ADS-L Digest - 18 Sep 2005 to 19 Sep 2005 (#2005-263)
Geoff Nathan
an6993 at WAYNE.EDU
Tue Sep 20 20:19:42 UTC 2005
At 12:01 AM 9/20/2005, James Landau wrote:
> >> Driving Tips for our 2006 Superbowl Guests:
> >>
> >>
[snip]
> >> 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. This will avoid getting in
> >> the way of cross-traffic who just ran their yellow light to keep from
> >> getting shot.
> >>
This is absolutely true--for example, someone behind me swerved into the
oncoming lane three days ago in order to miss me as I stopped at a yellow
light, and damn near hit someone in the oncoming lane attempting to
complete a left turn.
> >> 5. Schoenherr can ONLY be properly pronounced by a native of the Detroit
> >> metro area. That goes for Gratiot too.
[Sein at r], and [graeS at t] ('Shayner' and 'Grashut' in pseudo-phonetics)
> >>
> >> 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. 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."
> >>
Actually, turn signals are very expensive options in Detroit, so most
drivers can't afford to get them installed on their cars.
> >>
> >> 16. If someone tells you it's on Outer Drive, you better hope you have a
> >> map.
> >>
> >> 17. The 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.
> >> NOW you have gone left.
> >>
And, on a serious note, this kind of turn is referred to as a 'Michigan
Left'. I believe the term is unique to MI, but I don't have the time this
afternoon to do the research. I just read a claim in the Free Press that
the institution was invented in Michigan in the fifties in response to some
bad fatalities after ordinary left turns.
Geoff
Geoffrey S. Nathan <geoffnathan at wayne.edu>
Faculty Liaison, Computing and Information Technology
Associate Professor, Department of English
Wayne State University
Detroit, MI, 48202
C&IT Phone: +313 577-1259
English Phone: +313 577-8621
FAX: +313 577-0404
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