South Florida Driving: I Hate It.

Most people use their cars daily, and I am certain that driving is meant to be a pleasant experience. So, why do I hate it so much? I live in South Florida; that's why.

There must be a place where drivers with out-of-state license plates aren't looked at as the enemy, where having someone tailgate you 10 miles down the interstate is not a normality. I am convinced that turn signals really do exist, although I haven't seen one in nearly a month. It's even rumored that a yellow light doesn't actually mean "speed up". This is all fantasy in my world, but I've heard stories of other lands.

The last time my family was down, my cousin looked at me and said, "I was driving on I-95 today and I thought I was going to die... is it always like that"?  (She was actually fearing for her life. How sad is that?) After explaining to me why she felt her life was in peril on an interstate I use almost everyday, I simply said, "Yep". It was this day that I started thinking about why driving in the place I was born and raised sucks so hard. I now have a few theories.

1. Rules? We have No Rules! 

South Florida is a mixing pot of cultures and ages. Thus, people from different countries tend to drive the way they would from their respective country, instead of adapting it to the S. FL way of life. I've also noticed that different age groups drive very differently. This just adds in a whole new category of drivers. Stack the nationalities and the age groups, and you can mix and match driving styles to your heart's content.

    2. The Elderly

Ok. I'm not trying to knock the elderly. Let's just get that clear. HOWEVER, I think beyond age 75, people should be required to take a yearly driving test. Adding a bunch of slow drivers to S. Florida's fast-paced lifestyle is just wrong. Not to mention, a week doesn't go by when I don't hear about an elderly person that got into a fatal crash, killing not only themselves, but one or more others. If horrid traffic and incredibly slow driving irks you, avoid Boca at all costs. Fair warning, this is at its worst in the winter. Snow birds... yikes!

    3. The Weather

Any true Floridian laughs at the fact that we are the "sunshine" state. South Florida's weather is schizophrenic, at best. It's sunny, then 15 minutes later, we have a tropical storm. One constant, however, is the incredible heat. It's a proven fact that the hotter a climate, the more aggressive people tend to be. South Florida has some pretty offensive drivers. Then, of course, the heat brings the wet. Let me also inform you that no one in Florida seems to be able to drive in the rain. Whether driving way too fast and reckless, or being so scared that people don't drive more than 10 miles per hour, the weather makes already horrible drivers even worse.

    4. Tourists

Let's face facts. Half the people in South Florida have absolutely no idea where they are going. Whether it's (God, forgive me) senile old folks or camera toting tourists, the roads are slowed down, and sometimes brought to a complete standstill, by people who are lost or just seem to be looking around. Tourists are great for our economy, but suck for our traffic. 

One website I've seen explains Florida driving incredibly well:

"Worst Drivers:   Florida absolutely has the worst drivers.  As I learned many years ago when I lived near Tampa, you take your life into your own hands when you get on the Florida Interstates.  Why are drivers so bad there?  It's a combination of elderly retirees (who don't know where the accelerator is), college kids visiting during spring break (who don't know where the brake pedal is), and out-of-state tourists (who don't know where they're going).  The roads in Florida are a real zoo, especially in the spring."

Instead of truly ranting about the daily frustrations of South Florida driving, I'll stop here and look to the future. Here are some tips for safe driving from Zenhabits.

~Syleste~

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