Yes. Believe it or not, Florida drivers are the worst.
…and that is according to other Florida drivers! Florida drivers routinely drive (and remain) in the left lane (instead of using the left lane for active passing only), speed, drive impaired, text, cut you off, flip you “the bird” and then text while cutting and flipping you off. Set aside the occasional blue hair that puts on her turn signal and leaves it on for 30 miles or the person who speeds up to cut you off, just to slow down. Ummm…just get in behind me.
I’m not telling you anything you don’t know. Orlando Sentinel recently ran a Facebook poll to ask readers what they dislike about Florida drivers and quickly got more than 400 responses. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Beth Alden, executive director for Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization, said those numbers correlate with other data she’s seen on travel time reliability.
The Florida Department of Transportation evaluates how much longer it takes drivers to go somewhere during peak hours and heavy congestion than is expected for that corridor, a measurement it calls “travel time reliability.” The state has a reliability goal of 75 percent for its interstates, and Tampa falls short of that goal at 71 percent, Alden said.
“We are in a downward trend in terms of reliability,” she said. “It means we have to budget more time to get where we have to go, particularly if it’s a hard deadline, like picking up your child from day care.”
While congestion can be a sign of a growing economy, it also comes with a cost — both in time and dollars — to a city and its drivers.
Who hates Florida drivers? Other Florida drivers.
Top complaints include people who don’t use their turn signals, people who aren’t paying attention when the light turns green, those who run hazard lights in the rain, honk their horns too often and chronic tailgaters.
Traffic jams are so bad that I frequently play a game in my mind when I get in a traffic jam: Is it a bad accident or is everybody just looking at nothing? More often than not, it’s nothing.
So how much time do Tampa drivers lose per year because of traffic? A recent report states that Tampa drivers lost 87 hours because of traffic last year. How much does traffic cost the average commuter? About $1,200 per year!
Tampa Attorney Martin J. Hernandez
Attorney Martin J. Hernandez of Fernandez & Hernandez, LLC in Tampa provides legal representation for families in auto accident injury and wrongful death cases. Our Tampa personal injury attorneys welcome the opportunity to interview with you and your loved ones. We invite you to review our recent results from settlements to trial verdicts. Our qualifications and background are available to you as well. Our Tampa Attorneys Martin Hernandez and Martin Hernandez PA are bilingual as well. Just call us at 813.755.9500 for your free consultation.
The Tampa personal injury lawyers of Fernandez & Hernandez, serve Florida communities including Tampa, Brandon, Carrollwood, Westchase, Riverview, Temple Terrace, Pasco, Pinellas, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Lakeland, Plant City, Ruskin, Apollo Beach, Dover, Valrico, Lutz, Lakeland and many other neighborhoods in Tampa Bay area. Contact an Experienced Tampa Auto Accident Attorney from Fernandez & Hernandez Law.
If you have been involved in an Auto Accident in the Tampa Bay area, call Tampa personal injury lawyer Martin J. Hernandez of Fernandez & Hernandez for a free consultation now. We recommend also reading his reviews on Google Reviews, Avvo and Yelp.
Call Tampa Personal Injury Attorney, Martin J. Hernandez of Fernandez & Hernandez at 813.755.9500
