mmarshall

I don't see how it's that far off-topic to discuss the group(s) of drivers that led to this FL law in the first place.

And it's not just the rate of accidents, but the severity of them, too, that make a difference. If you misjudge a pole, for instance, in a parking lot, and back into it at 5 MPH, that's obviously a long way from crossing the center-line on a two-lane road at 65 MPH and hitting someone head-on.

Which brings us to, hopefully, another on-topic item. The article mentions "accidents" and being "at fault".....without much, if any, further definition. That alone, of course, opens up a can of worms. By law, many accidents on private property (and many parking lots are considered private property where police don't even respond), are often not chargable, and each driver's insurance companies pays for his or own car (and personal liability, if involved). By law, juveniles under 18 have any crimimal charges associated with them (and maybe accidents) removed on their 18th birthday.
Accidents are sometimes caused by poor vehicle condition or manufacturer defects. The list goes on......the law may (?) need some further defining.

IS-SV

To respond, the reason why some of this hype is considered off-topic by some of the forum members is that you embellished/guessed/added-in stereotypes as to the backgrounds of the suspect drivers or the group(s), that's all. The article already spelled out the known stats of the perps in question.

No doubt poor drivers are contributing to the problems reported.

btw, have you ever driven in Florida? It's an interesting state.

IS-SV

Yes. I've driven some in Mexico (only on Baja peninsula) and found the drivers to be mostly competent.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

how many other states have you guys driven in? there's bad drivers everywhere in the u.s. primarily because the driving test is so weak.

being young perhaps you dislike slow old drivers who don't react fast and often aren't aware of a whole lot going on around them! but young, aggressive and impetuous drivers are more dangerous, and middle-aged arrogant execs in powerful cars too can cause mayhem...

bottom line, there's bad drivers everywhere.

anyway, about this florida law, great!!!

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

good post.

mmarshall

I didn't disagree with the article. What it said was basically correct. And I didn't "add" any categories that didn't already exist....though I may have expounded on them a little.

mmarshall

It may not be that the initial driving test itself that is weak (mine was pretty thorough), but simply the fact that it is usually only given once, and then never really repeated. So, if you get a license at 16 or 17, your driving skills and knowledge of traffic laws can deteriorate for many decades and never really be looked at again. In most states, you just go down to the DMV every 5-7 years for a license renewal, look briefly into a color-scope for your eyes, pay the renewal fee, and out you come with a renewed license. No hearing test, no oral test of traffic-law knowledge, and, of course, no driving test.

In the avation world, that kind of stuff just doesn't fly (no pun intended). As an airplane pilot, I took regular full medical exams, Bi-Annual Flight Examinations, in the airplane, with an FAA approved instructor, and, in some cases, a specific type-rating review for the specific aircraft. In addition, blinders were put on so you couldn't see out of the cockpit, and had to fly and manuver by instruments alone, even, to a certain extent, for a regular VFR (Visual Flight Rules) license. And this was not a one-time deal....you did it at regular intervals. And, if you think that is a lot, you should see what military pilots go through on their checkouts.


Exactly. and young people text-messaging while driving can be less attentive than old drivers.

Agreed. It's a good start, but may (?) need further clarification and definition, for reasons I explained earlier.

mmarshall

Baja's a pretty harsh, desolate environment, isn't it? Perhaps that's one reason why people are careful there....seems like that wouldn't be a very agreeable place to be stuck in an accident.

GS3T

iTrader: (1)

sounds good, wish they would do it here.

vboy418

I hear you bro. Duval has some horrible drivers. With all the rain recently I see people driving down 95 like its a drag race.

Jewcano

iTrader: (4)

On the contrary. I've grown out of my rebellious driving like a bat out of hell ways. 99.9% of the time now, I hit the highway, CC comes on at 65 and stays there. People wanna pass, then they do.

You wanna see bad, look at 295 where it becomes 9A and watch the ricers tomorrow night. They sometimes block off both lanes going at 45 and then gun it. Wish you could citizens arrest them .

I8ABMR

they used to make you take the written test over in LA if you got a ticket in a four year period. It wasnt a hard test but you still needed to rememorize the lame technical stuff like how many feet do you signal before you turn.

mmarshall

In some states (like mine), it's 50 feet before the intersection if the speed limit is less than 35, 100 feet if 35 or more. Police rarely enforce this to the letter, though, as long as they actually see your blinkers on...they usually don't worry about nickel-and-dime foot distances.

muhbuhtuh

hehe my county is ranked 3rd. but yeah pretty neat they are implementing this. ive seen some drivers that made me go "wtf are you doing??"

Lil4X

mmarshall makes a good point, it's not just the frequency, but also the severity of accidents that condemns young (under 25) drivers to pay high insurance premiums. By and large, although elderly drivers have a somewhat elevated accident rate over the mean, their accidents usually occur at low speed, and while some doddering grandpa may take out a row of mailboxes, it doesn't often result in heavy damage or death.

It is youthful inexperience that often results in carnage on our streets and highways, and there are distinct reasons for those high insurance rates.

• Mindset - typically, teens believe they are immortal, that their skills are far greater than they actually are, and that the world revolves about them. This is reflected not just on the highway, but in a wide variety of stupid stunts that a thinking person would never attempt. Kids (I use the term advisedly) tend to let false bravado overtake their sense of self-preservation. They are often driven to demonstrate their skills (or lack thereof) in ways that can have serious, if unimagined consequences.
  
  
• Inexperience - no matter how many hours you have at the wheel of your Nintendo, it doesn't translate to experience in a real automobile. There are factors out there that don't appear in games. Weather, visibility, distractions, and other drivers throw unexpected kinks into that data that is flowing through that windshield. Experience improves your filters while it improves your decision-making abilities. You learn what inputs are important, and how to process them.
  
  
• Testosterone - A good part of the teen outlook is driven by machismo. That's why you can't let anyone pass you, cut you off, or otherwise interfere with your personal Weltsraum (living space). That applies doubly on the road, where your car is an extension of you. There are all kinds of Freudian symbols here, but the sexual psychology of a young male is usually reflected in his driving.
  
  
• Alcohol - While there are plenty of old rumpots in the over-40 set, teens tend toward binge drinking, and that makes them especially dangerous. It has been said that whatever you are, alcohol makes you moreso. If you are aggressive (see Testosterone, above), then you become hyperagressive under the influence of alcohol. Without the ability to flow data over your internal bus at normal speed, or the ability to process it in a timely manner, you tend to be driving about 15-to-20 yards behind you after just a few drinks. Here the machismo comes into play to convince you A. you're not really drunk, and B. you can handle it. The answer is C. none of the above.

When you combine the teen's mindset, inexperience, testosterone, possible use of alcohol or other "recreational" drugs with an automobile, the result is more likely than not an increased propensity for accidents. Probably even worse is the inability to avoid an accident through situational awareness and defensive driving.

Playing "D": You are not contending for the road with a game program, those other drivers out there are inclined to make the same stupid moves you are. You cannot close yourself off in your little cell, you have to consider the cars around you and what "stupid mistakes" those drivers could make, i.e. driving in someone's blind spot can make you #1 at the scene of an accident when they change lanes, or a "failure to maintain situational awareness" can put you in the path of a dangerous driver coming up behind you.

A critical part of any game is defense. Keeping your focus moving, not just ahead of you, but in your mirrors, is essential to keep from being part of someone else's accident. Focus on the road, read what is going on even a half-mile ahead, note the potential trouble spots and adjust your speed and lane choice accordingly. Keep up with what is going on around you. Where is that car that was 50 yards behind you ten seconds ago?

Whether your handicap is youthful inexperience, drug or hormonal overload, or a few slow-firing neurons in a senior driver, the task of driving is subject to a number of human influences that can end in disaster. Insurance companies and now state licensing bureaus are beginning to recognize that we don't all drive with the same level of competence, and they are taking measures to either retrain or restrain drivers who don't measure up.

About time.