What’s the Biggest Complaint About Grand Rapids Drivers?

The biggest complaint about Grand Rapids Drivers? Oh, man, there are soooo many! But this one seems to generate the most discussion.

Of course first I could mention tailgating! Not using your turn signal! That's a couple, but it seems that number one is merging onto the expressway slowly and maintaining that slow speed! Yikes! Yes!

Frustrated Driver

Doesn't it drive you crazy when someone mergers and just creeps along not paying attention to ongoing traffic and speeds? You bet it does. Too many people slowly enter an expressway, blend into traffic, but never match the speed of the rest of the traffic.

In a discussion on reddit.com/grandrapids, many people weighed in on the "slowness" factor when entering the expressway, any expressway, not just 131. Although, that may be the worst.

You may not have known that 131 was expanded into a full freeway in the late 50s, so the design, although adequate for the 50s and 60s isn't "up to speed" for 2022. By the time you're entering Wyoming, and Grand Rapids, the ramps are really short and makes merging with oncoming traffic scary.

Wealthy Street Entrance to 131 Southbound

One observer wrote:

"My brother in law was a civil engineer when the speed limits in cities were raised. His company advised the state not to raise speed limits on stretches of 131 in GR, 127 in Lansing, and 10 in Detroit because on/off ramps were not long enough to be safe for 70mph traffic. They raised them anyway."

No doubt you have to be very careful when merging onto an expressway, and it's the merging drivers responsibility to make it work safely. The law says when merging onto an expressway, you have to yield to oncoming traffic if they are too close and adjust your speed to allow you to safely merge.

Just don't keep it at 45, okay! Get up to speed so the rest of us don't blow a gasket!