Is the driving in Florida that bad? (Tampa, Orlando: attorney, live)

[ceebee1957]

I don't think so

It's funny reading through some of the driving quotes on here as I currently live and work in Spain and the driving standards here are far, far worse than over in the USA. My girlfriend who's driven for years in the centre (sorry, CENTER) of London finds it quite traumatic here.

Red lights are a reason to accelerate, roundabouts (I know you guys don't have these but...) are places to stop, talk, do your make up, even reverse onto as the next junction is too far away (a couple of yards), indicators are to be used after the manoevure has been completed and a road side accident causes traffic on the opposite side to come to a screaming halt (often on blind bends or corners) to allow them to slake their lust for blood. Oh, and parking is fun - yellow lines (normally showing "Do Not Park Here") indicate that you can and should park, often double or triple parking and as long as you have your hazard lights on, then you can park anywhere.

Think yourselves lucky

I've driven in Florida and feel a lot safer in terms of plain bad driving.

[rogercobb]

While you are comparing Spain to Florida the driving in Florida may not look that bad. I understand people speed everywhere but that's not what sets Florida apart. I've lived in NH, NC, and now Florida and travelled throughout the west coast, south, and east coast. What sets apart Florida, and particulary Orlando,apart are all the red light runners!!! At any given intersection 9 times out of 10 a handful of cars are breezing through the red light. Mind you, this isn't as the light turns red but 4-5 seconds after. How very stupid and inconsiderate! I believe the driving styles here in Florida are a reflection of the "Me-First" attitude around here and other fast growing southern cities. One other peculiar driving behavior is the slow acceleration. People in are afraid of laying on the accelerator when pulling out into fast moving traffic causing lots of near misses. Finally, don't flash your brights at oncoming traffic. Up in NH we would do this to let in drivers. If you do that here in orlando expect to receive a middle finger.

[BeenAroundTheBlock]

I disagree. I've lived here in Orlando for 3 years now and the driving is definitely much worse here than driving in the Philadelphia area. Every day on my way to and from work I see people running red lights and driving way too aggressive. Just last week my daughter was sitting in a line of traffic at a dead stop and was plowed into by a drunk Tampa attorney. Thank goodness she wasn't hurt more than strained muscles (for now... that is).

[ceebee1957]

Thanks for the "heads up" - I think my partner would agree that I never have any problem finding the accelerator pedal (or rather the problem is releasing it from its "clamp to the floor and keep it there" position), so that particular one won't cause me any worries.

How can you indicate that you're prepared to let pull out somebody in front of you? Is there a recognised method that won't get me fingered or shot at?

Originally Posted by rogercobb

....One other peculiar driving behavior is the slow acceleration. People in are afraid of laying on the accelerator when pulling out into fast moving traffic causing lots of near misses. Finally, don't flash your brights at oncoming traffic. Up in NH we would do this to let in drivers. If you do that here in orlando expect to receive a middle finger...

[Prichard]

Sounds like you just described Orlando driving. With a few exceptions.

Yes, we do have roundabouts - but we don't stop at them, no, we like to drive right over them. Just about every roundabout in Orlando has scars of where cars have smashed right through them. Plenty of people here run through red lights. As far as signaling goes, it's rare that you see it, unless you are standing still in traffic and someone wants to cut in front of you.

We don't mess around with "no parking areas". Tow companies make fortunes taking your car away and then extorting you to get it back, usually at about $100 a pop.

But, for the most part I'd agree - we have a more relaxed and considerate driving style than in some other countries. We complain alot, but other than traffic jams and the rare shootout between aggressive drivers, comparatively, it's not that bad in Central Florida.

[Sarasota_Blues]

I've lived in Florida on & off for over 40 years. I've also driven in most every major city in this country. I actually learned to drive right in San Francisco. Driving here is as bad, if not worse than anywhere. People in Florida have come here from all over, and have brought their bad driving habits with them. In my opinion, the worst offenders are the out-of-towners who insist on driving way slower in the left hand lanes, and refuse to drive on the right, while they are sight-seeing.

I saw an entrepreneur on TV who invented a large sticker that he places on the top of his windshield. It is written backwards, so that as he approaches a slow moving car in front of him, it reads "MOVE OVER --->". He claimed that so far, it has been quite effective.

[ceebee1957]

Which presupposes that people are using their rear mirror of course.

Originally Posted by Sarasota_Blues

...I saw an entrepreneur on TV who invented a large sticker that he places on the top of his windshield. It is written backwards, so that as he approaches a slow moving car in front of him, it reads "MOVE OVER --->". He claimed that so far, it has been quite effective.

[THASPECIAL]

Originally Posted by Sarasota_Blues

I've lived in Florida on & off for over 40 years. I've also driven in most every major city in this country. I actually learned to drive right in San Francisco. Driving here is as bad, if not worse than anywhere. People in Florida have come here from all over, and have brought their bad driving habits with them. In my opinion, the worst offenders are the out-of-towners who insist on driving way slower in the left hand lanes, and refuse to drive on the right, while they are sight-seeing.

I saw an entrepreneur on TV who invented a large sticker that he places on the top of his windshield. It is written backwards, so that as he approaches a slow moving car in front of him, it reads "MOVE OVER --->". He claimed that so far, it has been quite effective.

That sticker might **** someone off and the person that has it might get into something they didnt expect with someone they know nothing about...

there are many reasons people dont move at the snap of a finger .....the ones that i get mad at are "only" the people that are in the fast lane and there is 20 seconds of time to merge over but they still dont.....and they continue going slow...but i still dont endanger anyone or try to force them to move cuz that could get you shot ...i just go around in the right lane and pass them...but i stay away from thier back end to...i am curtious out there because ive seen a gun pulled on someone and have been in fights myself......its more about the attitude of imposing "your" control on someone that gets people into road rage....there is no reason to get on someones butt and try to force them to go faster except for the reason of showing them that "you" can make them move.....that is aggresive driving.....just go around.....they might be in the wrong but you would be 10 times more wrong if they somehow were forced off the road in fear of you and wrecked into something and thier 3 year old in the back seat sleeping got killed...but you dont think there are innocents in his car because he is going too slow so i guess its ok to run someone off the road right?....lol.....just go around if they are being a d.i.c.k.

[backtofla]

i dont think all of fla is bad. but, miami, orlando, tampa, etc... south fla in general --> lots of bad, aggressive drivers.

miami may be the worst, but orlando is probably a close 2nd. orlando is the worst city i've ever driven in... by far... except perhaps the ft lauderdale area on i-95... ppl were driving way too fast.

[ceebee1957]

I know you run the risk of being spotted by the police or cameras. In Spain there are still few of either devoted to traffic, so although my partner speaks sternly to me about it, I can still drive at over 200kph (about 120mph) on the better roads.

I'm going to miss that - I continually find myself driving quite a lot over the limit when in Orlando and have to consciously reign myself back.

Originally Posted by backtofla

i dont think all of fla is bad. but, miami, orlando, tampa, etc... south fla in general --> lots of bad, aggressive drivers.

miami may be the worst, but orlando is probably a close 2nd. orlando is the worst city i've ever driven in... by far... except perhaps the ft lauderdale area on i-95... ppl were driving way too fast.