Is it just me?

[N Florida Mike]

I have been driving now for around 45 years. I had my times as a young man racing and driving fast on highways and remote straightaways. It didn’t take too long for me to decide I didn’t want to be Richard Petty ( who my mom taught in high school by the way).

I have had to drive for nearly every job I’ve had too, which means I’ve seen a lot out on the road.

I am 100% sure I have never seen as fast driving as I have seen in the last couple years. I consistently go 5-10 miles over the limit on highways, and that’s mainly because I’m thinking that, if I don’t I will get rear ended or sideswiped. Cars pass me going 80-90 all the time, and they wait until they almost hit me and swerve at the last second. ?  It’s like they know it’s their last day on earth and with the way they drive, it very well could be! I wish just once I would see police pull them over. They got me for going 56 in a 45, so it bothers  me to the core.

Just wondering if y’all are seeing the same where you are. 

[MN Fisher]

14 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

It didn’t take too long for me to decide I didn’t want to be Richard Petty

I didn't want to be Petty either - I was more a Don "Big Daddy" Garlits type.

 

16 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

Just wondering if y’all are seeing the same where you are.

I try to actually do the speed limit - if it says 60, I'm within 1-2mph of that.

 

But ya - cars passing me all the time...some of them honking at me.

 

Best part...couple miles down the road, they've been pulled over by the highway patrol, and I just keep truckin' along.

[Darren.]

Oh yes. I95 is unbelievable for high speed vehicles.

But I've been noticing it on I64 of late. As I have 

aged, my driving has mellowed significantly.

 

I think of the utterly stupid things I did as a high school

boy, and early college years. Amazing I'm alive.

[Hammer 4]

Not just you. I see idiots all the time here, going WAY to fast both on surface streets and on the freeways, it's scary. I use to race motorcycles, going 160 mph at close quarter's. Some of these fools will change lanes within 4 feet of my truck. Can't tell you how many close calls I've had. 

[A-Jay]

I can't judge on this one ~

Drove fast quite a bit.

May have even fracture a regulation or two.

Often on mostly deserted roads but not always.

Really very foolish & definitely selfish.

Not my proudest moment.

Sold that ride a while back.

Now a days it's just me, the speed limit & the cruise control.

?

A-Jay

[Mike L]

No, It’s not just you

Its the same down here too. 
 

Traveling on I 75 can be downright dangerous most of the time. 
I usually cruise between 70 and 75 and they fly past me like I’m sitting still. 
 

When I can feel the wind of a small Corolla passing me in a fairly large SUV you know they gotta be pushing 90!!

 

Makes ya wonder what FHP is doin 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[soflabasser]

49 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

I have been driving now for around 45 years. I had my times as a young man racing and driving fast on highways and remote straightaways. It didn’t take too long for me to decide I didn’t want to be Richard Petty ( who my mom taught in high school by the way).

I have had to drive for nearly every job I’ve had too, which means I’ve seen a lot out on the road.

I am 100% sure I have never seen as fast driving as I have seen in the last couple years. I consistently go 5-10 miles over the limit on highways, and that’s mainly because I’m thinking that, if I don’t I will get rear ended or sideswiped. Cars pass me going 80-90 all the time, and they wait until they almost hit me and swerve at the last second. ?  It’s like they know it’s their last day on earth and with the way they drive, it very well could be! I wish just once I would see police pull them over. They got me for going 56 in a 45, so it bothers  me to the core.

Just wondering if y’all are seeing the same where you are. 

I have noticed that a large percentage of people have become more aggressive with less empathy since the pandemic started over 2.5 years ago. These people only care about themselves and could care less about anyone else. Many of these people act like they are righteous, but they are the exact opposite. Best thing you can do is ignore these types of people and be kind to everyone, regardless how they act.

[Choporoz]

The speed doesn't bother me too much.  Aggressive lane changes, cutting off, and phones are worse, as far as I'm concerned.  In fact a car doing the speed limit in the middle lane (of 3 or 4) is as dangerous and more disruptive to traffic as speeders in the left lane.

[Catt]

37 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Now a days it's just me, the speed limit & the cruise control.

?

A-Jay

 

This is me ?

 

I bought the wife a 2020 Nissan Rogue, for the first couple of weeks she drove all the time. When I started driving it the mpg when up 8-12 miles simply because I use the cruise.

 

Down here it's in town drivers, they believe speed limits & red lights are just suggestions. 

 

[GreenPig]

Spent alot of my youth sideways on dirt roads. My boat has a 25 hp and I've had a spinal fusion so the only time I get to go fast is in my truck. The older I get the crazier other folks seem.

[Mobasser]

As a kid, I liked drag racing and street racing. Now I do the speed limit, and get left in the dust on the highways. I wish people would drive safer.

[DitchPanda]

I'm not much of a speeder...in fact I've been driving 22 years and never had a speeding ticket! I'm the guy driving 57-58 in the 55...if I "need " to get somewhere faster then I should have left earlier. I had a moron riding my a@# a while back close enough I couldn't see his license plate. I did notice that he was texting while  tailgating me. When he finally flew around me I did the one finger wave...he was too busy looking down at his phone to notice. 

[N Florida Mike]

We have a problem here too with what I call car clubs. There will be dozens of them in parking lots doing donuts, burn outs , etc.  I hear racing and tires screeching at night pretty often off in the distance.Latest news is that police are cracking down on it. 

2 hours ago, Choporoz said:

fact a car doing the speed limit in the middle lane (of 3 or 4) is as dangerous and more disruptive to traffic as speeders in the left lane.

Not sure I buy that. I mean , sometimes you want to get over and can’t. I feel safer just staying in one lane. When I  try to change lanes to get out of the way , they come whipping around me and nearly hit me.

If someone was way under the speed limit I would agree.

 

[jbsoonerfan]

When I drive somewhere, I am maybe 5 to 8 over, never more. My wife on the other hand, she drives EVERYWHERE we go when we go together. She cannot stand driving the speed limit and people passing us. On the interstate (I-35) she will average 85-90 and to my surprise, we get passed often. When we make long trips to Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Colorado, etc. it's nothing for her to cruise at 100 mph. I don't like it, but I figure a wreck at 85 or 100 isn't gonna be much different as I probably won't be around to talk about it. 

 

Don't get me started about those packs of guys on crotch rockets. Talk about dangerous. 

[Trox]

I don't care what the speed limit is... When it's 5am on a Saturday morning and I'm on my way to the lake, it's pedal to the metal baby! I got fish to catch!

[N Florida Mike]

3 minutes ago, jbsoonerfan said:

Don't get me started about those packs of guys on crotch rockets. Talk about dangerous. 

Yeah, I was about to mention that too. I was on 295 , which is the beltway around Jacksonville. It was around 11:45 pm. I was cruising along around 65 , and all of a sudden 6-8 of them passed me going over 100. The sudden noise  “ like to have scared me slap to death “ as Jerry clower would have said…

6 minutes ago, TroxBox said:

I don't care what the speed limit is... When it's 5am on a Saturday morning and I'm on my way to the lake, it's pedal to the metal baby! I got fish to catch!

I prefer leaving earlier and taking my time the older I get…  

[Hammer 4]

4 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

We have a problem here too with what I call car clubs. There will be dozens of them in parking lots doing donuts, burn outs , etc.  I hear racing and tires screeching at night pretty often off in the distance.Latest news is that police are cracking down on it. 

Not sure I buy that. I mean , sometimes you want to get over and can’t. I feel safer just staying in one lane. When I  try to change lanes to get out of the way , they come whipping around me and nearly hit me.

If someone was way under the speed limit I would agree.

 

On some of the freeways I drive, you can see where some morons were doing donuts across all 4 lanes, and some of these were done on a curve, so anyone coming down the freeway in any lane would not be able to see these clowns until it was to late.

On the same note, there is a fairly large public park across from the golf course I go to. the street on both sides is littered with black tire marks from doing burnout and donuts. Most are from "car clubs" and people show up in the Hundreds. Sadly, the local law enforcement turns a blind eye. I've talked to more than a few Sheriff deputies, their answer is, we are so out numbered, that if any violence erupted they were to out numbered, I can see that, but........

Things are just totally out of control these days. I feel sorry for todays youth growing up during all this.  

[NoShoes]

Florida has always been nuts

[Kev-mo]

No it's not just you. It's gotten worse since the pandemic. I worked all through the pandemic and it was pretty much a free for all up here in the beginning. No police, no one being pulled over. People were consistently doing 60 plus in a 30/40, there was very little regard for traffic 'laws'.

 

Full disclosure I was part of that...I mean no traffic, no one outside, sure I enjoyed being the only one on the road at times. Honestly it was pretty awesome! However once the roads were full again I dialed it back. others haven't....

[Jigfishn10]

It's crazy everywhere. I've gotten sideswiped twice in the last 3 years or so. Isn't fun, especially the first time when I saw the car coming at me from a distance, going at a pretty good clip and I kept telling myself 'he sees me, he sees me". Finally at the last minute I yanked the wheel and landed up on someone's front lawn.

 

Then you get the drivers using their car as a weapon and deliberately driving people of the road. Ain't fun at all.

[padlin]

I think it's more cause we've gotten older.

[N Florida Mike]

10 hours ago, NoShoes said:

Florida has always been nuts

Not when I was young, which was before millions of newcomers came here. It was very quiet back then. Speed limit was 55 on the highways. 

Im not saying people didnt speed . But it wasn’t close to this.

[soflabasser]

59 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

Not when I was young, which was before millions of newcomers came here. It was very quiet back then. Speed limit was 55 on the highways. 

Im not saying people didnt speed . But it wasn’t close to this.

Well said @N Florida Mike. I remember how peaceful it was to drive 20 years ago, even 10 years ago was much better than the clown show we have on the road these days. We have way too many people moving to Florida that have nasty attitudes that think they can do whatever they want and could care less who they hurt. The ironic thing is these were the same people talking garbage about Florida for years before moving to Florida, yet here they are living in our state or visiting on vacation. That is why I do not take these types of people seriously, they say one thing and do another thing.

[N Florida Mike]

Yes sir.  What’s blamed on “Florida man” is more often than not someone who doesn’t have Florida roots.

Many of these people want Florida’s benefits but will have the same thinking  they had in the state they  left .Driving is just one symptom of all of it…

 In all honesty I know some fairly crazy true Floridians too…

[soflabasser]

9 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

Yes sir.  What’s blamed on                    “ Florida man “, is often someone who doesn’t have Florida roots. 

''Florida Man'' is usually some clown that moved to Florida and brought their nasty attitudes to our state. There is a reason they left their home state and came to live to Florida, they think they are free to do whatever they want, but even laid back Florida has rules they have to follow.