This story was first posted on November 19, 2012. It was updated on April 17, 2019.
When I arrived at the St. Regis Bal Harbour I posted a comment on my Facebook page stating that “I’m pretty sure South Florida has the worst drivers in the United States. Agree or disagree?” It was not only because of the hour-long drive down from Delray Beach during which I feared for my life but also based on my past experiences here, as well.
While cruising in the middle lane going the speed of traffic (around 65mph) I saw a car’s headlights rapidly approaching on the right side. The driver must’ve been going around 100mph because he flew by as he weaved between lanes without a turn signal. If going at Formula One speeds wasn’t bad enough, passing on the righthand side (unless you’re in England, Australia…) is a huge no-no. It wasn’t just him either; others followed and day after day I continue to see at least one driver drive like this.
When I posted that South Florida drivers are the worst on my Facebook page, I wasn’t expecting the onslaught of comments. Most of my friends agreed with me but others made arguments for their home states like Massachusetts, New Jersey, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Southern California…
So what do you think? Take this poll and we’ll see what the consensus is! Do you agree that South Florida has the worst drivers? If not, nominate another city or state in the comments below!
Short and sweet – anyone who has moved to South Florida and has experienced the drivesr here, i you decide to move back where you came from, I guarantee once you get back, you will kiss the ground there.
This is a daily occurrence here in south Florida. You stop for a red light, you look in your rear view mirror and the car behind you comes charging about 100 miles a hr almost hitting hour trunk, instead of putting their damn foot on the break to slow down. How many cars do you expect that might jump in front of you at that rate of speed you dummy.
I am from Jersey. They say Jersey drivers are bad. I’ve driven all around the country and South Florida has the WORST drivers I’ve ever seen. I would say I’ve seen pretty awful drivers in Georgia and DC area, which are almost as bad. But nothing holds a candle to the pure stupidity I see. As described above, it is common place for people to come up behind you going DOUBLE the speed limit, and come AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE to hitting you, EVEN IF there is PLENTY OF ROOM. People do it just to be fucking assholes.
Other fun things that happen are when driving in the slow lane, someone will be driving HALF The speed limit, while the person behind comes up as fast as possible creating a very dangerous situation with NO WAY OUT.
Scenarios like this are common place. I’ve been here 6 years and the driving has gotten WORSE progressively over the past 2 years or so.
There is no courtesy. I literally fear for my life when I drive these roads.
If you drive a car that remotely looks expensive you will be cut off and treated like an “evil rich person” even if your car actually isn’t super expensive. I regret getting a $30,000 car for this reason.
There are a lot of very sick people in south florida. People come here to escape from something so I think maybe this has something to do with this weird anti social behavior from so many people. Unfortunately it’s come to the point where I absolutely cannot wait to leave.
Then there are seeing women in the rear view mirror. As a man If you accidentally look at a good looking silicone woman she will make faces, curse you off, or slam on her breaks to make sure she stays as far away from you as possible. I suppose I understand because they are probably being hit on by every single man in the area, but it still makes normal people uncomfortable when you do weird shit like this. I notice it.
At traffic lights people will not pull up to the lines. People will leave tons of space between their cars for no reason. It’s just fucking weird.
And if it’s someone else and you glance at them by accident they will stare a hole into your head the entire time you are at a light. It makes me want to vomit.
People are constantly looking in my car. I see people laughing for no reason, staring, or just being creepy in general.
If you are thinking of moving here full time, do yourself a favor and reconsider. I could see living here part time in the winter when the weather is amazing but being here all year is too much.
To the young drivers in South florida. Stop blaming the older people who drive. Florida has always been a retiring state. You are the ones who speed, you are the ones who tailgate, you are the ones who text and drive and you are the ones who speed in and out of the other cars. and you are the ones who cause accidents. You didnt do your homework before you came here. Go back where you came from and let us live in peace.
Yes they drive like rat, if you wanna see what happened to America latinized, go South Florida
I was a professional driver for almost 20 years logging an estimated 1.5 miles during that time. I was not a trucker. I drove automobiles almost exclusively. Like the author, I have driven all over the country and elsewhere, including 3rd world countries. I’ve driven LA, Chicago, Boston, and NYC. They are all a cakewalk compared to Dade County Florida.
Dade county, home to Miami, is by far the most treacherous place I have ever driven. The interstates and turnpikes in particular are meccas for the worst this planet has to offer. Essentially everyone drives whatever speed they want in whatever lane they feel like it.
This usually results in all lanes going the same speed, except the left lane. Here you have P.O.S. pickups and vans wobbling along in the left lane every 1/3 mile or so. This results in normal traffic constantly changing lanes to get around these human tortoises, which in turn causes the cars in the two nearest lanes to be constantly braking and speeding up. No one signals when they change lanes because if they do, the car behind them instantly jumps into that lane to effectively prevent them from completing their lane change. Faster moving vehicles must often slam on their brakes or make abrupt and often dangerous lane changes as much slower moving vehicles change lanes in front of them. Their philosophy seems to be the same as that of down hill skiing. The skier behind is responsible for the skiers in front of them. At about 1:30 every weekday afternoon, everyone who has no business driving at all, gets on the freeway into one of the middle lanes and drives 20-30 mph slower than traffic. I’m not joking. When rush hour hits, traffic prematurely deteriorates to a crawl, yet there are often large gaps, ten car lengths long. These are caused by drivers surfing the web on their cellphones. It is not uncommon to see drivers facetiming at any speed. Their phones are held above the steering wheel while they blather on. They keep the big gap in front of them because that’s their idea of safe driving. The crotch rockets and rolling whoopee cushions weaving in and out of traffic at 100 mph are the least dangerous of all the morons because at least you can hear them coming. It is no wonder Miami is the only city in the southern United States to be continually named as one of the rudest cities in the country. The percentage of the population that is overwhelmingly self-absorbed and self-centered is staggering. There simply is no cooperation whatsoever. I have often said that with a population of 4 million, every road needs to be 4 million lanes wide.
Absolutely agreed, Miami has the worst drivers probably in the world. Mostly from third world shit-holes (especially those low-life, illiterate, aggressive cubans are the worst of the worst). Never seen such an entitlement mentality, getting cut-off on a daily basis, the rubbernecking (for every single thing on the road, whether an accident, a broken down car, a pull-over by a cop), never using turn signals, driving on the left lane and not yielding to faster moving traffic, using the hazard flashers in the rain (even if it’s ILLEGAL), honking as soon as the light turns green, driving over road strips or driving on the shoulder to cut traffic, running red lights and stop signs, not yielding in roundabouts, not stopping for school buses with emergency lights, not moving over for emergency vehicles, no insurance, parking in disabled spaces, the list goes on and on and on. A combination of cultural stupidity, no self-awareness, lack of public transportation and access to cheap used cars.
As a Boston native, and someone who lived in New Jersey and NYC, Miami is bar far way way worse. Difference is Boston and NY have fast agressive drivers, Miami has dumb, clueless drivers, its 100x worse. I have been all over, driven in London, New York, Paris, Toronto, Berlin, Philly, Copenhagen, Milan, Montreal, DC,… and so on….Miami is by far the worse, nearly impossible to drive 15 minutes without seeing a crash, never ever in my life have I seen so many accidents! this is not normal. Terrible terrible drivers, stupid stupid people here!
I just came back to Orlando from Miami (on a one day trip). OMG I didn’t think I will make it home alive!! They almost killed me a dozen times!! Cars zooming from lane to land with no turn signals, cars racing each other, cars tailgating and intimidating other drivers on I95.
I also passed at least 5 accidents which were not cleared yet.
I don’t think I’ll go back there any time soon.
I live in southern Florida, and yes, there are a lot of bad, aggressive drivers. They are rude, and it seems that they like to intimidate, and act stupid, on the roads. It’s as though it’s a fun game to nearly kill, or kill, people or frighten them. I am seriously considering moving next year. It’s too nerve wracking driving in southern Florida.
south florida = dumping ground for latinos…. dopey, aggressive, angry and impatient
I’ve lived in Miami all my life. I enjoy driving. I’ve visited and drove in every major city in the country NY,LA,SF,CHI,ATL. I’ve driven in Mexico, Costa Rica, France, I’ve driven in Italy I’ve driven in the Caribbean. I can attest to you there is no where in the world that compares to how bad Miami drivers truly are. There is absolutely no regard for personal safety or the safety of others. There is no rule of law. There is no normal. No signals, no checking mirrors. No stopping or yielding. No patience. No courtesy. It’s just a free for all at all times. If the lanes have traffic congestion a car will enter the turning lane and jump ahead of the queue as soon as the light turns green. Cars make a right turn from the middle lane on a red light. Cars run red lights on the normal. Cars drive recklessly beyond the speed limit and dangerously under the speed limit of the expressway. There are little to no law abiding drivers in the city. And if there are they have adopted the bad driving habits of Miami. These problems are mostly due to predominantly most drivers are from poor countries with poor technique and no safety structure or traffic laws or culturally they don’t care for obeying rules. You can also add practically Zero Traffic enforcement. So who cares if you break rules when there are no consequences for it. The mayor of Miami Dade (Old Cuban guy) is practically also the police sheriff in which he can decide who he wants to be police director and how he wants the department to be run. I don’t believe traffic enforcement is a priority to him as bad as it is for residents and tourists alike. So which in term has resulted in a unchecked unregulated dangerous driving county of Miami. I’ve had much better driving in Cancun, Mexico than I’ve had at home. Sad reality is nothing… not a single thing at this time is being done about it. So people like me is just hoping the next elected officials in Miami is make some changes to this chaotic day to day living in Miami.