs more to maintain those roads. Costs more to put chemicals down to keep roads safe in cold weather that in turn causes more damage. Its never ending. Down South, we just dont have those problems and can usually get away with chip and tar roads for the main roads, which is way cheaper. They dont even roll the stone, they rely on traffic to tamp it down. Big difference.

[bsinmich]

I married a girl in 1959 that was from Geneseo, IL (near Moline)and at that time the road in N. IN was under construction. In 55 years there has never been a trip through there when there was no construction.

[steveh27]

We need to cut the truck weight limts in Michigan from double the average to average, and raise their annual fees from $50 to $500. But, the trucking lobby seems to have the state legislators in their pocket.

Our gas has sales tax on it ( I believe one of only 4 states to do so), and that money does NOT go for roads. We need to get more funding for roads. IMO raise the gas tax, drivers license fees, truck fees and registration fees.

[ChuckV1]

I lived in Toledo OH. for a number of years, hauled steel and Strohs Beer out
of Detroit in the 70's. Roads we not good then in MI. and after dark when
leaving the brewry we were told not to stop for the two red lights between
the gate and I-75. The Detroit Police never stopped us even when sitting at
a light we would run in the farmers market.

I belonged at that time to a group called Highway Aid Radio Truck (H.A.R.T.)
which had a number of Mich. State police officers in it's ranks. Traveling
I-75 from Toledo to Detroit and I-94 west to Indiana I remember alot
of M.S.P well and talked with them over the CB often, they were always
helpful and friendly.

I was getting with the program one morning (sort of speeding LOL) and came
up on a MSP monitoring traffic, since I was going about 10mph over the
speed limit he came out and pulled me over. At that time you could get out
of the cab of the truck without them thinking you were a treat to them,
The office met me half way down the trailer and ask me if I new why he
had stopped me, I said yes I was going a little faster than I should have.
He smiled and yes you were, but I just wanted to also tell you that you were
the slowest Strohs truck I have seen all morning, please slow down a little
more and be safe, have a nice day. With that he smiled truned aound a walked
back to his car, I stood there for a moment in shock, got back in the truck
and left heeding his word

Chuck W5KAV

[camperforlife]

Lowsuv wrote:
We very often use the US Highways instead of the Interstates .
This is not scientific but I have a " fuzzy feeling " that the US Highways in some states are better than the Interstates that run parallel .
It would be a different answer for each state .
In Michigan , are the Interstates better maintained than the US Highways ?
How about Indiana ?

At this time in Indiana most state roads are better than the interstate. The interstates are an embarrassment. I won't use the interstate on my motorcycle around my area because it feels like I'm never on my seat! It seems like every week you read in the paper that the governor has done something else that causes the state to lose more federal funds.

[Lowsuv]

We very often use the US Highways instead of the Interstates .
This is not scientific but I have a " fuzzy feeling " that the US Highways in some states are better than the Interstates that run parallel .
It would be a different answer for each state .
In Michigan , are the Interstates better maintained than the US Highways ?
How about Indiana ?

[wa8yxm]

I have driven coast to coast (Cape Cod to Los Angles)

New York City had the worst roads.. And I do not mean traffic, I'm talking the surface of the road.. Michigan is #2.

[wa8yxm]

I have driven coast to coast (Cape Cod to Los Angles)

New York City had the worst roads.. And I do not mean traffic, I'm talking the surface of the road.. Michigan is #2.

[lbrjet]

2500HDee wrote:
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?

Way cool.

[FoCoNoCo]

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 .
The next worse were in Pennsylvania , although there were some good roads in PA .
My judgement about Michigan is further tainted by their " no fault " insurance law .
If somebody hits you , you get to pay for your own car repairs .
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 .
Other than that Michigan does have redeeming virtues , of course .
BTW . The best roads we encountered were in North Carolina .
I presume some crooked politician robbed the federal tax dollars from the Michigan-ers and gave the highway funds to his home state of NC .

I'd have to disagree on a few points. Having lived in Ann Arbor for 15 years, I can attest to the fact that their drivers are idiots. That being said, the craters on I94 may be bad, but I think I69 through Indiana and the Ohio Turnpike (I80) have most of Michigan's roads beaten. I remember a statistic when I lived in MI which stated the state used 23 tons of salt per mile every winter. 23 tons per mile????? No wonder cars tended to rot out in 5-6 years if not taken care of and washed frequently. And since moving to Colorado, I have found that outside of mountainous areas, they know NOTHING about winter road maintenance here. A quick plowing if more than 6 inches of snow and hope for the best......