[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by justjim

I have noticed “the police” are usually County Deputies. It is rare to see a Florida State Trooper. If you travel through Georgia it won’t be long before you see radar and County Deputies pulling cars over and tickets being written. Every time you are on I75 in Georgia and you travel into a different county WATCH OUT! Of course, the real speedsters don’t slow down and will take the risk anyways. Be careful what you wish for. I’m not sure you want to turn Florida into another Georgia.

The death per 100,000 people in Florida is 16. Georgia is about the same at 16.5, NY is 6, Pa is 9, Ohio is 11, Oklahoma is 18, Wyoming is 23

[Normal]

We would have more police in Wildwood, but our city commissioners thought we needed to spend 6.6 million for a parking garage with 126 spaces. I mean which is more important: the 50,000 dollar per slot parking garage or public safety?

[ElDiabloJoe]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

In an elite community like this the Police should be able to stop "actual" criminals AND the small time criminal driving misdemeanors. And the drunken driving.

Ohhh, sure. And in their spare time they'll cure cancer and eliminate the deficit.

Do you actually know how criminal justice works or is this like your third-hand experience with golf carts - you learned what you think you know from television?

[justjim]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

I would PREFER to live in the SAFER state. Which one is better say based on traffic fatalities per 100,000 miles.

Population of Florida is 21+Million vs Georgia 10+Million. (Google) Florida has many more tourists and many of them are trying to find their way around.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by shaw8700@outlook.com

But speed is only one cause of accidents. What the OP was writing about is the pedestrians that get killed. The lady who was killed in LSL was at wrong time/wrong place accident.

What really is disturbing is all the people who drive past school buses when the STOP sign is out. That should be criminal.

You could put governors on all cars but that would do anything for that woman or children getting to school/home safely.

What we need to do is make it so that phones don’t work when the cars are moving.

Many people have their phones connected to the audio of their cars. That way they can tell their wife that they're TRYING to get to the hospital to watch the birth of their child, but they're stuck in traffic. Or they can tell their child that they're on their way to pick them up at school but are stuck in traffic, and to just stay put. Or they can tell their spouse that yes - they'll stop at the store on the way home and pick up a quart of milk. Or tell the doctor that no, you didn't remember you had an appointment 10 minutes ago but you're turning around and will be there in 5.

There's also the matter of GPS programs that are apps on your cell phone. No phone = no GPS.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by airstreamingypsy

FYI, Defund never meant get rid of, it was a stupid choice of words to describe what they wanted, which was to reallocate some funds to hire mental health and social workers to relieve the police departments and free them to fight crime.

Of course all that was explained, in detail when the issue first came up a bunch of years ago. But some people don't WANT it to mean that. They WANT it to mean what they've assigned it to mean, so that they can raise their fists in righteous indignation about "those people."

Meanwhile, back on topic:

I see posters here being all fist-raisey and righteously indignant, going on the hyperbolic defense of "oh sure, let's just have a cop on every corner, put them in your house to make sure you're not doing anything wrong, turn this into a nanny state and big brother" yada yada yada.

There's a difference between "the police in this area are not visible enough, another dozen shifts added to the tri-county area would be helpful" and "put a nanny-cam in your bathroom."

Maybe if we could accept those differences and approach the problem pragmatically instead of emotionally, this community (in general) could come up with solutions.

[MollyJo]

Originally Posted by CarlR33

Careful what you wish for. I would envision someday when electronic monitoring of driving maybe mandatory for vehicle insurance instead of more police for traffic. It’s already happening on a voluntary level. We monitor fleet drivers, speed, harsh braking, time over speed, etc.

I’m a grocery delivery driver & our trucks can’t exceed 65 mph. Big brother is on the windshield, points are given for the following (63 =fired)

1) Following Distance
(Need a semi length between vehicles on highway)
2) Distracted Driving (looking anywhere else than driving, no eating, no drinking, cell=fired)
3) Cornering-turning corner using 1 hand
Just suppose consumer insurance required this or pay 4x premium
I just let the Indy 500 drivers fly past me so I can go on with my business…

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

............The 2nd situation involves clothing COLORS. For some reason unknown to myself, BLACK clothing has become popular and STAYED popular for many years. I see both young and old people riding BLACK bicycles while wearing all BLACK clothing. Older drivers have trouble seeing those dark bicycle riders at night or even in the shadows during the day. The same thing goes for pedestrians wearing dark colors. Anytime I am riding a bike I make sure that I have a bright yellow shirt or jacket on.

FINALLY, something that makes sense...

I see people OF ALL AGES walking at night in dark clothing with ZERO reflector tape, reflector sneakers, or a reflective vest...

[scubawva]

Originally Posted by LoisR

The Daily Sun has recently published a series of major articles about how unsafe Forida's roadways are. Over 800 pedestrian deaths were determined last year to be the result of dangerous drivers.
We have to travel periodically to Tampa, and have been doing this for over five years. Yesterday was only the second time we had seen a police car on the roadway. He was parked between the roadways, as cars sped by.
We've never seen one patrolling any of the roads surrounding The Villages or in the The Villages. They're certainly needed here.
Want to stop bad drivers? Get the police on the roadways doing their job.

How much more taxes are you willing to pay for more PD?
More PD on the roads wont stop bad drivers.

I’ve seen plenty in TV and outside. Just bc you haven’t doesn’t mean they’re not working.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

It only makes sense that Florida would have high pedestrian deaths, because of all the older people driving and even walking. Older people driving have slower reflexes and worse vision than younger people. They probably get distracted easier than younger people.
.........There are 2 situations that I find strange. One is about older drivers. Speeding ? Why are so many older drivers in such a hurry. They SHOULD have more time available now that they are not working, so they SHOULD be taking their time and NOT pushing over the speed limits. Maybe during Covid the roads were less crowded and drivers got used to having the roads to themselves and they raised their speed.
............The 2nd situation involves clothing COLORS. For some reason unknown to myself, BLACK clothing has become popular and STAYED popular for many years. I see both young and old people riding BLACK bicycles while wearing all BLACK clothing. Older drivers have trouble seeing those dark bicycle riders at night or even in the shadows during the day. The same thing goes for pedestrians wearing dark colors. Anytime I am riding a bike I make sure that I have a bright yellow shirt or jacket on.

I wear a reflector vest and a helmet that has reflection stripes on it, when I ride my bicycle. I also just recently added some blinking lights to the front and back. I'm not sure it's the best idea because it could distract a driver who ends up not noticing something else they should be paying attention to. But I'll give it a try and see how it goes. The reflector vest is something I've been using down here almost since I moved in.

Up north, I usually didn't even wear a helmet. We didn't have many bicycle accidents there though, and if I wanted to go down the main road (Route 5), I'd just ride through strip-mall parking lots instead of on the road itself. Having a hybrid bicycle is great - shock absorbers on front and back fork means I can ride on the grass and down curbs without breaking my pelvis.

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

You are so right as usual. A person very active in the medical community here once shared with me that he finds himself frequently saddened and sometimes frustrated with an awful lot of overdrinking in The Villages. There is nothing more annoying than a reformed anything but mark me down as a reformed overdrinker. No matter how much I drank, I was never any good at it. We are so quick to criticize the good guys sometimes and no, I know they all aren't perfect, but it is a tough job and no amount of money can compensate the police for the risks they take on our behalf. I am, as I have said many times, very appreciative and grateful. It makes me SO annoyed, when I am driving a cart on the cartpath and trying to stay BACK from folks on a bicycle, only to be passed by either a newby, a renter or a snowbird, who will zoom up and tailgate them through the narrow places. I do say a few words under my breath.........Helene is usually sitting right next to me. I will look at her and she will look at me and we are just grateful to have a cart, a cartpath, and lovely places to go.

I hardly ever drink. Sometime when just out of high school to fit in. 45 years hardly even had drop in till Covid. Couple shots night to help me sleep. Covid has passed and so has my teetotaling. Back to my boring self. I agree LEOs has to put up with drunks and druggies everyday not to mention harden criminals. A thankless job. Two jobs I was never interested in law enforcement and nursing homes. Two jobs of unrecognized hero’s if they don’t get the attitude or mean?

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by justjim

I have noticed “the police” are usually County Deputies. It is rare to see a Florida State Trooper. If you travel through Georgia it won’t be long before you see radar and County Deputies pulling cars over and tickets being written. Every time you are on I75 in Georgia and you travel into a different county WATCH OUT! Of course, the real speedsters don’t slow down and will take the risk anyways. Be careful what you wish for. I’m not sure you want to turn Florida into another Georgia.

When I go up I75 at 75 MPH i getting ran over sometimes even in far right lane. I agree going through Georgia I make sure I don’t go over 75 and slow get over when vehicles flashers are on shoulder.

[kkingston57]

Originally Posted by Happydaz

I don’t seem able to find data that shows Florida “is way down the list for traffic fatalities.” All the data I see shows Florida to be in the top 10-20% of all states for fatalities per 100,000 residents or per million miles driven.

And Florida has one of the highest(if not the highest) % of elderly people, there are going to be more deaths involved in motor vehicle accidents due to their underlying physical/old age problems

[shaw8700@outlook.com]

Originally Posted by CybrSage

Good idea, stop the GPS map program from working when it is needed the most.
Let's also stop mobile phones from working while people walk...to prevent distractioned walkers.

Every car has built-in GPS so you don’t need a cellphone.

[shaw8700@outlook.com]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Many people have their phones connected to the audio of their cars. That way they can tell their wife that they're TRYING to get to the hospital to watch the birth of their child, but they're stuck in traffic. Or they can tell their child that they're on their way to pick them up at school but are stuck in traffic, and to just stay put. Or they can tell their spouse that yes - they'll stop at the store on the way home and pick up a quart of milk. Or tell the doctor that no, you didn't remember you had an appointment 10 minutes ago but you're turning around and will be there in 5.

There's also the matter of GPS programs that are apps on your cell phone. No phone = no GPS.

They would have to pull over and put the car in PARK, and then the cell phone works. Easy peasy.