Florida residents nice till they get into a car (Tampa: houses, to buy)

[mike5858]

I love it here in Florida since I moved here in florida. But the drivers here are terrible. They are either slow and seem not to know where they are or they are tailgating and swerving and giving people the finger. They never go the speed limit and are very impatient. I have never seen so many accidents. People seem to go from Dr Jekyl to Mr Hyde when they get in their car.

[PixiStix]

Originally Posted by mike5858

I love it here in Florida since I moved here in florida. But the drivers here are terrible. They are either slow and seem not to know where they are or they are tailgating and swerving and giving people the finger. They never go the speed limit and are very impatient. I have never seen so many accidents. People seem to go from Dr Jekyl to Mr Hyde when they get in their car.

And like 90% of Florida resident drivers come from other states. Honestly, I find the ones going too slow or don't know where they are going are the visitors/snowbirds (which still might have a FL plate). During season, many regular FL residents get a bit exasperated behind the wheel. I'll be honest & say I do (it's hard not to sometimes) Snowbirds on average drive 10 miles under the speed limit in the left lane or put their right signal on & turn left, etc. Then you have the tourists who are looking for a certain street & brake at every intersection they come to or drive the wrong way...

It's part of life here & you learn to accept it but it doesn't make it any less irritating at times. Some people just want to get to work, school ,doctor's appts. & others are only looking for the nearest Splash to buy overpriced sunblock & cheesy t-shirts.

I can tell you I'm much more of a defensive driver since moving here.

[mike5858]

I may have exaggerated a bit as there are good considerate drivers out there. But lots of the other kind too. Things I saw today in just an hour drive....whew. Also saw 4 cars pulled over by the police during that hour so the police are watching.

[Rushmore]

I have lived all over, and it's true--there are a disproportionate number of really crappy drivers here.

Now, I think that the layout of the roads has something to do with it: four lanes with two in the middle for turns...red lights lasting what seems like HOURS...everyone is darting across several lanes at a time...if you don't, they'll just find your skeleton in the car several months from now.

I mean, you gotta go for it SOMETIME, right?

It's a pretty lousy system.

[PixiStix]

Originally Posted by Rushmore

I have lived all over, and it's true--there are a disproportionate number of really crappy drivers here.

Now, I think that the layout of the roads has something to do with it: four lanes with two in the middle for turns...red lights lasting what seems like HOURS...everyone is darting across several lanes at a time...if you don't, they'll just find your skeleton in the car several months from now.

I mean, you gotta go for it SOMETIME, right?

It's a pretty lousy system.

I call Sarasota county the U turn capital...

[HenryHelmhazzard]

Best drivers (overall) I've ever seen: Manhattan

Most aggressive drivers (overall) I've ever seen: Manhattan (possibly Livorno, Italy, but those tiny clown cars hardly count)

Most frequent and gruesome driving-related deaths I've ever seen: Manhattan.

If you look at local traffic from another perspective, the poor drivers here throttle speeds, keep us defensive, and possibly less likely to end in a spectacular fireball.

Florida, land of The Mixed Blessing*.

HHH

* Drink Recipe: Three parts out of state retirees, one part humidity, one part heat, shaken, served over swampland with a side of wry humor. Garnish with pollen and a lemon twist.

[grandmallie]

we live in Ct., they drive like idiots up here too.One thing about Florida, the streets are very well marked and they give you a heads up which st is comming up before you come up on it, the st signs are lit up too.That being said,here in Ct there are hills and valleys and you can usually see lights,I was sorta freakin out when we were driving on I-75 at night, the only place they have highway lights is at the exits and the rest is pitch dark, no lights from buildings ,houses etc....,thats what happens I guess when the land is as flat as a pancake

so all in all, the streets well marked,but nighttime highway driving scary

[ExNooYawk]

I love reading threads about terrible drivers. Who are these people? We all think we are good drivers and it's those other ones out there who aren't. lol

After living in SoCal for seven years, it is especially amusing to read about the bad drivers in other states. Drivers out here are world-class terrible drivers.

[mrcoolmrcool28]

Originally Posted by grandmallie

we live in Ct., they drive like idiots up here too.One thing about Florida, the streets are very well marked and they give you a heads up which st is comming up before you come up on it, the st signs are lit up too.That being said,here in Ct there are hills and valleys and you can usually see lights,I was sorta freakin out when we were driving on I-75 at night, the only place they have highway lights is at the exits and the rest is pitch dark, no lights from buildings ,houses etc....,thats what happens I guess when the land is as flat as a pancake

so all in all, the streets well marked,but nighttime highway driving scary

What we ENJOYED about I-75 during our nighttime trip from Tampa back to PC on Thanksgiving was the reflectors on the median strips so you actually tell where the lines were, and on the other side you don't see them so there would be less of a chance you're going the wrong way on the interstate, which is good to know!! Up here, we very often can't see the lane markers. They're either covered with snow or ice, or the paint's worn off from the snowplow scraping over them for years.
mrs.cool
Gotta go!! Badger game is back on after commercial break!!! (NCAA tourney for those of you non-sports people.)

[tommy-105]

There's actually a new law that went into effect January 1st that is supposed to address the bad driver issue.

Crash-prone Drivers Facing Traffic School
January 01, 2010 -
Bad drivers could be ordered to traffic school under a new law taking effect today that targets Florida's worst motorists.
And although the law starts today, bad drivers can be penalized for crashes that happened three years ago.
People who have caused two or more crashes during the previous 36 months will to have to attend a driver-improvement course of at least 16 hours, including four hours behind the wheel, if they cause another crash in 2010.



...Any driver who causes a crash within a 36-month period will receive a letter from the state and have 90 days to complete the course or face cancellation of their driving privileges...

...In a three-year period ending Dec. 31, 2008, there were 3,277 drivers in the state with three or more at-fault crashes.
During that three-year-period, the state found drivers with as many as seven at-fault crashes, including one driver at fault in five crashes, one of which involved a fatality. One driver was convicted of 86 violations...

Crash-prone Drivers Facing Traffic School - Sun Sentinel