Cape Coral Driving Practices (Naples, Cypress Lake: condo, home, living in)

[Jacqueline Shaffer]

I have been living in the Cape for 28 years and find that some people think they are "Special" and don't follow the same rules that all the rest of us do.

This morning is a prime example. I was the 5th car waiting to turn right on Cape Coral Parkway, from DelPrado, south of the parkway. A beige Rav 4 with orange striping on the sides, pulls up to the first position of the north only lane, and then proceeds to make a right turn on to the Parkway. It was even funnier, since one of her tail-lights was out so as to not be able to make a turn signal if she had wanted to. A two for one law-breaker!

I will admit that the city has made a bad road situation worse by allowing three lanes of southbound traffic to turn left at DelPrado onto the Parkway, merging into two lanes. By the time the light turns green for the drivers coming from the south side of the parkway, trhe intersection is still blocked by the southbound drivers trying to merge into two lanes, and then the north bound drivers have missed their light.

One last thing; Handicapped signs stae clearly tthey are to be removed from the rearview mirror when ddriving. They are PARKING qualifiers, only to be hung up when PARKING, not driving. It's the law too.

[hiknapster]

The senile drivers are scary. I had an older man shaking his fist and flipping me off at an intersection. I was in the left lane, with my left directional on and he was in the middle lane, which was marked as forward only. I was at the light, waiting and minding my own business and he just kept carrying on. When the light turned green, he turned left, which he wasn't suppose to do, then proceeded to keep up his ruckus at me.

I once had an older lady swearing and leaning on her horn in a parking lot. I guess I wasn't going fast enough for her. There were speed bumps, for crying out loud. I guess she was in a hurry to get into Ace Hardware. Maybe she had a renovation emergency.

I let her park and then drove by. Wow, she was quiet then. I asked her if she talked to her grandchildren with that mouth and that I didn't appreciate the language in front of my five-year-old.

Once, I had my MIL's car and went to get gas. I realized that the gas tank was on the other side and had to pull around. When I got out of the car, some old guy ran over to me and said, "You're so stupid that you don't even know what side your gas tank is on." Exact words.

What makes some people so stinking miserable?

[Compression]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

What makes some people so stinking miserable?

Living in Cape Coral................

(Aww, come on, you know I just couldnt resist)

[Izmack]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I realized that the gas tank was on the other side and had to pull around.

Hik, I just found this secret out 2 months ago: Look on the driver console. Near the fuel gauge there's an arrow indicating what side the fuel port is. It's so cool!

G

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by Izmack

Hik, I just found this secret out 2 months ago: Look on the driver console. Near the fuel gauge there's an arrow indicating what side the fuel port is. It's so cool!

G

Thanks, Izmack! YC, you are too funny.

Btw, last time I visited during season there weren't any crabby drivers. Maybe I got lucky but I'm hoping the mean people just moved away...

[BigRob69]

There are people everywhere that think they are "special" when driving. Ninety-five percent of the time people drive real close to my bumper and they're always on a cell phone or speeding and not realizing they're doing either. People don't pay attention and this is why accidents happen. People, don't be stupid, pay attention to how fast you are going, it's not a race. Only be on your cell for emergencies when driving or pull your butt over to talk on the phone.

Several years ago, I was on the freeway and traffic came to a stand still. I was at the back of the traffic jam and I had just stopped my car, no one was moving ahead of me. Ten seconds after I stopped I hear this loud tire screeching noise and sure enough I was rear ended. Why you ask? Because this woman was speeding and talking on her cell. Can you feel for me?

[Compression]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Thanks, Izmack! YC, you are too funny.

Btw, last time I visited during season there weren't any crabby drivers. Maybe I got lucky but I'm hoping the mean people just moved away...

Naw, I'm still here.................




Caloosahatchee bridge, Winkler at Fowler, MacGregor, Sanibel causeway, Cypress Lake, Wal Mart parking lot................a list of places I have been rear ended since moving to FL. None prior to that.

After the second one I began installing solid I beams as bumpers on the back of my trucks. My old GMC at one time had an f 150 and a Toyota corolla painted on the side of the fender as "kills".

Be forewarned, as I'm getting some age on now, I'm considering putting the reinforced bumper up front also.
YC.......

[ChrisA70]

It's not limited to the cape... try living in Estero when all the part timers are here, it is HELL down here. You trade off is summer heat, no snowbirds, OR Cool weather, ignorant drivers coming down in groves... Mixed with the ones already here.

I had an incident a few months back with a jerk who lives here at the condo's across the street. While waiting for traffic to pass while pulling out of the Coconut Point Mall, I had a real winner behind me. I have to go across three lanes of traffic to get into Fountain Lakes, our entrance is about 100 yards from the mall exit, so you have to move quickly, and 41 is not the most pleasant road to cross in season anyways. So I am sitting there, cars are nice and evenly spacedjust enough that I couldn't go. I hear a horn behind me, I ignored it. Then I hear it blow constantly, I turned around in my seat and stared at the guy and worded to him get off my... I finally got a chance to floor it across the street to the lane to turn into where we live. He was literally a foot from my bumper running his mouth. I then proceeded to slam my brakes, scared the crap out of him. He followed me to the gate yelling the whole time, I pulled to the stop sign, same thing, he was just going off back there, yelling... I turned into my parking lot and this NUTCASE pulled in behind me. I could not get out of my car fast enough. He is in the car yelling(guy is in his 70's) calling me an a-hole, and I could have gotten across the street 5 times, I said next time you go and get killed, one less moron in the world. As I walked towards the car and he saw I am not a small guy he began reversing out of the lot, low and behold wearing a NY Yankees shirt, his license plate... "IMA NYR", I KID YOU NOT, SWEAR IT SAYS THAT, I know because I can see where he parks across the street!!!!! I thought I heard that NY accent while he was on his rampage. Sorry, he can drive like an idiot in NY, but I don't take risks driving out into traffic, especially on 41. People have NO patience at all. Where did this idiot have to go? Home to watch The Price Is Right????? I see him walking the property, riding his bike, and since I work here I see the guy a lot. Funny thing is I was up at the office talking to my boss and he walked by, says "hi guys, how are you doing"? Maybe he forgot who I was??? Or senile?

Anyways, people are rude, have no patience, drive like idiots, and that is everywhere. I never had an incident in CC while I lived there for 4 years. All my incidents were in Estero, or Naples.

[Compression]

I guess to be fair, I've not had any bent sheet metal in Cape Coral either(knocks wood). Just the occasional harrasment from LE, due to window tint and broken turn signal lenses, and the typical wannabe accident looking for a place to happen.

When I first moved here 20 years ago, someone explained the roads to me like this...........Ya gotta lot of young people on drugs tryin to get everywhere in a hurry, thrown on the road with a lot of old folks on drugs in no particular hurry to get anywhere. The people in the middle have to dodge all of them......good luck to you.

I love the old guys that sit in a driveway waiting to turn right into traffic that sit and watch you approach while they have all the time in the world to make their turn. They turn out when you get within 100 feet of them, and make you slam on your brakes and do 15 mph under the limit behind them.

Then there's the guy that will do 50 mph out of the side street to get on the road, literally squealing rubber thru the turn, then promptly slow down to under the limit when he gets on the road.....

Oh, I could go on, the ones that fall asleep at the light, etc. But you get the idea...


YC.......

[Samiamnh]

I LOVE the roads in Florida....compared to NH or anywhere in the northeast.....they are a dream.If you miss a turn in Florida,you're only a short distance from the next turnoff..Miss a turn on a NH street and you might go miles before there is a safe place to turn around......that is,if you're not forced onto a lane that takes you in a wrong direction and gets you lost.
The roads up north were mostly cut from old carriage paths....later on,they were engineered to go around obstacles such as lakes and mountains.
There is no pattern to them.In Florida,the roads were designed as grids.....if you know that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west,it's pretty hard to get lost.