The True Liberty of Michigan Car Culture
If you’re not originally from Michigan (not everyone is so lucky), and you take a drive through the state, you’ll notice something peculiar. The cars have no front plates! For non-Michiganders it’s shocking to see such freedom. For New Yorkers, or god forbid, Canadians, it’s positively scandalous.
Here’s how things work in New York, for example. You need a front and back license plate, and, yes, that means drilling holes in the front bumper of your new whip. Your registration sticker isn’t on the back license plate, it’s plastered on the inside of your front windshield, and impossible to remove without noxious chemicals. Oh, and that’s right next to your mandatory vehicle inspection sticker—you’re required to pay for an annual inspection, which includes not just safety testing but emissions testing. Older cars always fail it, and drivers are forced to buy strange little devices online that trick the sensors for a few hours in order to pass. Can’t pass the test? Your car’s off the road. Tough luck.
The highway speed limit decreases every year, currently standing at the snail’s pace of 65mph (compared to Michigan’s 75mph). Few stick to this, of course, which means the troopers have a field day. Safety concerns be damned, we all know that’s the real point. Tickets are common, and hell, the red lights in the cities even have automatic cameras on them. Run a red by a split second and there’s your fine.
All of this is to say, Michigan car culture feels like liberty if you’re used to the New York big government nanny state. You need a car to get around in America, and the watchful eyes of the state government know how to nickel and dime you at every turn. If these regulations meaningfully improved safety, perhaps they’d be tolerable. But since when have Americans preferred safety over liberty? One wonders when they’ll simply ban motorcycles altogether, for example. If they were invented today, New York would never allow them on the road.
Michigan car culture goes deeper than just the absence of regulations. If you judge the spirit of a people by how they drive, Michigan doesn’t disappoint. Michiganders drive fast, they drive intentionally, they drive with authority. Perhaps excessively so, but they damn well know they’re free. The speed limits on the highway are high enough to gun it in the passing lane when needed, and you’ve got some room for excess before it’ll draw an eye. Sure, the cops are out sometimes, the trooper might pull you over, but that’s all part of the game. This is a state that loves its cars, loves to drive, and has no interest in getting in your way. Thank you big auto!
Compare this to the Canadians… oh boy. You cross the border from Michigan into Canada, used to driving at a fast speed with authority, and then you see the speed signs. Once you’ve finished calculating whatever the hell 100 kph is in mph, and realized it’s a paltry 62 miles per hour, you’ve already been speeding way over that for 20 minutes, and start praying the mounties didn’t see you. Canadians drive at a snail’s pace, slow and languid, until you get near Hamilton. Then the BMWs and Mercedes come out, with oversized rims, underbody lights, and blacked out window treatments. Blasting Drake, driving 100 mph, you know immediately that these aren’t your usual Canadians. Criticize Trudeau’s immigration policy all you want, but these new boys are bringing some vitality to the great Canadian highways.
Forgive me, let’s leave the poor Canadians alone, they have enough problems of their own to deal with. Just a useful example for the blessed Michiganders who’ve never known anything different than the remarkably free car culture they’re able to enjoy. Take it from a New Yorker who’s lived on and off in Michigan for the better part of a decade. It’s remarkable to visit the Secretary of State and have them simply hand you one (1) license plate and a little orange sticker and send you on your way.
Corporate lobbying is widely derided, and deservedly so at times, but it doesn’t take much guessing to figure out why stupid auto regulations are absent in Michigan. Big auto has no interest in hindering Michigan’s robust vehicle culture, and given their influence in the state, one can safely assume they quickly put any silly ideas from the legislators to bed. In this case, they deserve some thanks, some credit for doing their patriotic duty. When liberty and business coincide, there’s real room for the great American dream to take root on our great American highways. Now, if only they’d put that same energy towards fixing all the potholes… we’d really sing their praises.
