Buy Tires on Sale in Michigan: But Not Until You've Read This Guide!

• Michigan Department of Transport Drive Map - official website
• WOOD TV8 Traffic - official website
• Fox 17 West Michigan Traffic - official website
• WLNS 6 Lansing Traffic - official website

Winter

Studded tires and snow chains regulations

Spring, summer, and fall

1. Traffic lights out:, when a traffic light is not working and there’s no police officer there to direct traffic you should treat the junction as a four-way stop.
2. Flashing yellow arrow: If you see a traffic signal with a flashing yellow arrow that means that you can turn left as long as there is no other traffic coming from the right.
3. U-turns: Unless indicated that u-turns are prohibited you can make a u-turn as long as it’s safe to do so and doesn’t impede the movement of other vehicles.
4. Riding in the back of a pickup truck: If you are over the age of 18 you can ride in the back of a pickup truck. Under the age of 18, you can only ride in the back of a pickup truck if it’s being driven at 15 miles per hour or slower.
5. Seatbelts: Regarding adults in a vehicle, only the driver and front passengers have to wear seatbelts by law. For children, anyone under 16, and 4 feet 9 inches and shorter must use either a seatbelt or a proper child seat.

• Street plowing: In winter watch out for plowing notices as parking is not allowed on streets that are to be plowed.
• Parking fines: fines will be higher in the areas around educational institutions and in urban areas in general.
• Fire escapes: It’s illegal to park in a way that blocks a fire escape.
• Theatres: There’s no parking allowed in front of theatres.
• Local laws: Check the local laws where you are as some towns or cities may impose stricter parking laws than the general state regulations.

• Windshields: No tinting is allowed.
• Front side windows: Only the top 4 inches of the windows can have tinting on.
• Rear and rear side windows: As long as you have mirrors on both sides of the vehicle you can tint your full rear and rear side windows.
• Tint darkness: There are no restrictions on the darkness of tint allowed.
• Tint reflection: You can only use tints with solar reflectivity that’s more than 35%
• Medical exceptions: With a doctor’s note you may be able to tint the front side windows.

Interstates

• I-69 enters the state from Indiana and ends at the Canadian border at Port Huron. I-69 passes through Lansing and Flint before ending at the Blue-Water Bridge in Port Huron. South of the state, the I-69 has 10 un-connected sections going from north to south, with the southernmost end in Rosenberg, Texas.
• I-75 is a north-south freeway that runs from the Ohio border over the Mackinac Bridge ending at the International Bridge at Sault Ste. Marie. The highway is the longest in the state, passing through Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, Bay City, and Gaylord. It is the only Interstate in the northern peninsula. South of Michigan, the I-75 runs all the way south to Miami, Florida.
• I-94 is a major east-west freeway that connects Chicago, Illinois with Detroit, before heading over the Canadian border on the Blue Water Bridge to Sarnia, Ontario. I-94 runs through the southern portion of Michigan, passing through the cities of Benton Harbor, Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, and Ann Arbor. To the west, the I-94 continues until Billings, Montana.
• I-96 is an east-west freeway that runs from near the coast of Lake Michigan, to the west of Grand Rapids, Michigan ending near the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit. I-96 passes through the cities of Grand Rapids and Lansing before reaching its eastern terminus at I-75 in Detroit.

US highways

• US-2 is an east-west highway running through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It starts at St. Ignace by the Mackinac Bridge and goes through the cities of Escanaba, Bessemer, and Iron Mountain before crossing into Wisconsin at Ironwood.
• US-23 is a north-south highway that ends at Mackinaw City and runs down through Saginaw, Flint, and Ann Arbor before crossing over the border to Toledo, Ohio.
• US 31 is another north-south highway that begins at the I-75 just south of Mackinaw City and runs along the Lake Michigan coast. It passes through Traverse City, Muskegon, and Holland before reaching the state line and crossing over to Indiana at Bertrand Township.
• US 127 is a north-south highway that runs through the center of the lower peninsula. It starts at the I-75 near Grayling and runs down through Lansing before meeting up with I-94 near Jackson. It then continues south before crossing over into Ohio.
• US 131 is a north-south highway that is almost entirely in the state of Michigan. It starts in Petosky and continues down through Cadillac, Grand Rapids, and Kalamazoo before reaching the state line just south of White Pigeon. It then ends just south of the Indiana state line.

International border crossings

1. The Ambassador Bridge is the busiest crossing and goes between Detroit and Windsor. It handles about 25% of all trade (by value) between the United States and Canada. The bridge carries eight lanes of traffic.
2. The Blue Water Bridge goes between Port Huron and Sarnia in Canada and connects to both the I-69 and I-94.
3. The Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge goes between two cities of the same name - Sault Ste. Marie - one in Michigan and one in Canada! It carries two lanes of traffic and the I-75 connects to it.
4. The Detroit–Windsor Truck Ferry is a ferry service that operates between Detroit and Windsor. The ferry carries only trucks and makes 5 trips per day.
5. The Walpole Island Ferry is a ferry service that operates between Walpole Island in Ontario and Algonac, just northwest of Detroit. The ferry carries up to 12 vehicles per trip and makes
6. The Detroit–Windsor Tunnel is the second busiest crossing, is over 5,000 feet long, and carries 2 lanes of traffic between Detroit and Windsor.

• The Great Lakes State is the home of car making in the US with more than 1,600 car manufacturing and related supplies companies, as well as 17 OEM headquarters.
• Michigan residents are proud American car owners, with almost 70% of cars in the State being American brands, the most of any state in the US.
• At the start of WWII, Michigan was home to over 75% of the world’s car factories, and during the war, many of them were converted into factories making tanks, jeeps, and arms.
• Famous car maker Henry Ford was born in Greenfield Township, Michigan and if you want to learn more about him you can visit the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn.
• Before the car became popular, in the 1880s, the city of Flint was called “The Vehicle City”, as it was a major manufacturing hub for horse-drawn carriages.
• Michigan is home to the 10th largest road network in the US and the 3rd largest county road network.