We're #!!

[Fire-medic]

We're #1!!
http://autos.yahoo.com/news/15-dangerous-cities-for-driving.html
1. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Population: 183,126
Total fatality rate per 100,000 population: 22.39
Total fatalities: 41
Percentage of fatalities that were pedestrians: 24.4

Proud to be #1 in something! Oh wait, maybe we don't want to be #1 in this...

The stats are misleading I think. There are 30 municipalities and towns in the Broward Co. metro area covering over 1200 sq. mi. & the population is nearly ten times ( 1.76 million) what is quoted for the city of Ft. Lauderdale. Also, there is a large indigent population walking around toasted on alcohol, crack, methamphetamine, petrochemicals, ecstacy, you name it...and they regularly get picked-off by the SUV's and other vehicles being operated by people texting, eating, cellphone users, etc.

Maybe if they panned these cameras 180 degrees you could get a shot of some poor pedestrian being mowed down by another SUV or soccer mom in a minivan, or a three drink executive on his way back to the office after an extended lunch:http://www.sunny.org/webcam/

Also, I found this which seems to refute the premise, at least compared to FL as a whole, if you are looking at the county and not just Ft. Lauderdale: (Pan down until you see this):
Fatal accident count (per 100,000 population) 1992-2009
-it shows the county is lower than the state in fatalities

From looking at FL Highway Patrol and DMV records, I believe the article is calling the county "Ft. Lauderdale" because the county-wide figures for fatal vehicle accidents are in the vicinity of the number quoted. I think it's sloppy reporting.

I don't ride my bike as-much as I used to and that goes for my bicycles too. Maybe it's all those murderous vehicle drivers I am trying to avoid.

My favorite tourism slogan has nothing to do with death from a vehicle, specifically:

"Come back to Florida, we weren't shooting at you!"

Not a FL accident, but dramatic!

FL Highway Patrol: (2009)
15.7% of all FL traffic fatalities were motorcyclists and passengers (376 total for state) 53% were wearing helmets.
2005 fatalities in Broward Co (Ft. Lauderdale metro area)=263 (all deaths)
2009 " " " " " =189
the # of accidents went down from 2005 to 2009
fatal motorcycle accidents in Ft. Lauderdale metro area by year:
2005 41
2006 44
2007 52
2008 37
2009 23

So, don't always believe everything you read. Sensationalism makes news.

 

[RaWarrior]

You should get an award for the most well thought out and thoroughly researched posts.


Anyway...another reason I firmly believe that Florida is a place people go to die.

 

[CaptainKyle]

This is half the reason I would love to move back to Texas. I thought they drove bad in Houston untill I came here.

 

[Fire-medic]

"RaWarrior," thank-you for the complement. I try to post facts which are researched, and I do not mean by finding a 'wicki' on it! That's why I post links to government sites, educational institutions, etc., so if someone wants to find out about something I write, they can start there.

Being in education compels you to back-up your lectures, because if you don't you are not giving the students what they are paying for. Also, I am involved as an educator in two highly-technical areas, emergency medicine and firefighting/fire prevention/building construction. I never stop going to school to learn, because you have to keep multiple certifications w/o which I couldn't teach, so I spend weeks of my own time in classes among those disciplines.

Kyle, I never lived in Houston or TX, but I have visited there on many occasions. I think there is a lot of similarity to FL drivers in the TX driver's behavior. The Katy Freeway isn't that much different from I-4 or I-95, or I-75 in FL.

The average male age in metro Ft. Lauderdale (Broward Co.) is 37 b-t-way. ST Pete over by Tampa has the reputation for being an aged population, but it's only a bit different from Ft.Laud. metro area. There are many adult communities 55+ where people live in FL , but you can find those all over the USA. If you want to see a movie about what can happen there, check-out "Boynton Beach Club," filmed in Palm Beach Co. at one of those 55+ communities, it's pretty-funny, and you will be surprised at some of the stars in it.

 

[2fear]

You should get an award for the most well thought out and thoroughly researched posts.


Anyway...another reason I firmly believe that Florida is a place people go to die.

I for real LOL on this! :rofl_200: All in good fun!

 

[4gasem]

I spend 10-14 days of my life in FL every year and I am always amazed how bad the driving is.

The look on peoples (Q-tips mostly) faces is one of utter confusion. You can see in their eyes that they have NO idea where they are, or how they got there. People in FL LOVE to drive down the highway (I-75 is the worst) and camp out in the left lane. Always blows my mind.

Chris

 

[Fire-medic]

I spend 10-14 days of my life in FL every year and I am always amazed how bad the driving is.

The look on peoples (Q-tips mostly) faces is one of utter confusion. You can see in their eyes that they have NO idea where they are, or how they got there. People in FL LOVE to drive down the highway (I-75 is the worst) and camp out in the left lane. Always blows my mind.

Chris

"Q tips" being white-haired elderly drivers? Yeah, there are plenty of those. People end up in canals, swimming pools, & buildings because they mistake the gas for the brake. It doesn't have to be the elderly.

Aggressive drivers are worse in my mind than the elderly. I hate being tail-gated. On a bike you can usually just leave them behind, but then you have the idiot who drives like a maniac to catch you if you back-off down the road a bit. I usually try to pull to another lane to the right to try & encourage them to go by, but every once in awhile, they follow you. That's when I get the license plate # & remove myself from their proximity, by whatever means necessary. I had one guy go the wrong way on a 1-way street to chase me after he lost control of his car trying to follow me when I evaded him by turning off the road. The best thing to do is to avoid them as soon as possible as far as I can see.

For my driving experience, I say MA drivers are pretty-bad. I have family there & it's an adventure to ride in the city.

 

[gamorg02]

MA sucks. esp coming from upstate NY

 

[DakRatFink]

We have a saying up here, "-40 keeps the riff raff out". Overall, the cagers up here don't seem to be too bad to share the road with. Then again, we don't exactly have a population density problem to clog up the roads, either.

 

[Fire-medic]

Considering the entire state of N. Dakota has a population 1/3 of the south FL county in which I live, I can see why the roads aren't 'too-crowded!" And, they're spread across 68,976 sq. mi. instead of the 1200 sq. mi. of metro Ft. Lauderdale, which by law is only allowed to be populated in its eastern one-third (the Everglades is in the western two-thirds, see Marjorie Stoneman Douglas' tome, The Everglades, River of Grass)! Bottom line is, our county population being roughly three times your state's, is squeezed into an area about one-half of one percent (0.005%)of your state's total land area!

Yeah, the roads are more-dangerous here.
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/38000.html

http://miami.about.com/od/natureenvironment/a/everglades.htm

http://www.amazon.com/Everglades-River-Grass-Special-Anniversary/dp/1561641359

Not Florida!

 

[CaptainKyle]

Kyle, I never lived in Houston or TX, but I have visited there on many occasions. I think there is a lot of similarity to FL drivers in the TX driver's behavior. The Katy Freeway isn't that much different from I-4 or I-95, or I-75 in FL.
The freeways are not a whole lot diffrent. I lived outside of Houstin so it was not bad. They drive like idiots here in Oldsmar & Tampa. I have never saw so many people run red lights in my life untill I came here & there not all old people thats a whole diffrent story.