1. First, you must learn to pronounce the city name. It's Deh-troit. NOT
DEE-troit. If you pronounce it DEE-Troit then we will assume you are
from Toledo and here for the country Music hoe-down.
2. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Detroit has its own
version of traffic rules... Hold on and pray (I recommend praying 1st)!
3. The morning rush hour is from 6:00 am to 10:00 am. The evening rush
hour is from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Friday's rush hour starts Thursday
morning. Weekends are open game.
4. If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear-ended,
cussed out and possibly shot. If you're first off the starting line
when the light turns green, count to five before going across the
intersection.
This will avoid getting in the way of cross-traffic who just ran their
yellow light to keep from getting rear-ended or shot.
5. Schoenherr can ONLY be properly pronounced by a native of the
Detroit metro area. That goes for Gratiot too.
6. Construction and renovation on I-94, I-96, I-75, I-275, I-375, The
Lodge and The Southfield Freeways are a way of life and forever. Just
deal with it.
7. If someone actually has their turn signal on, it is probably a
factory defect or they are "out-of-towners".
8. All old men (or women) with white hair wearing a hat have total
right-of-way.
9. The minimum acceptable speed on I-696 and I-275 is 85 regardless of
the posted speeds. Anything less is considered downright SISSY. Oh, and
don't even think of allowing more than one car length between cars!
10. That attractive wrought iron on the windows and doors in Detroit is
NOT ornamental. DO NOT get out of your car to take pictures.
11. Never stare at the driver of the car with the bumper sticker that
says "Keep honking, I'm reloading", he or she probably is.
12. If you are in the left lane, and only going 70 in a 60 mph zone,
people are not waving because they are so friendly in Detroit. I would
suggest you duck.
13. I-275 and I-696 is our daily version of NASCAR.
14. It's not M-10, it's "the Lodge".
15. That's not a lake, it's a pothole.
16. If someone tells you it's on Outer Drive, you better hope you have
a map.
17. The Michigan left turn is simple. If you want to turn left, go a 1/4 of a mile past your turn, get to the left, then make a left, then make a right when you get back to the intersection where you wanted to turn left in the first place. NOW you have gone left.
18. And those 2 really ugly arches over Telegraph on I94???? DON'T EVEN
ASK!! WE DON'T HAVE A CLUE!!!!!
WELCOME, ENJOY YOUR STAY, BUT AVOID EYE-CONTACT WITH THE LOCALS
