Miami Driving Scene (Road Rage, illegal driving, Moving violations, etc). (Fort Lauderdale: ski resort, attorneys)

[unquiltom]

The car in question passed me and I was doing around 65. I could see the cop up ahead, so I stayed back. The other guy just blasted along at 75 like he was immune to being pulled over.

[miami_winter_breeze]

Originally Posted by unquiltom

The car in question passed me and I was doing around 65. I could see the cop up ahead, so I stayed back. The other guy just blasted along at 75 like he was immune to being pulled over.

I drive around 80-90mph on the 95 when I can, and have so far never been pulled over in Miami-Dade (I set my cruise to 84 mph). In Broward, I was pulled over and I paid a traffic lawyer and got off. In Palm Beach County, I was never pulled over.

[Sugah Ray]

Originally Posted by miami_winter_breeze

I just saw this post now. Somehow missed it.

What I bolded is very troubling but also very typical of American drivers - you guys never look in your mirrors unless you're changing lanes. In Europe, we can't pass a test if we don't keep darting our eyes from side mirrors to rearview mirror - even if we're going straight on a clean road, they will flunk us if our eyes are not constantly cycling through our mirrors. It's now a habit for me, at any given time you can ask me what are the cars around me and behind me and I will be able to tell you without looking, because chances are I looked 1 second before you asked. It's never happened to me that some car "came from nowhere" in my whole life of driving. And I've driven for over a decade in many countries including -

I also never been in a accident. I can't tell you how many times I avoided accidents simply because I was aware of my surroundings however.

You are ASSumming a lot here.

I always checked who is behind me. I already said the idiot came out of nowhere. Do you think I don't know the left lane is for passing? I never use that lane unless I passing someone. I was passing the car he almost hit but chose to hit me instead. He was not behind me at any point. I never really had a chance to avoid the accident. He did, he could have driven slower, wait a few seconds until I finished passing.

Stop making excuses the idiots like this reckless driver who hit me who can't control their speed. You don't f... drive so fast that you can't avoid hitting other cars. That's called reckless driving.

And I had I had never been in an accident with other cars either. And I have driven a lot of miles, I've been in almost every town in Central, South and NE Florida. It doesn't mean anything. You cannot prevent a reckless driver from hitting you if he comes out of nowhere in high speed.

Hopefully the day it happens to you, you will get lucky too and survive the accident and stop defending these idiotic reckless behavior.

[himain]

I was just down there for almost 3 weeks end of Nov and it was crazier than I ever remember it.

[valicky]

Most people in FL have no idea the left lane is for passing. It's just another lane. Notice I didn't say Miami. Although it is worse here, it's not exclusively a Miami problem. I drove from OR to FL in the 80's and didn't encounter this left lane issue until I reached FL. Started right up in the panhandle. Not as prevalent as Miami, but it did happen often enough to notice it. It's much, much worse now unfortunately. Bad habits are usually contagious and they dilute the few people practicing good, safe and CORRECT driving habits until they're almost non-existant. This horrible driving environment is what we're left with.

[ruski]

Originally Posted by valicky

Most people in FL have no idea the left lane is for passing. It's just another lane. Notice I didn't say Miami. Although it is worse here, it's not exclusively a Miami problem. I drove from OR to FL in the 80's and didn't encounter this left lane issue until I reached FL. Started right up in the panhandle. Not as prevalent as Miami, but it did happen often enough to notice it. It's much, much worse now unfortunately. Bad habits are usually contagious and they dilute the few people practicing good, safe and CORRECT driving habits until they're almost non-existant. This horrible driving environment is what we're left with.

I get amazed just about every day when I drive to work how someone driving slowly in a middle lane decides to go into a left lane for no obvious reason, just to change the scenery. Even in the I-595 Express Lanes recently, where often all three lanes are empty.

[ElGuito]

Originally Posted by valicky

Most people in FL have no idea the left lane is for passing. It's just another lane. Notice I didn't say Miami. Although it is worse here, it's not exclusively a Miami problem.
...
Bad habits are usually contagious and they dilute the few people practicing good, safe and CORRECT driving habits until they're almost non-existant. This horrible driving environment is what we're left with.

It's been mentioned in other threads, that a good portion of the bad habits are imported, say from Orlando to South Beach, Florida has a high traffic of tourism, rental cars with drivers not familiar with local regulations and customs. Note that many of the mentions are driving on the I-595, I-95 and I've seen people going the wrong way on SW 8TH Street. Compound that with many, many immigrants arriving as adults, middle age, etc. who are set in their bad habits, which they don't consider such since that's how they drove originally.

[pslhomie]

Its amazing how many a$$ holes are justifying their speeding and telling people they can't use the left lane in traffic. Here is one thing you may need to consider that should get you to slow down. In South Florida there are thousands of high end cars that cost well over 100k. If you hit one of them don't expect your insurance to pay for the damages. They have a cap and the law states that you are on the hook for the rest of the cost.

If you want to slalom then go to the ski resorts. Yes I do agree that drivers should keep up with the speed of traffic but the idiots who are doing 90 in a 55 or 60 should not only lose their license but their car.

In lite traffic stay out of the left lane but in heavy traffic you do not have the right to force someone to get out of the left lane because you want to drive like a moron. Either leave early enough to get to your destination or take public transportation. You are driving a 2000 lb blunt object. Remember that.

[miami_winter_breeze]

Originally Posted by pslhomie

Its amazing how many a$$ holes are justifying their speeding and telling people they can't use the left lane in traffic. Here is one thing you may need to consider that should get you to slow down. In South Florida there are thousands of high end cars that cost well over 100k. If you hit one of them don't expect your insurance to pay for the damages. They have a cap and the law states that you are on the hook for the rest of the cost.

If you want to slalom then go to the ski resorts. Yes I do agree that drivers should keep up with the speed of traffic but the idiots who are doing 90 in a 55 or 60 should not only lose their license but their car.

In lite traffic stay out of the left lane but in heavy traffic you do not have the right to force someone to get out of the left lane because you want to drive like a moron. Either leave early enough to get to your destination or take public transportation. You are driving a 2000 lb blunt object. Remember that.

I can't believe that even after showing you the law, you still insist on making ignorant comments like the above. Do you realize your hogging of the left lane is illegal, as well as unsafe and impedes the flow of traffic?

If you want to drive your pace without being 'rushed', go a lane over to the right.

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by unquiltom

This morning, I saw a rare event, a Miami Dade police officer actually pulling a driver over for speeding!
This was on the Palmetto at about 5:30 in the morning, but here's the best part, the driver being pulled over just stopped in the right lane! Traffic is moving around 60 MPH and people had to swerve around the car and the police car stopped in the lane of traffic. He eventually got the idiot to pull over to the shoulder. How clueless do you have to be to stop in an active freeway lane of traffic? I hope he got another ticket on top of the speeding ticket for that move.

Not surprised, but police officers, public service vehicles, and other vehicles and occupants have been hit by passing cars when they were in the safety lanes on the expressways in Dade County. I can only think these folks got lucky if they did not get hit when that idjit driver stopped in the right lane. Especially at that time of the AM, when it is still dark. The only thing that may have saved them, perhaps is the relatively light traffic at that time of day.