Tampa made another list (Spring Hill: inspection, tax, dangerous)

[tinalimey]

Okay, I'm not sure this list holds much validity. Driving in Tampa is a dream compared to several other cities I've had the misfortune to drive in that didn't make this list.

[gmanbat]

Maybe Tampa can increase tourism by advertising "Autobahn West".

Some modern cars with a very powerful engine can reach speeds of well over 300 km/h (190 mph). Most large car manufacturers, especially the German ones, follow a gentlemen's agreement by electronically limiting the top speed of their cars – with the exception of some top of the range models or engines – to 250 km/h (155 mph) for safety reasons (such as inexperienced drivers or risk of tire failure, especially when underinflated). Yet, these limiters can be deactivated, so speeds up to 300 km/h (190 mph) might arise on the German autobahn.

At first I thought it would reduce commute time but then thought of the long delays due to road carnage.

[tinalimey]

Seriously, driving Germany's Autobahns is on my bucket list but I don't think that's realistic at all for Tampa/Central Florida - interstates just aren't built for those speeds. Can you imagine going that fast on I-4? Or over the Bay on the HF on I-275?

Yeah, road carnage... Too many inexperienced, drunk and generally poor drivers!

[tinytrump]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

Its those who run red lights, blow off stop signs, speed and switch lanes 10 times per mile that is the problem.

One thing that the bad economy has done is reduced the traffic police force... used to see cops stopping people all the time, now when they a have a surge planned, but the cameras will help.. I pray everyday, I make it to and from work driving along the entitled, arrogant, selfish, self centered idiots on the road... and I can say what I well please --one of them took my son's life, I get upset with this subject...

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

Yeah, I believe the story about the Honda Civic. NOT. I have NEVER witnessed such a thing any where much less on I-4. Wouldnt you think any LEO on duty or off duty would have either pulled this car over or at least phoned it in so they could get it off the road.

I do agree that it is highly likely that people drive through Orlando at 100. Safety inspections aren't going to prevent that.

So I'm a liar ?

Of course, others have seen it too...

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...1#post25720938

[Mike1306]

Originally Posted by FloridaKash

Odd that the most dangerous places are in the sunbelt andthe safest places are where (most cases) there is typically snow. And 4 cities in Florida on the top 10... that's impressive. I'll bet you anything the top 10 also have the most drivers with bald tires. It is amazing the number of people around here that have bald tires. Also, no safety inspection. Rain + Bald Tires + No Safety Inspection = Accidents. And that's just part of it, because yeah... people drive completely nuts in Orlando and Miami. Tampa isn't as bad.... as this report shows.

When you live somewhere that there is snow... you make sure you have decent tires.

I think it has to more with high tourist places that have do not have a large mass transit system. When you get a large amount of people with no clue where they are going you will have many accidents. This is not to give an out to the many bad drivers we have here but I do not think the number of bad drivers here is that much larger than those places lower on the list.

[chi_tino]

1. Unlike almost all other cities, there are no police officers performing regular traffic stops in the Tampa Bay area.

2. In the rare case that someone gets pulled over, they will not write a ticket (see the TBT article a few months back on this).

3. In the extremely rare case that someone gets a ticket and they don't pay it, the city/county won't pursue the matter (again, see stats on unpaid tickets).

4. Therefore, the municipalities see no financial impact of traffic enforcement and make it a low priority.

They could easily hire a bunch of cops to just hand out tickets for expired plates (and when pulled over, check for insurance) and balance the Tampa/St Pete budgets. It would be like shooting fish in a barrel. But they won't because the public would be OUTRAGED! (again, see the TBT article on the subject)

Thus, our roads look like Death Race 2000.

Also, safety inspections are considered a "regressive tax" by many liberal activists, just like they call paying a $75 a year fee to support the fire/ambulance service. If people think that $75 to keep a fire department functioning is too high, they aren't going to put up with a laundry list of mandatory car repairs every year.

[things and stuff]

Inspection stickers are a racket.

Theyre revenue generators for state and local governments. I see lots of decent looking cars with failed inspection stickers. the most common reason is that the computer and/or sensors malfunction. you have to spend $1,000's on replacing sensors, even if your car is safe and non-polluting.

on the flip-side, most of the hoopty junk cars have inspection stickers somehow because they know a mechanic that can fraudulently get them a sticker.

cops in Louisiana set up inspection sticker checks in the nicer parts of town because it's a way to get money.

[Not_liking_FL]

^
I think you're referring to emmissions inspections. Safety inspections are looking for things like tire tread, working lights and turn signals.

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by things and stuff

Inspection stickers are a racket.

Theyre revenue generators for state and local governments. I see lots of decent looking cars with failed inspection stickers. the most common reason is that the computer and/or sensors malfunction. you have to spend $1,000's on replacing sensors, even if your car is safe and non-polluting.

on the flip-side, most of the hoopty junk cars have inspection stickers somehow because they know a mechanic that can fraudulently get them a sticker.

cops in Louisiana set up inspection sticker checks in the nicer parts of town because it's a way to get money.

Louisiana is crooked when it comes to a LOT of things, but their inspections are especially crooked as they make you get your tags first, before going through inspections.