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Frightened and broke

Last month we found ourselves, once again, driving on Interstate 75 in southern Michigan. We also once again found ourselves pining for the sedate pace of Maui’s roads.

Honest to Pete, the drivers of the 18-wheelers on I-75 would rather plant a driver going the speed limit in a pile of bushes 100 yards off the pavement than let him merge safely.

It reminded us of an editorial we wrote a few years ago about the rudest drivers in the United States. We thought that this year our source for that piece, Insure.com, would certainly have caught up with Michigan’s truck drivers. Well, they sorta have.

Insure.com doesn’t have a ranking of rudest drivers this year. But what it does have is a ranking of the most expensive places to buy car insurance — and Michigan is No. 1. In fact, Michigan’s average auto insurance premium — $2,394 per year — is almost double the median state, good old Hawaii. The Aloha State is 25th in the ranking with an average annual premium of $1,294.

And Michigan’s rate is almost triple the annual premium of the state with the lowest one — Maine. The average motorist in the Pine Tree State pays only $864 per year for insurance.

While Insure.com’s rankings are about automobiles, not trucks, we’re pretty certain a lot of the wrecks pushing those rates up in Michigan are the result of drivers reacting to the bullies in the big rigs. Their victims are not only frightened, but broke.

So, it’s not only good for your heart and your fenders not to hear those air horns blaring as the trucks scream by you, it’s also good for your pocketbook. Michigan can keep its premiums and its pileups — we’ll take a road trip on Maui time any day.

* Editorials reflect the opinion of the publisher.

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