Driving in Florida worse than Thailand?

[Berkshire]

Just came across this article that talks about driving in Florida, USA.  It seems driving there is worse than Thailand....555

 

Excerpts:

[Here are South Florida’s rules of the road: Never use your turn signals. Put on your makeup or eat breakfast as you drive. And honk your horn if the car in front of you hesitates for a millisecond.  These are typical South Florida driving behaviors, all of them wrong, but mostly not illegal. Combined with rampant speeding, daily traffic tie-ups and frequent incidents of road rage, driving in South Florida can be a stressful experience that baffles newcomers who are accustomed to polite motorists who pass on the left, give you the right of way and smile.]

[“I risk my life every day while driving on I-95,” said Brianna McCall, an Oakland Park resident who works in Coral Springs. “I prepare myself for 40 minutes of anxiety every morning. It’s like people forget to use their brains while operating a moving vehicle.”]

[Do people in other states drive the way Floridians do? This is a subject of debate. Almost daily, we see cars not stopping for emergency vehicles or funeral processions or school buses. The consensus is that Florida drivers are impatient, inconsiderate and nasty.]

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/welcome-florida-road-rules-different-201900087.html

 

[bang saen guy]

Only issue I ever had in Florida was blue haired old ladies in Cadillacs

[Bassosa]

Driving in South FL is bliss compared to Thailand. 

 

Cannot compare the two

[KhunLA]

Seems the same as Philly metro drivers.  Use to fly to Clearwater beach area, a couple times a month, (long distance relationship), and didn't notice a whole lot of difference.  

 

Though rarely drove in rush hour traffic there.

[DavisH]

6 minutes ago, Bassosa said:

Driving in South FL is bliss compared to Thailand. 

 

Cannot compare the two

I juch prefer driving in Thailand than Australia. Whenever I'm there I'm constantly looking at the speedo.  A few km/h over the limit then a big fine follows. Over 20 yrs I've learned to predict the habits of Thai drivers, so have no problems here. 

[Bassosa]

2 minutes ago, DavisH said:

I juch prefer driving in Thailand than Australia. Whenever I'm there I'm constantly looking at the speedo.  A few km/h over the limit then a big fine follows. Over 20 yrs I've learned to predict the habits of Thai drivers, so have no problems here. 

I never thought of it like that. 85% chance of getting t-boned by a yaba'd up truck driver but hey! at least no speeding tickets

[mtls2005]

1 hour ago, Berkshire said:

It seems driving there is worse than Thailand....555

No way.

 

Seems like a bit of a puff piece, dog bites man, but with some interesting stats.

 

What's the average age of drivers in FL? Please answer by using your turn signal.

 

 

 

 

[alex8912]

I've been to South Florida five times in the last fourteen months and rented a car each time. Great highways, 70mph most places, no tolls on 95 and easy to navigate.  Sure avoid rush hour if you can ( isn't that the same everywhere?) I don't find highways around Bangkok and to Pattaya or Hua Hin really that bad either. Maybe the crazy drivers are mainly in Isarn. 

[thailand49]

With the influx of immigrants and the movement of years to defund the police before it got popular or move resources to other areas instead of traffic less enforcement means more and more rules will be broken because that is what humans do to the point it seem common as noted in the article.

 

Sounds familiar?  Well welcome to Thailand driving.????

[malathione]

Dunno about Florida currently but Texas is quite nasty if different. Less deadly, certainly. Far fewer motorbikes make a huge difference but darn! Brake checks, road rage, cutting into lanes!

[tonray]

I used to fly into Miami , rent a car and drive to the Keys every couple of years. One of the most pleasant drives compared to where I flew in from in New Jersey. Being a Jersey driver has prepared me well for Thai roads, I only have to watch the shoulders for Motos and everything else is similar.

[AgMech Cowboy]

I don't even bother to read articles published by Yahoo. They're typically chock full of falsehoods.

[RocketDog]

I rapidly scanned the post and a few replies; no need to go deeper.

I've driven all over the USA, Canada, and Mexico as well as a few European countries and South America.

 

It is ludicrous and severely disengenuous to compare drivers anywhere in the world to Thai drivers.

 

I've driven for 55 years and it took less than two years here to fully grasp the clear and present danger of not only driving on but indeed even being proximate to a road/path /trail /sidewalk in Thailand. Not a single day or even an hour passes without witnessing the utter lack of reason and care for human life that drivers here shamelessly exhibit.

Domestic animals are given more consideration than humans.

I will graciously assume this isn't a troll post. The sooner the OP discards his notion the longer he will stay alive here.

[NorthernRyland]

3 hours ago, DavisH said:

Over 20 yrs I've learned to predict the habits of Thai drivers, so have no problems here. 

Predict this hot shot: You're driving along at a safe speed around a bend with no visibility and then suddenly a truck comes flying down the road in your lane going 100k/hour. You have 0.5 seconds to get out of the way or you take a head on collision. WHAT DO YOU DO??

[swm59nj]

When I lived in the states I visited Florida a few times.  Only for a week at a time.  I always rented a car.  Never really South Florida. 
Last time was a week in Orlando around four years ago.  It wasn’t too bad. 
One issue driving in Florida is.  You have residents and visitors from all over the United States and abroad.  So you are dealing with a wide range of driving styles and behavior. 
I have rarely met anyone living in Florida that was originally from Florida.

And it’s not worse that Thailand.  

Edited January 14, 2022 by swm59nj

[NorthernRyland]

11 minutes ago, RocketDog said:

I rapidly scanned the post and a few replies; no need to go deeper.

I've driven all over the USA, Canada, and Mexico as well as a few European countries and South America.

 

It is ludicrous and severely disengenuous to compare drivers anywhere in the world to Thai drivers.

This begs the question, who is actually driving there in South Florida? For all I know that area could be a mixture of various central Americans, Mexicans, Cubans and Haitians. 

[placnx]

4 hours ago, bang saen guy said:

Only issue I ever had in Florida was blue haired old ladies in Cadillacs

I was stopping at an entrance to the main highway Rt 41 on the FL West Coast and was rammed by an old lady looking over her shoulder for oncoming traffic. Her car was not quite as old as her, so maybe she had to enter the highway at speed in fear of getting hit. At that time Sarasota County had the highest per capita consumption of hard liquor in the country, and it was "Happy Hour". We thought that maybe she was on medication. We traded in our car as the frame was bent out of shape.

Edited January 14, 2022 by placnx

[GinBoy2]

What's the saying I've heard about Southern FL;

 

Everyone drives according to the rules....just it's the rules of where they came from

[1FinickyOne]

80 year olds going 20 mph and 20 year olds going 80 mph = not a good combination...

 

Then there are the little old ladies and all you see are the white knuckles on the top of the steering wheel.. 

[bang saen guy]

Headed to the bingo parlor

[KhunLA]

I'll driving here over the USA, as can & do almost anything I want.  

 

License was suspended in the USA a few times.  Must be that heavy foot.

[Suetape]

I’ve lived in Thailand and Florida and Thailand gets my vote; however, driving in Tehran is really miserable.    Three year of driving there and about a half dozen fender benders.   

[Searat7]

I live in South Florida when not in Thailand. Route 95 is under constant construction 12 months a year. The speed limit is 70 but most drive 80 which is usually ok. The problem is with those driving 90-95 who zig zag across lanes to keep up their speed. Drivers in Florida often change lanes quickly, cutting in front of other drivers with no signal. I would not consider driving in Thailand though. 

[JulesMad]

It is widely known (at least in Europe) that most americans can't drive; I can only imagine that Florida might be champion in that respect ????

[Berkshire]

3 hours ago, RocketDog said:

I rapidly scanned the post and a few replies; no need to go deeper.

I've driven all over the USA, Canada, and Mexico as well as a few European countries and South America.

 

It is ludicrous and severely disengenuous to compare drivers anywhere in the world to Thai drivers.

 

I've driven for 55 years and it took less than two years here to fully grasp the clear and present danger of not only driving on but indeed even being proximate to a road/path /trail /sidewalk in Thailand. Not a single day or even an hour passes without witnessing the utter lack of reason and care for human life that drivers here shamelessly exhibit.

Domestic animals are given more consideration than humans.

I will graciously assume this isn't a troll post. The sooner the OP discards his notion the longer he will stay alive here.

A little over-the-top....wouldn't you say?  I've driven all over the US...for the better part of 40 years.  And I've driven in Thailand...for 15+ years.  In fact, I drive every day in Thailand.  Easy as can be.  I don't even think about it.  I get in my SUV, go where I need to go with zero issues.  Every single day.

 

So when expats such as you complain about driving in Thailand, I have to wonder....what planet is he on?  Sure there are crappy drivers here.  Just like everywhere else.  And at about the same percentage.  But I'm not terrified to get in my car, like those people in Florida.  According to the article anyways.

[Gold Star]

This read is one of the best I have found to help someone who is a new driver/rider in Thailand.

 

It gets deep to explain how Thai culture influences their driving habits and roadway design, and you will have a lot of 'Aha, that makes sense now' moments.

 

Even after 7 years riding motorcycles here, I still learned a lot from it.

 

Ever wonder why they like those stupid U-turns so much instead of intersections? Read on:

 

https://www.chiangmailocator.com/wiki-traffic-rules-in-thailand-and-how-to-avoid-traffic-accidents-p169

 

[Berkshire]

6 minutes ago, Gold Star said:

This read is one of the best I have found to help someone who is a new driver/rider in Thailand.

 

It gets deep to explain how Thai culture influences their driving habits and roadway design, and you will have a lot of 'Aha, that makes sense now' moments.

 

Even after 7 years riding motorcycles here, I still learned a lot from it.

 

Ever wonder why they like those stupid U-turns so much instead of intersections? Read on:

 

https://www.chiangmailocator.com/wiki-traffic-rules-in-thailand-and-how-to-avoid-traffic-accidents-p169

 

Riding a motorcycle is light years different than driving a car or truck in Thailand.  I feel for you guys.  I can't talk about riding bikes because I've never done it in Thailand....well, not on a regular basis.  My understanding is that the high fatality rates is mostly motorcycles....something like 80% of fatalities.  That's what happens when you mix motorcycles and all manner of other vehicles.   

[Stevemercer]

34 minutes ago, Gold Star said:

 

 

Ever wonder why they like those stupid U-turns so much instead of intersections? Read on:

 

I reckon those U-turns (in place of intersections) are a great idea. Not only are they safer, but they drastically cut the number of traffic lights needed on highways. 

[Berkshire]

9 minutes ago, Stevemercer said:

I reckon those U-turns (in place of intersections) are a great idea. Not only are they safer, but they drastically cut the number of traffic lights needed on highways. 

I agree that fewer traffic lights are always good.  But those u-turns that go in both directions are seriously hazardous.  Pretty bad when you're trying to make a u-turn into oncoming traffic that you can't even see!

[KP67]

This is facebook meme circulating, but as a Florida native who has also lived in Thailand, I think it is hilarious.  When I started driving in Thailand, my friends told me the four rules for Thai driving- 

First one there wins,

 

There are two speeds on Thai roads - wide open and stop,

 

If it happens on the road in front of you it is your problem, if it happens behind you it is their problem - if someone swerves in front of you, deal with it, but if you cut off 4 lanes of traffic, its ok because that is for the car behind you to deal with,

 

If your car will physically fit in any space then it is ok for it to be there - that is why there are 6 lanes of traffic on a 3 lane road.

 

The fifth unwritten rule is that if there is an accident and you are not Thai, it is your fault.

 

I am now in houston, and after driving here i prefer driving in Thailand.  Houstonians drive like either they are the only ones on the road or they are in second place on the last lap at Talladega.

Edited January 14, 2022 by KP67