Dangerous Drivers in Florida?

[KayakerNC]

"A full one-third of the cities in this list are in Florida. Why does Florida rank so badly? " :22yikes:

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/15-dangerous-cities-for-driving.html

[l2ridehd]

My first trip to Florida was to the Ft Myers area. There were so many "old" people" on the roads driving so slow that I bet I saw a dozen accidents caused by them. Everyone was just poking along and others would try to pass or get out of there way and it was a nightmare. Then I went to Naples. And there I saw the parents of all the folks in Ft Myers.

[villagegolfer]

My first trip to Florida was to the Ft Myers area. There were so many "old" people" on the roads driving so slow that I bet I saw a dozen accidents caused by them. Everyone was just poking along and others would try to pass or get out of there way and it was a nightmare. Then I went to Naples. And there I saw the parents of all the folks in Ft Myers.

LOL That was funny!!~~

[senior citizen]

My first trip to Florida was to the Ft Myers area. There were so many "old" people" on the roads driving so slow that I bet I saw a dozen accidents caused by them. Everyone was just poking along and others would try to pass or get out of there way and it was a nightmare. Then I went to Naples. And there I saw the parents of all the folks in Ft Myers.

This person is not kidding........I can assure you of that.

We often went to Naples when we stayed on Sanibel Island.
However, Naples is a beautifully laid out smaller city.....so worth the visit.

Venice and Sarasota were also bad as far as terrible drivers.

We were only 49 when we bought the condo on Venice Beach........but, one had to be careful out there, especially during what they called the "high season" with all the snow birds. Inattentiveness was the norm on the roads.
Not to mention pushing the shopping carts in the supermarkets.

[Uptown Girl]

One off the top of my head is, that when your driver's license is issued, it's good for 9 years. My stepdad is 86 and just had his renewed, so he's good to go until he's 95. Whoa!

Another one I've noticed in the many years I have been visiting Florida is that (except for TV) construction projects/road repair seem to take forever to get finished. That in itself can present hazards, especially if the driver is a visitor.

Then we have the people who are impaired in some way, either chemically or physically (ever see an elder driving while looking THROUGH the steering wheel because they are height deprived?) Or they forgot their eyeglasses?

How about those drivers who can't read the signs because they are all in English?
Or those who can't read at all? Most of them never GOT driver's licenses, so of course they don't know the rules of the road either.
(Lots of that on the Chicago expressways, too)

Couple that with those who just don't care about driving courteously, and those who are not focused in the moment for whatever reason.
I wonder if those numbers reflect the months when tourism is high.... that may be what takes it over the top.

[gmcneill]

not to mention the increased use of cphones, txting, video displays etc while driving

[2BNTV]

WOW - Ft. Lauderdale was #1.

My son lives in Ft. Lauderdale and is a careful driver. I drove in Florida for the first time last year and I made a comment when someone darted in front of the car to cross a street, (not at an intersection), in a totally unexpected manner.

"You think drivers in the New York area are bad, they drivers here are much worse". You always have to be on guard and expect the unexpected".

[Figmo Bohica]

Are turn signals an option on cars sold in Florida?

[villagegolfer]

Are turn signals an option on cars sold in Florida?

Yea, but they leave them on for miles and miles at a time.:D

[2BNTV]

Are turn signals an option on cars sold in Florida?

I dunno about FL but they might be in the tri-state area as some people I know complain that a lot of people don't use them. :)

[hedoman]

Florida residents are a compilation of all 52 states so the rate of accidents can't be blamed on any one state's notorius driving habits. Jacksonville, Orlando and Ft Lauderdale? Highly populated areas? Why isn't Philly, LA, New York on the list?

Florida doesn't have required vehicle inspections like the above states so could the root cause be the vehicles themselves failing? JMHO

[red tail]

Florida residents are a compilation of all 52 states so the rate of accidents can't be blamed on any one state's notorius driving habits. Jacksonville, Orlando and Ft Lauderdale? Highly populated areas? Why isn't Philly, LA, New York on the list?

Florida doesn't have required vehicle inspections like the above states so could the root cause be the vehicles themselves failing? JMHO

surely you dont want vehicle inspections again!!!!!!

[Pturner]

Shocked that Atlanta isn't on the list! The worse 15 must be off the charts. Also, not LA and NY?:shrug:

[batman911]

Could be because of all the visitors Florida receives. People not familiar with the roads and distracted trying to find their way.

[billethkid]

In FL if you see a car at a cross street waiting to enter the road you are on...be careful....they pull out when they can finally see you!!!

Yes there should be discrimination in renewing drivers licences. Once past 80 they should be for no more than 2 years...and require vision and reaction testing. It is one of the last freedoms many of us aging want to ever give up.
Family and friends can make it work more effectively by encouraging the "impaired" to not drive. You may save their life at a minimum and others as well.
I would be among the first to complain to have to do it...but would vote for it!!

I know I had to work at it long and hard and unpleasantly at times to get the keys from my mother when she was 89.


btk

[Figmo Bohica]

hedoman, 52 states? Guess states are like turn signals. Options, all options.

[buggyone]

52 states? I figure you must be including District of Columbia and Puerto Rico as states - or maybe not?

[2BNTV]

In FL if you see a car at a cross street waiting to enter the road you are on...be careful....they pull out when they can finally see you!!!

Yes there should be discrimination in renewing drivers licences. Once past 80 they should be for no more than 2 years...and require vision and reaction testing. It is one of the last freedoms many of us aging want to ever give up.
Family and friends can make it work more effectively by encouraging the "impaired" to not drive. You may save their life at a minimum and others as well.
I would be among the first to complain to have to do it...but would vote for it!!

I know I had to work at it long and hard and unpleasantly at times to get the keys from my mother when she was 89.


btk

I agree.

My father still kept driving while his vision was impaired putting himself and others at risk. When it became too unsafe, the car was taken away from my father by family members., He felt he was dependent and went downhill from there. It was a big blow to him to lose his independence.

[hedoman]

hedoman, 52 states? Guess states are like turn signals. Options, all options.

OOOOOOPS I gues I was including a STATE of MIND and the STATE of the UNION LOL

[golf2140]

My first trip to Florida was to the Ft Myers area. There were so many "old" people" on the roads driving so slow that I bet I saw a dozen accidents caused by them. Everyone was just poking along and others would try to pass or get out of there way and it was a nightmare. Then I went to Naples. And there I saw the parents of all the folks in Ft Myers.

So true, so true :BigApplause:

[golf2140]

Florida residents are a compilation of all 52 states so the rate of accidents can't be blamed on any one state's notorius driving habits. Jacksonville, Orlando and Ft Lauderdale? Highly populated areas? Why isn't Philly, LA, New York on the list?

Florida doesn't have required vehicle inspections like the above states so could the root cause be the vehicles themselves failing? JMHO

Must be running for political office. 52 states :D

[Mikeod]

Yes there should be discrimination in renewing drivers licences. Once past 80 they should be for no more than 2 years...and require vision and reaction testing. It is one of the last freedoms many of us aging want to ever give up.
Family and friends can make it work more effectively by encouraging the "impaired" to not drive. You may save their life at a minimum and others as well.
I would be among the first to complain to have to do it...but would vote for it!!


btk
California has (had?) a program for "impaired" drivers. They could request a special road test. The examiner would ride with them as they negotiated the city streets from home to the grocery store, the doctor, the pharmacy, etc. If they were able to do that successfully and safely, they could be issued a restricted license. Only good for daylight hours and non-freeway use. They were made aware that if caught exceeding their license, it could/would be gone forever. One reason for this was the lack of adequate public transportation in a lot of areas outside the major cities. It allowed some people the opportunity to remain somewhat independent.

I agree that there needs to be some consideration of the aging process with regards to vision and response/reaction times. And people need to understand that driving is a privilege, not a right. But there needs to be an appeal process or repeat test before a license is denied. Taking a test to determine if a license will be renewed is stressful in itself, and people will not perform normally when under stress.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Nah - one of them had to be the "State of Confusion", hedoman! :thumbup:

Bill :)

[Mickedamouse24]

:22yikes: I would quess the reason is a good part of the N. Eastern section of the US is in Florida at any given time...!!!

[CMANN]

I think it's very interesting that you people are criticizing the way senior citizens drive. You may be one someday.

[NJblue]

Note that this was based on fatalities. I wonder what the list would look like if it included all accidents and hence take into account all the fender benders that are more likely to occur in large cities. I would be surprised if Boston did not end up the most accident prone city. Our daughter and her family live there now and I dread driving there because of how aggressive the drivers are. My son-in-law is a great, even-keeled person, but put him behind the wheel in Boston and he becomes a maniac.

[skyguy79]

Yes there should be discrimination in renewing drivers licences. Once past 80 they should be for no more than 2 years...and require vision and reaction testing. With all due respect and speaking as a retired Supervising Motor Vehicle Representative for the State of New York with 26 years experience, many of which were primarily as an enforcement supervisor, I have to disagree that age discrimination is an acceptable thing. Many 80+ drivers are sharp capable drivers and even more so than they were years ago thanks to advances in medical knowledge. It's true that there are those that should stop driving, but who are we to say when and at what age? Especially since we've seen relatively young driver that are worse than older ones. As an example, my father at about 83 was one of the many who recognized when it was time to give up driving and we know that because he instructed us to sell his car so he wouldn't be tempted to use it again!

Now, I'm not familiar with MV operations in FL, but in NY I know that there are programs to trigger retesting based on performance complaints. If our Driver License Adjudicators received three creditable complaints from unrelated sources, they did call in drivers for retesting and if they failed to appear for that retesting, the order was given to suspend their license, which in turn I had to forward to the police. One time I even received a special order directly from the head adjudicator to immediately send an order to the State Police to immediately pickup a license at the request of their immediate family. Normally the motorist would be sent a notice then had 30 day to comply before we sent the police to visit them. I'd be surprised if Florida didn't have a program similar to this.

Sadly, today enforcement via the police is no longer practiced, and the reason is that the department had determined that the majority, if not nearly all drivers, will continue driving following the pickup of their suspended or revoked items anyway. I'd even seen through my office window next to my desk, several suspended or revoked motorists I had sat and discussed their situation with, get up when we were finished and proceed directly to their car, get in behind the steering wheel and drive off.

As a final note, there's one humorist story that I'd like to share. We were not supposed to send orders to police if the mailing address was a PO Box. One got out by accident and on the reverse of the order where they were to explain why they can't enforce an order and return to us, the trooper noted something like this... "I proceeded to the post office of the address, went inside to the little box with the number on the order. When I looked inside, I didn't not see the motorist whose license I'm supposed to pickup, so this order is being returned unenforceable!" There are more stories I could tell, but that's for some other time... maybe!

[hedoman]

Nah - one of them had to be the "State of Confusion", hedoman! :thumbup:

Bill :)

NOW I'm in the STATE of DENIAL moving to the STATE of DEPRESSION

LOL

:throwtomatoes:

[GeorgeT]

I think it's very interesting that you people are criticizing the way senior citizens drive. You may be one someday.

I would rather lose my drivers license then cause an accident or cause my family anxiety. We all know that there are some older drivers who should not be on the road but just don't know it. Unfortunately, it's a fact of life.

It's a sticky subject and I won't make a legal suggestion but I think family or friends should persuade you to quit driving when the time comes.

People will say "How am I supposed to shop, go to the doctors" etc....
I say that there are ways to do these things without taking chances. A car is a deadly weapon and can kill as easily as a gun. I would not want the death or injury of someone on my conscience.