JAX Drivers (Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa: transplants, 2014, home)

[Jennifer76]

Hi, so we moved here a little over a year ago from a major metropolitan U.S. city. It is in the top 5 most traffic-congested. U.S. cities. However, Jacksonville seriously has it beat with the most aggressive, reckless drivers I have ever seen in my life! I cannot go more than a day or two without seeing someone driving who seems to imagine themselves as Vin Diesel or Paul Walker in The Fast and the Furious. Today alone, there was a very large truck speeding and swerving erratically in and out of traffic on Butler Blvd. A car ran a red light on Beach Blvd. They had time to stop, could have stopped but even after it was red for several seconds, they swerved around us and ran the traffic light. If the man about to cross the street at the intersection hadn't hesitated...he would have been hit. Oh and a car slammed into a tree on Touchton Rd from taking a turn too fast in the rain. I wish I could say this was something out of the ordinary. But I seem to be witness to these incidents on a regular basis driving around Jacksonville. So, what is up? Why are there SO many insane drivers with absolutely no regard for themselves, much less others, in this city?!

[Florida2014]

It is insane here, I totally agree. So I think there are a lot of reasons for the poor driving in/around Jax:

1) Lots and lots of uneducated types in/around Jax
2) Lots of dudes with giant, souped up trucks with small.........hands, call it a Southern thing
3) Infrequent traffic enforcement - I know JSO and SJCS are stretched thin
4) Jax is so spread out that it takes a long time to get anywhere....thus, people seem to be always rushing to get from Point A to Point B
5) We're the largest city in FL with nearly a million people in the city limits alone. The law of large numbers - for every 1 good/safe driver there are likely 5 who are brainless
6) Poor infrastructure - there just aren't many options to go places here. You either go on the same busy roads creating congestion, which leads to people getting frustrated and speeding, or you take the very slow routes inside the city, which take a lot longer to reach your destination
7) Tons of snowbirds and transplants from the East Coast who likely didn't have such open roads where they're from, so they feel like they can "let loose" a little with the gas pedal

We're also not far from Daytona and that breed of crowd. I see a lot of (mostly) men with sporty-type cars who probably feel like speed equates to their manliness.

[Thundarr457]

If you think Jax drivers are bad then go to Miami. They are 100x worse. If you want to exit you have to do it 2 miles before or else 50 cars will be in that lane before you. When we were looking, we ruled out Miami because of the drivers. I can't imagine living there. Jax is a walk in the park by comparison IMHO. As far as driving in Jax, I leave a large space between me and the car in front and I don't care how many cars cut in front. I have been driving for 53 years without an accident. The closest I came was when we were evacuating from Irma and a car swung open its door into ours as I drove past.

[Florida2014]

Originally Posted by Thundarr457

If you think Jax drivers are bad then go to Miami. They are 100x worse. If you want to exit you have to do it 2 miles before or else 50 cars will be in that lane before you. When we were looking, we ruled out Miami because of the drivers. I can't imagine living there. Jax is a walk in the park by comparison IMHO. As far as driving in Jax, I leave a large space between me and the car in front and I don't care how many cars cut in front. I have been driving for 53 years without an accident. The closest I came was when we were evacuating from Irma and a car swung open its door into ours as I drove past.

I feel like Orlando is similar. Driving through I-4 you're literally putting your life on the line with all those curvy, interstate roads that are perpetually under construction. I stay in the middle or far right lanes and don't change lanes unless it's an emergency.

[Thundarr457]

Originally Posted by Florida2014

I feel like Orlando is similar. Driving through I-4 you're literally putting your life on the line with all those curvy, interstate roads that are perpetually under construction. I stay in the middle or far right lanes and don't change lanes unless it's an emergency.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...b0390e69ce51d2

[Florida2014]

Originally Posted by Thundarr457

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...b0390e69ce51d2

I didn't even need to read that to know that HAD to be one of the worst offenders.

95 is terrible too. Speed limit is 70 and if I'm going 75-80 I often get passed as if I'm parked. There is a stretch between CR 210 and the WGV exit that seemingly has a major or fatal crash every week.

[BabyBoomers2]

Like in Los Angeles...…...very fast paced lifestyles? But, also like many other places in the U.S., where there is a lot of employment, people running late to get to work, pick up kids or whatever. Jacksonville is full of young adults, collage age and above, that are very aggressive behind the wheel. Any Senior Citizens here, like wife and I, have to really be cautious! Jacksonville isn't some small farming or ranching town in the middle of Wyoming! People drive fast here, don't use turn-signals, run stop signs and red lights and swerve in and out of traffic that is going, what they think is, way to slow for them.

[germanoricua]

My problem in Jax was more the drivers who do not pay attention to the road than the fast drivers (I am from Europe and am used to much faster driving).



Here in FL in general most people are on the phone talking and/or texting while driving, and do not pay attention to what is going on around them. Many do not have their eyes on the road. So when driving you have to have your eyes on what is in front of you, behind you and what is left and right of you, and you have to try to predict what all these people might do next.


And whatever you do: Do not ride your bike anywhere in traffic, not even on bike paths that go along roads with car traffic. When I still read the Jax newspaper, I constantly read about bikers who got killed by cars, even on sidewalks, in the city.

[nep321]

Being from Connecticut, I actually don't think the drivers here are that bad at all. And certainly not nearly as bad as Orlando/Tampa/Miami. No way.

[Traveler1026]

OP I agree with you. JAX drivers are horrid. I have lived in huge populated cities including NYC and Boston and they were both better than JAX. Almost every day driving home from work I see an accident and often times there are 3, 4 or 5 car pile ups. So many speeding cars on the highways who never bother using their signals and just cut in and out of traffic. Then you have the ones who constantly tailgate right on your ass, it drives me nuts. In the northeast cities, yes people do have a tendency to speed a lot, but I feel like they are overall more conscientious drivers and use their signals, unlike here.

Like I said I’ve lived in various cities all over the country and I travel extensively throughout the US frequently. In my opinion Florida has some of the worst drivers in the country and that is saying a lot!