I have driven in various parts of the country in my life, being 50 years old, having acquired my first license when I was just a month or two past my 16th birthday, and someone (a woman no less) who is a pretty good driver and actually likes driving, has given me the opportunity to see a lot of things in my driving career, both good and bad. Of course it is the bad things that stand out and up until my relocation to Florida I thought I had seen it all. I had come to the conclusion that Phoenix and most of California, have the countries worst drivers.
HAH! Not so fast.
They ain't got nuttin' on Florida drivers!!! You people have no clue about safety or being a defensive driver. You are the worst lot of drivers I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with, and bare in mind I think I have driven a total of MAYBE 5 days since I have arrived, all fraught with moments of terror and disbelief at the ineptness of driving abilities here ( having driven just a handful of times here is a minor inconvenience due to hubby and I just having one car at the moment).
As often as it rains here you would THINK that Floridians would be well versed in the fact that you have to modify your driving habits a bit, you need to turn on your wipers and generally just be careful - not so, rain has the opposite effect here in Florida, drive as fast as you can, don't bother with the windshield wipers ( your speed will wick the water away just fine) and weave in and out of traffic like a well made tartan skirt.
On the other hand when the weather is nice and dry, going 45 mph on the expressway (local interstate system) where the speed limit is 70 AND doing 45 in the fast lane is the norm. Floridians either don't bother getting the turn signal "option" on their cars or if they do it is just some odd thing that sticks out of the steering wheel that is to be ignored ( I honestly didnt realize that turn signals were an option. I have to wonder if speedometers are considered an option on a car as well and not part of standard equipment).
Child safety seats seem to be a nuisance to most families and it is more fun to let the kids climb all around the interior of the car as the driver does 45mph in the fast lane, in the rain (no wipers) down the expressway.
Floridians seem to be in a world of their own when they sit in the enclosed boundaries of their cars. They ignore most other people on the road and do as they please no matter the consequence, that is until you try to pass one. You then, and ONLY then, seem to show up on their radar and the race is on. 45mph now turns into 85mph just to keep you from catching up and passing them.
I don't consider not having a car to drive around in the majority of the time necessarily a bad thing, it has probably kept me alive.
Maybe this is the reason that everyone drives around on their riding lawn mowers. Too expensive to fix a full size car in an accident.
Speaking of drivers here is my Flori-duh story of the week...sad but a wtf moment as well I can't get much past the title....
Tampa woman, 75, dies hot-wiring her own truck
TAMPA — A 75-year-old woman who was authorities say was trying to hot-wire her truck died when the car started suddenly and ran over her.
At about 10:40 Sunday night, Jacqueline Cloward popped the hood to her 1989 Ford F150 truck and was using a screwdriver to start it. The truck was parked in the Sweetbay parking lot at 4519 Gunn Highway and was in drive, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
When it started, it rolled forward over a parking block, knocked Cloward down and ran her over.
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