Welcome to Florida: The road rules are different here. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. (Miami: transplants, car insurance)

[wondermint2]

https://news.yahoo.com/welcome-flori...201900087.html

OMG this article describes driving in Florida just perfectly. Also recently in areas where I travel it seems as though the traffic is as heavy as it's ever been. I drive a lot from Nokomis down to Venice for doctors appts. Snowbird season is in full force.

In the subdivision where I live there is no stop sign/light to turn onto Hwy. 41. Its a pain in the a** and just recently there were several big accidents nearby from drivers making a "mad dash" (turning onto Hwy. 41) - because they get tired of waiting for room to pull out and turn. They cut right in and BOOM! (Of course the drivers on 41 aren't going to be courteous and give room for anybody to turn onto 41.)

Also if you're a pedestrian walking or riding a bicycle in the Sarasota area - be extra careful. Sarasota is just about the most dangerous place in the country for pedestrians.

[joshan]

When I first moved down and saw cars flying past cops on I-75 going 30 over the limit and cops did nothing I was shocked! I am used to it now... I just do 30+ over everywhere with everyone else now. LWR boulevard is 35mph in most places and people average about 75mph. Only time this varies is during school start/stop it seems.

Up north that's a ticket 100% of the time. /shrug

[loves2read]

Originally Posted by joshan

When I first moved down and saw cars flying past cops on I-75 going 30 over the limit and cops did nothing I was shocked! I am used to it now... I just do 30+ over everywhere with everyone else now. LWR boulevard is 35mph in most places and people average about 75mph. Only time this varies is during school start/stop it seems.

Up north that's a ticket 100% of the time. /shrug

41 is a state highway and there are many unincorporated small towns along its path where no FSP ever shows up unless there is an accident
That is the result of deliberate choices made in funding operations
Also why it is much more difficult for citizens to petition for lights at certain intersections

We are in Sorrento East and there have been several road accidents on 41 out the Rubens entrance on 41–
I think last one must have had a fatality
About a week after the wreck my husband saw several FSP on 41 and the cutthough with measuring sticks like survey crews use and other equipment==
Looked to him like they were measuring out location of the vehicles involved—
A panel truck and a convertible that wound up under the truck

If there are no police to enforce the speed limits there will be no change
Even a red light won’t help because people routinely run red lights vs stopping

[beach43ofus]

The article is geared towards Southeastern Florida...the Gold Coast area, & not here.

I drive over there quite often due to having family and friends over there. I also lived there for 5 years.

They are much more aggressive drivers than we have here, and traffic congestion is much worse...for now anyways.

I do agree however that enforcement is grossly lacking here along I-75 particularly.

I also agree that the speed limit along 41 from The Oaks in Laurel, down to the Venice split must be decreased to 45 mph the entire stretch.

Better lighting all along 41 in this forum area would reduce pedestrian deaths after dark.

[djsuperfly]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

The article is geared towards Southeastern Florida...the Gold Coast area, & not here.

I drive over there quite often due to having family and friends over there. I also lived there for 5 years.

They are much more aggressive drivers than we have here, and traffic congestion is much worse...for now anyways.

I do agree however that enforcement is grossly lacking here along I-75 particularly.

I also agree that the speed limit along 41 from The Oaks in Laurel, down to the Venice split must be decreased to 45 mph the entire stretch.

Better lighting all along 41 in this forum area would reduce pedestrian deaths after dark.

Why, exactly?

I mean, during nearly all daylight driving hours it's nearly impossible to do the speed limit on 75 due to congestion. Which, of course, is due to the lack of enough north-south arteries in the eastern areas of Manatee and Sarasota Counties, causing too many of those residents to use 75 like it's a local road. Interstates were never meant to be surface roads.

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by djsuperfly

Why, exactly?

I mean, during nearly all daylight driving hours it's nearly impossible to do the speed limit on 75 due to congestion. Which, of course, is due to the lack of enough north-south arteries in the eastern areas of Manatee and Sarasota Counties, causing too many of those residents to use 75 like it's a local road. Interstates were never meant to be surface roads.

Down South of Laurel Road I-75 is like the Autobahn....drive 85+ mph or get the heck off the road

I have no idea why they don't have stronger enforcement. I guess they are understaffed.

[djsuperfly]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

Down South of Laurel Road I-75 is like the Autobahn....drive 85+ mph or get the heck off the road

I have no idea why they don't have stronger enforcement. I guess they are understaffed.

The speed limit is 70. There should be a place for people to do 85 on that road. That's sorta the point of limited-access highways.

[loves2read]

Originally Posted by djsuperfly

The speed limit is 70. There should be a place for people to do 85 on that road. That's sorta the point of limited-access highways.

Why should there “be a a place” for people to do 85? It is against the law. It is unsafe which is why the upper limit is 70

And you can post any speed limit you want—a posted limit means nothing to most of these drivers
We were on way home from WalMart this AM, driving the speed limit (55 in that part) and two cars passed us like we were standing still—were going 65+ at least—

Unless there are LEOs to give tickets which cause people to face reality of breaking the law nothing is going to change…

And even then it would take hefty fines, insurance premiums going up, and persistent presence of LEOs to maintain oversight to make people change their speeding habits…

[djsuperfly]

Originally Posted by loves2read

Why should there “be a a place” for people to do 85? It is against the law. It is unsafe which is why the upper limit is 70

And you can post any speed limit you want—a posted limit means nothing to most of these drivers
We were on way home from WalMart this AM, driving the speed limit (55 in that part) and two cars passed us like we were standing still—were going 65+ at least—

Unless there are LEOs to give tickets which cause people to face reality of breaking the law nothing is going to change…

Because speed limits are supposed to be set at the 85th percentile of speed. Meaning when they survey roads to set limits, they look for where 85% of drivers are driving at or below with 15% of drivers exceeding that speed. Speed limits aren't set because that is the maximum safe speed that can be driven. And yet, many roads aren't set at that limit but rather by political fiat, either through a misunderstanding of how people actually drive or in an attempt at revenue generation.

"Raising speed limits up to the speed of traffic can seem like surrendering to fast, unsafe driving. But it would actually accomplish the opposite. If advocates like Megge are right, following the 85th percentile rule would make roads safer, and it would also mean taking speed limits seriously. "

https://priceonomics.com/is-every-speed-limit-too-low/

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

The article is geared towards Southeastern Florida...the Gold Coast area, & not here.

I drive over there quite often due to having family and friends over there. I also lived there for 5 years.

They are much more aggressive drivers than we have here, and traffic congestion is much worse...for now anyways.

I do agree however that enforcement is grossly lacking here along I-75 particularly.

I also agree that the speed limit along 41 from The Oaks in Laurel, down to the Venice split must be decreased to 45 mph the entire stretch.

Better lighting all along 41 in this forum area would reduce pedestrian deaths after dark.

I'm a little south of you, but in the last year or so, with the mobs of transplants moving into the area from the northeast and other locations, we have seen a huge increase in the number of lousy drivers who disregard traffic signals, drive aggressively and generally act as though the traffic laws do not apply to them and their right of way is whatever they want it to be. It's beginning to remind me quite a bit of the way people drive in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties- I lived in Miami for 36 yrs, drove in all those counties for work so have first hand experience with that. Of course it's worse during season with snowbirds ( though it's hard to say how many of them are permanent transplants or who will decide not to go back to their northern homes).

There is also a big uptick in the number of traffic accidents, including fatalities, reported both here in Lee and Charlotte counties, thanks to these driving patterns. Our car insurance rates have already reflected the increase thanks to all that.