Driving Frustration

There is this weird phenomenon when driving in South Florida that I have never ever experienced while driving other places (both around the US and Europe).  I call it “speed matching”.

Our area (and most of South Florida) has extremely wide roads with many lanes (almost every road has at least 2 lanes going each direction).  While this sounds fantastic for getting places, the reality is much more frustrating.  Where I grew up (in Colorado), when there are multiple lanes generally slower traffic keeps to the right and people who want to go slightly faster can go around in the left lanes.  Sometimes this is not true and the slower people hang out in the left lane but you can still go around them (this system is obviously the opposite in Ireland and the UK but the courtesy is the same).

This is where South Florida gets confused, the concept of staying right and passing on the left is completely lost on drivers here.  Instead of slower traffic hanging out in one lane, cars will drive next to each other going the same speed blocking all the cars behind from making any faster progress.

This problem, unfortunately, is not exclusive to neighborhood roads, it happens on the highways too.  I-95 is the main thoroughfare in our area (it runs from Miami all the way up the East coast to the border of Canada in Maine).  Most of the portion of I-95 that we frequently take is 5+ lanes of traffic heading each direction and the cars often STILL go the same speed across all 5 lanes of traffic.

I’m not a terribly speedy driver though I do like to get where I’m going and will push the boundaries of the speed limit and driving here in these conditions is one of the most frustrating experiences EVER and results in numerous outbursts that I’m not proud of (and I hope afterwards my children won’t repeat!)

On a related note, we’ve entered rainy season in Florida.  This means random downpours.  Here’s a few tips I’ve picked up from the other South Florida drivers (in case you’re ever in the area and want to fit in with the ridiculousness):

• When rain begins and/or roads are wet (even if just a sprinkling), immediately reduce speed by 1/3
• If rain becomes heavy enough to require windshield wiper use, reduce speed to half of the speed limit

AND

• Immediately turn on your hazard lights

NOTE: While it is Florida law for all drivers to turn on their regular lights when it rains, this is optional.  Flashing hazard lights have apparently been found to be much more effective than boring everyday lights

• If visibility becomes reduced due to heavy rain or spray from other vehicles, it is perfectly acceptable to change lanes erratically and/or made sudden, unexpected turns