Florida drivers are horrible!!

[dolphinrescuegirl]

Totally wrecked my car and the car in front of me who hit the car in front of them. I am now responsible for 3 cars! I was merging on the highway, looked a split second behind me to check my blind spot, and when I turned back around everyone was at a dead stop. I had nowhere to go except into the car. Why do you have to stop before getting on the highway?!?!?!?!? Stupid old people.

 

[C.Ann]

Why do you have to stop before getting on the highway?!?!?!?!? Stupid old people.

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So they don't get creamed if there's a line of traffic preventing them from getting on the highway?

"Stupid old people"?? Nice.. How "old" do you consider old?

"Florida drivers are horrible!!" ?? Are you a Florida driver? It appears from your location that you are..

Blind spot or not, your eyes should have been watching the cars in front of you..

I understand you're upset, but you're making an awful lot of sweeping generalizations here.. Are you hurt? Was anyone else hurt? If not, I'd say you're pretty darn lucky!

 

[LisaR]

Generalize much? Sorry about your accident but if you hit the car in front of you, that means that you weren't in control of your vehicle.

 

[perdidobay]

I'm sorry you had an accident, but you were at fault. Around here that would get you a ticket for failure to keep a safe lookout.

 

[GeorgeG]

Perhaps the people in front of you had a reason for stopping, like an oncoming semi they chose not to pull out in front of.

The bottom line is that you failed to stop for a stopped vehicle in front of you. Making assumtions about the other drivers does not change that. Might we assume you were driving too fast, too close, talking on your cell phone, texting?

Yes, driving in Florida has challenges, but not all from us old folk.

 

[Muushka]

Sorry OP, I am with all the other opinions. Your fault.

I had the same thing happen to me when a car in front of me started to go after yielding at a yield sign. It was my turn to go and I stupidly assumed that he had kept moving. Nope, dead stop and I hit him. I got out and said "Oh my, look at what I did! I am so sorry!". To which he replied "Oh, that dent was there before. Nobody was hurt, let's forget it". Nice guy.

 

[Free4Life11]

I feel your pain OP! I love Florida, except the traffic. It really is awful! I think some people are just too timid when merging, they expect everyone to move over and give them open road. Well it's not always going to happen! You just have to be a little pushy when merging.

 

[doxdogy]

Not all "old" people are bad drivers in Florida. I have been stuck behind many a young one that too busy yakking on the darn cell phone to drive properly. Anytime you merge onto a highway, there is always a minute chance that you may have to come to a screeching halt due to oncoming traffic.

 

[ilovepcot]

Perhaps FL needs more drivers like Hulk Hogan's son. Young and fast! They don't cause accidents, do they?

 

[C.Ann]

I feel your pain OP! I love Florida, except the traffic. It really is awful! I think some people are just too timid when merging, they expect everyone to move over and give them open road. Well it's not always going to happen! You just have to be a little pushy when merging.

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Yeah - I've always been a little "timid" about getting creamed by an 18-wheeler flying down the road at 80+ mph.. It's a little "quirk" I have to work on..

I think I'll stick with "timid" and alive - rather than "daring" and dead..

 

[MarkFL]

I was merging on the highway

Location: Clearwater,FL

US 19? Horrible highway. I'm so glad I moved away from there; in high school I had to drive that every day and had so many close calls.

 

[DawnCt1]

Totally wrecked my car and the car in front of me who hit the car in front of them. I am now responsible for 3 cars! I was merging on the highway, looked a split second behind me to check my blind spot, and when I turned back around everyone was at a dead stop. I had nowhere to go except into the car. Why do you have to stop before getting on the highway?!?!?!?!? Stupid old people.

Your day has been bad enough. I have no intention of piling on. Sometimes it just isn't worth getting out of bed.

 

[Darsa]

Truthfully more than anything, I can't understand why anyone would look anywhere but at the car ahead of them until THEY are safely merged in; there's nothing to see back there until it's your turn.

I'm sorry this happened to you; it may have been your fault but I certainly hope that you (and the other drivers) are okay!

 

[C.Ann]

I'm sorry this happened to you; it may have been your fault but I certainly hope that you (and the other drivers) are okay!

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The most important factor - which I'm sure she'll come to realize after her rant is over..

I'm overly sensitive to rear-end collisions - since my DD lost her 13 yr. career and is now totally disabled due to someone talking on a cell phone - rather than watching where they were driving.. Maybe I need to work on my "low tolerance" for that sort of thing.. Hard when it hits close to home though..

 

[Rebelmom67]

Perhaps YOU should have been paying attention and then you wouldn't have hit those old people. Your fault, not theirs....you should learn to be more observant and a better driver.

 

[SwedishMeatball]

My 19-year old daughter was rear-ended a couple of days ago. She was stopped at a light and the guy plowed into her and pushed her into the car in front of her. She was hysterical because her car that she got brand new last June for graduation was bashed in on both ends. My only concern was that she wasn't hurt. Cars are replaceable, but people aren't. I think you should look at this as a lesson learned, and in the future keep plenty of distance between you and the proceeding vehicle so that you have that room to do a quick shoulder check.

 

[mhsjax]

Totally wrecked my car and the car in front of me who hit the car in front of them. I am now responsible for 3 cars! I was merging on the highway, looked a split second behind me to check my blind spot, and when I turned back around everyone was at a dead stop. I had nowhere to go except into the car. Why do you have to stop before getting on the highway?!?!?!?!? Stupid old people.

I am in the minority here, I do agree with you about stopping when merging. YOu can't merge onto a highway with a speed limit of at least 55 mph form a stop. I have been driving for 20 years and I think I can count of maybe one hand the number of times ˆ had to stop completely. I am from Florida and I know what you mean. I don't think most people can drive very well down here. But maybe just maybe you shouldn't have called old people stupid. IMHO.

 

[lovesmurfs]

I was following DH's car when he was merging onto a road and rear-ended him. He had started to go and then decided to stop.

It was an expensive lesson (and a great story for the 2 officers who responded to the accident call...), but thank God no one was hurt. I now don't do any merge planning until I'm next in line.

 

[Robinrs]

I was rear ended twice in life, both times because I was stopped and the person behind me rammed into me.

I might be considered that horrible old person too, hmmmm... especially since I had to live with years in pain and surgery because of the dumb young and old people who ran into ME.

The courts found them at fault because it is impossible to blame people who are unable to move. Unless, of course, you have the DIS to vent at.

Hopefully everyone is alright and I would wish no one what I went through for years after those accidents.

 

[dolphinrescuegirl]

Perhaps the people in front of you had a reason for stopping, like an oncoming semi they chose not to pull out in front of.

The bottom line is that you failed to stop for a stopped vehicle in front of you. Making assumtions about the other drivers does not change that. Might we assume you were driving too fast, too close, talking on your cell phone, texting?

Yes, driving in Florida has challenges, but not all from us old folk.

Actually I had both of my hands on the wheel and my cell phone was in my closed purse. I came from Texas and never once did I ever have to stop to get on the highway!!!!! We know how to merge there. In FL there are a lot of retired "old" people who really can't drive. These are the people that go 30mph on the highway!!! Maybe everyone here should not judge since ya'll were not there!