Research conducted by QuoteWizard analyzing over 500,000 insurance quotes from 2018 has found Rochester Hills to be the third worst driving city in Michigan. A recent article by Ken Haddad from ClickOnDetroit suggests Oakland University students are to blame. However, my preliminary research suggests another culprit may be responsible for the epidemic of poor driving supposedly running rampant through Rochester Hills.

The number of roads currently undergoing construction means OU students and the rest of the Rochester Hills population have to find creative ways to get from place to place. John Smith, an English student at OU, reflected on how OU’s many commuter students are feeling thanks to the recent construction on Walton and Adams.

“Nobody can’t get anywhere with them roads being so bad,” he said.

Multiple students have been captured by security footage breaking traditional driving customs. Oakland University Police Department Officer Jack Griffin has had his hands tied dealing with report after report of reckless driving.

“Students have learned to take advantage of Rochester Hills’ naturally hilly land by using it as a ramp to propel their car over traffic or construction and onto campus,” Griffin said.

The administration worries these flying cars could hit and cause damage to OU’s most sought after and rare commodity: parking spots.

Michigan’s state flower — or, as many call it, the traffic cone — tends to present itself even more come each springtime. Some groups fighting for their conservation, such as the City of Rochester Hills and the Oakland University Police Department, have argued that the cones “help keep people safe.” This has not stopped students from trying their best to destroy the cones with their vehicles. The City of Rochester Hills claims this is the true reason seemingly every cone is severely physically mangled.

City executives claim the answer to Rochester Hills’ bad driving is simple. While Rochester Hills struggles to stay safe on the roads, their neighbors thrive, according to the QuoteWizard study. A simple solution for those seeking better driving skills is a quick, five-minute drive west. Drivers will find themselves in Pontiac, and suddenly discover they are now the fourth best drivers in the state of Michigan. Rochester Hills residents are being asked to make this trip to Pontiac. It is seemingly the easiest solution to promote safer driving and to help residents prepare to face the gauntlet of construction and potholes that awaits them back home.

ClickOnDetroit argues OU students are at fault for the city’s bad driving, but that is simply ignorant. The biggest contributing factor to poor driving in Rochester Hills is not the fault of the drivers, but rather, construction. It is a fact that ahgcbndskcmkvg;hgjg;/ … Gosh dangit! I was driving home, finishing typing up this article on my phone, and didn’t see this dang cement truck suddenly jump out in front of me. All I can say is I told you so. It’s not us. It’s the construction.