Which Michigan City Has The Rudest Drivers?

I'll admit, I'm not a Michigan native, so when I moved here I was under the assumption that since we're the home of Motor City, we must have some pretty great drivers.

On top of that, the state of Michigan requires all new drivers to take at least 3 weeks worth of drivers education courses before they are eligible to get their license.

But, I've had some of the worst encounters with road rage, bad driving, and rude actions since I moved here nearly two years ago. And while most everyone plays by the rules, it only takes a few bad apples to spoil driving for the rest of us.

So, where in Michigan has the rudest drivers?

According to an article published in late 2022 by MoneyGeek.com, it appears that the East side of the state tends to have some of the worst / most rude drivers in Michigan. Each of the dots below represents a fatal car accident.

(Personally I'd vote for Burton Street in Grand Rapids being the rudest after a lady hysterically laughed at me when she almost hit me after merging without looking, but that's an entirely different story.)

MoneyGeek analyzed 2,820 fatal crashes on Michigan’s roadways between 2018 and 2020 to find the deadliest stretches of road in the state.

The deadliest stretch of road goes to SR-3 Gratiot Avenue from Liberal Street to Van Dyke Avenue. Between 2018 and 2020, 16 fatal accidents occurred here and they have a 3.4 fatal accident per mile average, which is higher than any road in the state.

Meanwhile, in second place was I-94 from Exit 198A to Exit 202 between Romulus and Taylor with 2.8 fatal crashes per mile. Third place went to another deadly stretch in Detroit, I-96 from Exit 182 to Exit 188 which averaged 2 fatal crashes per mile.

Wayne County holds the record right now for the highest number of accidents. They had 539 fatal accidents, which is 19% of them state-wide. Meanwhile the stretch of road in the county with the most fatal crashes was I-94 with 24 accidents.

Why are Detroit area drivers seen as the rudest?

The reasons most of these accidents are split between two rude excuses: 28% of fatal crashes happen thanks to drunk drivers, who are arguably the rudest of all since they are completely ignoring the safety of everyone on the road, while another 25% of crashes are thanks to speeding, another senseless and preventable driving error.

But, the west side of the state isn't entirely free of rude drivers. Grand Rapids came in second when it comes to deadly stretches of roadways, and had one of the states deadest stretches of roads: US-131 from Exit 84A to Exit 82B (Between Burton and the S curve).

So, while Detroit wins the title of rudest drivers in the state, their rude actions aren't isolated. Remember to watch out for those who aren't watching out for you, and hopefully with the new distracted driving laws in place, we may see less and less of these problems in the future.