Life on Florida’s West Coast

Driving in Florida

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Driving in Florida is easier said than done.

I love that we have such a large population of retired people. I do, honestly. I enjoy interacting with these people at the supermarkets, libraries and malls. There is a sort of peacefulness to being surrounded by people who like to live life at a slower pace.

On the roads, though, this is a usually a nightmare. There are a LOT of people who drive way under the speed limit, signal incorrectly, change lanes erratically and generally fail to see the cars around them. I’ve long been a proponent of doing eye exams more often in order to retain a driver’s license. Then, peppered in, you have young and frustrated drivers who are weaving in and out of the slow drivers.

When I moved to Florida, I found out that the Tampa Bay area has some of the highest priced car insurance in the nation. One agent told me it is second only to Manhattan. Our accident rate is amazingly high and this area is one of the most dangerous in the United States for pedestrians. There are a lot of elderly people crossing major roads, and more often than not they are hit by elderly drivers.

When I go back North to visit my dad, I feel a sense of relief on the roads. Overall, there seems to be more organization in the traffic patterns and I finally feel like I can relax behind the wheel a bit. Don’t get me wrong – I love living in Florida, I just wish driving here was equally as pleasurable.

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