I’ve heard of that in Detroit. My jujitsu instructor told a story of driving through there somewhere and he stopped at a red light. A police officer pulled him over and explained that he would get robbed if he stopped at lights, and that everyone would know he was clueless and from out of town.
I lived in Cleveland for a few years, never heard of/seen anything like that there. Some sketchy neighborhoods, yeah, but so bad police advise you not to stop at red lights? nah.
I mean, Ohio cops are the worst, so even if it was the safe thing to do, they’d pull your ass over for running the light, and then leave as a crowd gathered around your car lol
Detroit is exactly what came to mind for me as well. Years ago I was driving back from downtown to Ann Arbor and the interchange I needed was closed so I had to exit in the middle of downtown Detroit. It was pre smartphone days and I was lost at night by myself. I stopped at a red and an unhoused person walked into the middle of the road and threw a coke bottle at my car. Luckily it was plastic.
I was terrified that he was going to come closer and attack my car and me. Luckily that’s all he did. When I got back, everyone asked me why I stopped at the light and I said it was red. They told me never to stop at a red in Detroit. Wild city.
Edit: spelling
Ever seen the movie Black Hawk Down? There’s a scene where a convoy of hummvees takes heavy fire while trying to get out of Mogadishu.
Detroit is like Mogadishu. You don’t stop for anything and try not to engage the locals as much as possible.
