[Trigger-f]

Originally Posted by OpinionInOcala

Yes, Florida drivers as a whole are absolutely awful. It is one of the worst States to drive in/through. You can acclimate to the ridiculousness of it, but that is ultimately of little consequence. Drivers licenses are handed out like candy here, and often to folks who have no business being on the road in an automobile -- let alone even a bicycle. A lot of the 'natives' fallaciously attempt to attribute the lion's share of the blame to tourism and/or the elderly. For sake of perspective, I put between 700 and 1,000 miles on just my work vehicle each week.

Generalizations galore. FL drivers are from every other state(or every other country), therefore, the proper thing to say is that American drivers (as well as immigrants) are simply awful. Fair enough? How can you say 'as a whole' FL drivers are awful? Why blame FL when everyone is a transplant, pretty much from somewhere else? Did everyone become a bad driver in FL?

There's good and bad drivers. It's just that FL attracts more of both kinds.

[OpinionInOcala]

Originally Posted by Trigger-f

Generalizations galore. FL drivers are from every other state(or every other country), therefore, the proper thing to say is that American drivers (as well as immigrants) are simply awful. Fair enough? How can you say 'as a whole' FL drivers are awful? Why blame FL when everyone is a transplant, pretty much from somewhere else? Did everyone become a bad driver in FL?

There's good and bad drivers. It's just that FL attracts more of both kinds.

Sure, it's fair to say that American drivers are awful, and increasingly so. I've lived and worked enough places to agree with that. Florida just happens to have greater concentrations of awful drivers, so much so that Florida is consistently rated among the worst in polls, insurance studies, and law enforcement studies. There's certainly a reason for this beyond the excuse of blaming transplants and/or immigrants...

[NALEXAND]

Heck yea they are that bad! I almost hit DAILY!

Originally Posted by jessemh431

I have heard tons of stuff from Floridians about how bad the drivers are there. I have never been there, but I'm wondering if the people exaggerate or not? Does anyone have any personal experiences.

The only bad drivers I can think of are stupid Asians. LOL. That's an oxymoron, but you get what I mean. And then we also the Hispanics in LA that can't read our traffic signs in English.

[NALEXAND]

Originally Posted by orlando-calrissian

Orlando is second to South Florida. I've driven in Arizona, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, and Florida. Florida is the absolute worst, no question. I've seen people make right turns out of the left-only lane, merge without looking or signalling, drive in multiple lanes, drive with a headlight or tail light missing, merge into the tightest spots possible at the highest speed, drive through red lights several seconds after they've change, block intersections...and it seems the police and state troopers do almost nothing about. I rarely see people pulled over for traffic violations like I do in other states I've been to. Any time I see a cop's lights flashing, there's either construction going on or an accident occurred.

And I think that's part of the problem here orlando-calrissian! As much as I dont miss the police state of VA, I do miss officers on alert for traffic violations! This crap here is out of control! It has me considering moving its so bad.

[StreetSmarts]

Originally Posted by NALEXAND

And I think that's part of the problem here orlando-calrissian! As much as I dont miss the police state of VA, I do miss officers on alert for traffic violations! This crap here is out of control! It has me considering moving its so bad.

???

where in FL are you?

[romes591]

The streets are mixed with very young people and very old people. One group drives fast and aggressive, the other slow and let's just say questionably. The combination of the 2 group often results in disaster.

[lynxville]

I see bad drivers everywhere, to me a lost tourist making a 3 lane change or illegal uturns scares me the most. The other thing that ticks me off is the jerk that pulls out from a side street right in front of me and then goes 25 miles per hour under the speed limit. Let me think is he in a hurry or just has poor eyesight?

[BucFan]

Originally Posted by romes591

The streets are mixed with very young people and very old people. One group drives fast and aggressive, the other slow and let's just say questionably. The combination of the 2 group often results in disaster.

I see a lot of 20-40 yr old drivers who I think don't give themselves enough time to get where they need to go, who text, surf the net or on the phone while driving 10 mph+ above the speed limit, weaving in and out of traffic, tailgaiting, and showing signs of impatience.

I'll take a oldtimer behind the wheel driving at the speed limit because they're predictable in what they're going to do and can be maneuvered around if needed.

The impatient 20-40 with a cellphone is so unpredictable and a hazard on the road. Their is a reason why their insurance rates are so much higher than a older driver.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by Trigger-f

Generalizations galore. FL drivers are from every other state(or every other country), therefore, the proper thing to say is that American drivers (as well as immigrants) are simply awful. Fair enough? How can you say 'as a whole' FL drivers are awful? Why blame FL when everyone is a transplant, pretty much from somewhere else? Did everyone become a bad driver in FL?

There's good and bad drivers. It's just that FL attracts more of both kinds.

Because FL is the only state I have lived in(and I have lived in 5 states) that doesn't at least require a written test to see if know the rules of the road.

You walk in and hand in your out of state license, you might get an eye test(I didn't), and walk out with a FL license. The only thing they're strict about is you need extra ID, but your driving skills aren't put to the test, not even a written exam to see if you know FL driving laws.

FL also is the only state that I know of that issues a DL for 8 yrs. Other states require a renewal after 4yrs and sometimes check the driver to see if they should still be driving. Or they may at least require a written test every other renewal. Something to see if they should be driving or not.

In FL you have 80 yrs olds renewing their DL till age 88! A lot can happen it that time.

So while you have a point that FL can't control transplants moving in, the state of FL can do a much better job in the protocol of getting a license and the length of time between renewals.

[StreetSmarts]

Originally Posted by BucFan

I see a lot of 20-40 yr old drivers who I think don't give themselves enough time to get where they need to go, who text, surf the net or on the phone while driving 10 mph+ above the speed limit, weaving in and out of traffic, tailgaiting, and showing signs of impatience.

I'll take a oldtimer behind the wheel driving at the speed limit because they're predictable in what they're going to do and can be maneuvered around if needed.

The impatient 20-40 with a cellphone is so unpredictable and a hazard on the road. Their is a reason why their insurance rates are so much higher than a older driver.

Exactly.