The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Driving in Florida
Beren39
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey so I'm from Ontario, Canada and I'm planning a scuba diving trip down south with my girlfriend and some friends. We know a place in Port Charlotte and we have the flight and accomodations planned out, now we just have to consider transportation. I'm looking at renting a minivan and driving that instead of just taxiing it around. I've taken a quick look at Florida laws and I don't see any major differences, I guess that whole thing about not being able to make a right on a red is a myth. We're looking at going down in early June, how is the traffic around there, is there anything in particular I need to be aware of? I've never driven in the U.S. before.
Go, Go, EXCALIBUR! - Trent Varsity Swim Team 2009, better watch out for me Phelps!
Beren39 on
0
Posts
Beware of speed traps.
Umm.. stay away from roads that even mention Disney World.
3DS FC: 5343-7720-0490
The closer to Miami you get, the worse the drivers become, in my experience.
Nintendo ID: Pastalonius
Smite\LoL:Gremlidin \ WoW & Overwatch & Hots: Gremlidin#1734
3ds: 3282-2248-0453
Hmmm well I'm 21, and we figured if I couldn't my friend could, he's 23. That's a little frustrating if 25 is a uniform standard, I don't want to think about how expensive a taxi will be.
Drivers in Florida or horrible. I speak as a southwest Florida resident for the last 7 or 8 years. Everything from Orlando to Miami is a minefield of death.
You've got a sweet sweet blend of 70 year olds who don't know what the traffic laws are and drive 30 in a 50, sit at green lights, and make full stops before turning into driveways.... and the normal human beings who drive angrily after years of being exposed to this shit.
If you don't already check your mirror constantly, start practicing, people will come out of nowhere and quickly. Prepare to be honked at when you stop at a yellow light for any reason. Especially on left turns. God help you if you stop at a yellow left turn light.
You are close to Tampa. I don't know if you plan on going to Tampa, but let me give you some advice: do not get on 275.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
edit:
Had to lime this.
My Backloggery
Like. Our light was green and we were rolling, and this bastard was solidly in the left turn lane 30 feet from the line, and he just said fuck it and cut across both lanes of oncoming and half the intersection. I missed him by 8 feet.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
Florida is like that, only it's old people.
The main issue in florida, is that there are bad drivers, and left turn lights that are more like suggestions and SPEED TRAPS. Just don't speed. I drove a 20 mile stretch of US 19 (anecdotal: I saw someone w/a bumpersticker once that said: "pray for me, I drive on US 19) and I saw more than 8 cops sitting in speed traps on the side of the road.
20 miles, 8 cops.
WTF are they even doing?
"Oh what a day, what a LOVELY DAY!"
I'm agreeing with everyone else who said it: drivers in Florida are horrible. HORRIBLE.
I was one of them and I am ashamed. Seriously, people don't pay attention and are inconsiderate and just shitty drivers in general.
And our cops seem to get really bored. Speed traps galore.
its a perfect storm of students, old people and tourists
if you come here, stay the fuck away from I-4 in the downtown area, and if if it's raining, god have mercy on you
I actually love driving here, but thats because i thrive on the excitement driving here brings
Thats weird as hell. Not in a bad way though. Here in Aus you can't make a left turn at lights if they're red unless there's a specific arrow.
in most places in the US unless it specifically says that you can't, you can turn right on a red light if you treat it like a stop sign (ie you have to stop first).
Drivers in florida are terrible, they ignore speed limits, lights, lanes, they don't signal etc
plus whenever a light goes from green to orange to red, expect about 3 cars to race through the red light while trying to "beat" it. Seriously watch for that, that'll get you Tboned hard
just be real careful
Yes, horrible drivers, mostly due to (no offense) tourists that aren't sure where they are going.
Bring a GPS.
Right turn on red = OK! Just watch where you are going.
Left turn on red is OK on one-way streets ONLY!
A lot of what I see is due to people near-missing a turn and cutting across traffic to get to it before they pass it.
Also a general lack of common sense and defensive driving.
I've rented a car a couple of times in Florida - when I was 22 and 23. Both times I had to pay an extra $25 / day (national / alamo and budget / dollar) for being under 25.
They'll rent the car to you if you're over 21, but you'll have to pay the extra for each person you want to be able to drive the thing.
Addendum: Only if you're turning from a one-way onto a one-way.
But then again you will be driving a rental so maybe you just want to pretend its bumper cars and go wherever you want and do anything you want. (Get a BIG SUV)
Home Inspection and Wind Mitigation
http://www.FairWindInspections.com/
Yes, it gets congested. Yes, you have to be careful. That's about it. Just pay attention like you should anywhere else and you'll be fine.
Beren: You can make a right on red unless there's a sign. If you can't make a right on red, there'll be a sign above the closest light. I'm not sure what it's like in Canada, but in the US there are certain intersections where you can't make U-Turns -- so keep an eye for those signs, as well.
If you're going to be in South Florida, try not to drive between 4 and 5:30 or 6, if you can avoid it. Traffic tends to get pretty congested down there, moreso the closer you get to Miami.
As for the speed limits, stick to the right lane if you're really worried about the speed of the other drivers. I've never had any trouble just driving the speed limit in FL.
You've lived there your whole life. Of course you think driving there is normal.
TX and FL drivers are the fucking worst. Don't get me wrong, OK drivers are slow and inefficient, but you don't have to worry about the other guy at least.
Driving from OK to FL from the National Championship game last year was a bitch for many reasons. Driving down "Florida's Highway" did not make shit any easier. That long ass stretch of road was not only boring but took about $15 from me in toll monies. Complete horse shit. It was nice to just go hella' fast down that road, but in Miami and other areas drivers were just retarded.
Edit: Actually I might as well take advantage since I have the attention of so many Floridians, does anybody know of some cool things to do around Port Charlotte if you're at all familiar with the area?
And traffic. Holy shit traffic.
I don't really know much about the west side of the state, but I do have fond memories of going to Sanibel Island when I was younger. According to Google Maps, it's about an hour and a half away from Port Charlotte.
My Backloggery
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
Bear in mind also that we have about a million intersections where you can legally take an unprotected left turn while opposing traffic has a green light, but you are required to yield to oncoming traffic.
Give lots of room between you and the car in front of you, and don't get pissed when everyone else on the road ties to cram their cars in that empty space. Just back off again and keep driving.
My two cents.
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
I thought this was everywhere. But now that I think of it, I was behind a Kentucky license plate that refused to take the yield left.
Yes, the unprotected left is essentially at every intersection in southwest Florida.
Standard operating procedure (read: what assholes do, don't do this), is, when faced with an unprotected left turn opportunity, is to park yourself smack in the middle of the intersection, wait for the oncoming light to turn yellow, and speed across the left, hoping that everyone is going to not run the yellow.
Which, of course, happens all the the time. Probably in the top 2 of accident causes in Florida.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
And if you don't do this, the assholes behind you start honking and making fun gestures at you. Ahhh, good times.
I will actually do it if I can see there's clearly a gap in traffic coming, but between 5-6 PM on a weekday? Forget it.
My Backloggery
Then they follow you through of course, leading to several people running the light.
Home Inspection and Wind Mitigation
http://www.FairWindInspections.com/
You know, that happened to me in San Diego (La Jolla) and I never figured out why until now. I didn't know that particular SOP, and I'm not sure I've ever seen it in action. But man, the kid behind me was mad.
That way they will spend the next 12 or 15 seconds recovering from their mild heart attack and hopefully never willing to break the law again.
Because I'm pretty sure it's illegal to just park in an intersection until your light turns yellow and then speed across in the oncoming lane.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
Also, honk while doing that.
Actually this is what you should do.
Trying to make this turn all the way from behind the line is MORE dangerous. A miscalculation is a lot harder to correct because of the extra distance and greater curvature of your path.
Also, by being in the middle of the intersection you aren't really in danger of being hit and it guarantees you will turn anyway. Even if the light turns red, you can't just sit in the middle of an intersection so you will be forced to complete your left turn.
Generally if people aren't meant to be taking these kinds of turns there will be some explicit indicator telling you not to.
I am curious though what would happen if I brought these habits to another state.
It's probably like that in most large cities. I see everything mentioned in Austin all of the time, especially the turn thing.
This is even more dangerous, and isnt going to give anyone a heart attack. It's just going to piss them off. Cops do not care if you are in the middle of the intersection as long as you don't actually have the park brake on.
And as I said, the less distance you can make between your destination the safer your turn. Imagine being in a dump truck trying to complete your turn from all the way behind the line. It's just too slow and if a dude speeds up hard trying to beat you before you make it to the apex he's dead and so are you probably.