Florida: State of Driving

Florida is known for many things, like Disney World, citrus fruits, retirement communities and bizarre news stories. Unfortunately, Florida is also home to some of the worst drivers in the United States.

 

And no, this is not just the opinion of tourists navigating unfamiliar highways. In 2020, drivers in Florida were ranked the fourth worst in the country. This is based on data like percentage of drivers who are uninsured, number of DUI arrests and the number of traffic fatalities.

 

Floridians may be used to the way their neighbors drive, but it’s important for both natives and tourists to understand what to expect when driving in the Sunshine State.

 

Here is the good, the bad and the ugly about getting behind the wheel in Florida:

 

Florida requires every driver to carry a minimum of $10,000 in personal injury protection coverage, which covers you regardless of who’s at fault in an accident. Drivers must also have $10,000 in property damage liability coverage. If you’ve been in a crash or been convicted of certain offenses, such as a DUI, the Florida DMV can request that you purchase additional auto insurance coverage such as bodily injury liability coverage.

 

Although 20.4% of Florida motorists drive without insurance, the state does not require you to carry uninsured motorist insurance. Insurance companies in Florida are required to offer you uninsured motorist coverage that is equal to your bodily injury liability coverage, but you are not required to purchase it.

 

The average Floridian driver will not have to contend with heavy snow or with the rust-inducing road salt that Northerners are used to dealing with during the winter. This means drivers in Florida often choose cars to reflect their personalities, since they do not have to worry as much about the practical concerns associated with snow and ice.

 

For instance, Jessica Garbarino, who lives in the West Palm Beach area, has noticed a high number of status symbol cars in South Florida. "You have a lot of wealthy people along with people who are trying to appear wealthy by driving luxury cars – more so than any of the other five states I've lived in." Teresa Mears, who lives in a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, agrees. "Until I moved to South Florida, I had never seen a Ferrari or a Bentley or a Jaguar on the road, and I hadn't seen very many BMWs or Mercedes. You do see clunkers in South Florida, but you'll also see a lot more luxury cars and sports cars."

 

Florida's warm weather is also one of the driving factors behind the "donk" car culture, which has its roots in Miami. Donks are any cars that have been modified to have enormous wheels – 30 inch rims are the most common – but classic Chevys from the 1970s are the most common type of vehicle made into donks.

 

In addition to the enormous wheels, donks also sport candy-colored or cartoon-inspired paint jobs. Donks must be modified to accommodate their giant wheels – generally by jacking up the frame. Modifying these cars is all about having fun with them, particularly because they would not be drivable in areas of the country that get winter weather. The 30-inch wheels would not easily survive a run-in with a pothole, which are much more common in areas with heavy snowfall. And trying to drive a donk on snow wouldn’t even be possible. The width of the wheels would make them act like skis on snow, and there are not winter tires with chunky treads available for 30-inch rims.

 

Donks have appeared in everything from rap videos to the Oscar-winning film Moonlight, and they are a fixture of Florida car culture.

 

Floridians put fewer miles on their cars than the average American driver. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the average American driver logged 13,500 miles per year as of 2019, the most recent year for which the data has been compiled.

 

Drivers in Florida traveled an average of 14,557 miles in 2019. Spending more time on the road means that Floridians will generally spend more on regular maintenance (such as oil changes and new tires) and irregular maintenance needs (like brake pad, spark plug and transmission fluid replacements).

 

The financial blog My Money Design calculates that the cost of such maintenance is approximately $0.26/mile. That means Floridians who drive the average of 11,836 miles per year can expect about $3,077 per year in maintenance costs. That's almost $500 in savings compared to the average U.S. cost of $3,503 per year for maintaining a car driven nearly 13,500 miles.

 

Although there are many factors that go into Floridians' relatively low yearly mileage, toll roads are one potential reason why Florida drivers don't drive as much as the rest of the country. With over 755 miles of toll roads, Florida is the national leader in toll roads. Although the high number of tollways has helped to pay for important road maintenance and highway infrastructure, they can be a driving deterrent for drivers on a budget.

 

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the rate of car crash deaths per 100 million miles traveled is 2.4 times lower in urban areas than in rural areas. Even though only 16% of vehicle miles traveled are on rural roads in the Sunshine State, rural roads accounted for 26% of all traffic deaths. However, although the percentage of traffic fatalities on rural roads is larger than the number of miles driven on them, urban roads pose some serious dangers for Floridians, partially because most of your time behind the wheel is spent in urban areas.

 

In addition, poor driving habits also help to explain the relative danger that Florida drivers experience on urban roads. According to Bobbi Kronenberg, who moved back to the Orlando area after living in Europe for more than eight years, "Driving in Florida was a rude awakening after living in Germany. Drivers are extremely aggressive here. They pass on the right, block the left lane and won't allow cars to merge, among other issues." Teresa Mears has also observed other dangerous driving trends, "Florida drivers are also more likely to make quick moves, and not signal turns."

 

As of November 23, 2021, the national average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded gas was $3.40. Florida gas prices trend slightly lower than the national average – $3.35 per gallon – and have trended slightly lower than the national average price for the last year.

 

Gas prices across the state do vary somewhat. You’ll generally find the highest prices of around $3.493 per gallon in the West Palm Beach area and the lowest at $3.248 per gallon in the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach area. Since Florida drivers can expect to pay about the average cost of a gallon of unleaded, gas generally tends to be relatively affordable. But it's important to remember that lower gas prices encourage people to drive more – and the more people on the road, the greater likelihood there will be an accident.

 

As of October 2021, Florida’s unemployment rate matched the national unemployment rate of 4.6 percent. Though they probably seem unrelated, the employment rate of a state affects its driving rate. As the employment rate increases, so does the number of commuters. Commutes in Florida are relatively long at nearly 27 minutes each way according to the 2014 Census Bureau American Community Survey.

 

Relatively high employment is also related to an improved economy, which means more people have money to spend on discretionary purchases. When unemployment is low, more people drive to spend money on dining out, night life and sporting events, not to mention longer road trips. In addition, the more people who are employed, the more there are who can afford big-ticket items, such as cars.

 

Distracted driving – when a driver is paying close attention to something (such as a cell phone) other than the road – is a major problem in Florida. In 2020, there were more than 48,500 distracted driving-related crashes resulting in 308 fatalities.

 

Florida is not alone. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2019, 3,142 people were killed and another 424,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers nationally.

 

To fight the problem of distracted driving, the state of Florida has banned texting while driving. However, the texting ban is a secondary offense, meaning police must stop motorists for another offense before ticketing them for texting. One in seven Florida drivers admitted to texting while driving, and nearly half of 16- to 24-year-olds admit to this bad habit. Unfortunately, there are no specific distracted driving provisions that apply to teenagers.

 

Texting while driving is not the only problem that can lead to distracted driving. Making or receiving a phone call while driving makes you four times as likely to get into an accident than you would without the distraction. Although hands-free devices have not shown a significant improvement in safety, many states have implemented hands-free phone requirements for driving. Florida does not have such a requirement, so Florida drivers can hold and talk on their cell phone while driving.

 

Considering how prevalent teen texting-and-driving behavior is, it is no wonder that teenagers are among the most dangerous drivers on the road. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, “distraction was a factor in nearly six out of ten moderate-to-severe teen crashes." In addition, teen drivers are also new to their driving skills. All of this supports Florida's decision to enforce graduated driver licensing requirements for teens.

 

At age 15, Florida teens may apply for a learner's permit if they have completed the Traffic Law and Substance Abuse Education course and passed a Class E Knowledge Test. When driving, they must always be accompanied by a licensed driver over the age of 21 and they can only drive during daylight hours during the first three months. After that point, drivers with a learner's permit may be on the road until 10 p.m.

 

To move on to the provisional license, teen drivers must complete 50 hours of practice driving, 10 of which needs to be at night. The teen must also be at least 16 years old and have held the learner's permit for 12 months. Teens must also pass the Driving Skills Test and have no moving violations to receive their provisional licenses.

 

When it comes to night-time, 16-year-olds are not permitted to drive between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. and 17-year-olds must not drive between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. To keep the provisional license in good standing, teens must be following school attendance guidelines. Any driver under the age of 21 who is found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.02% or more will have their license immediately suspended for 6 months. As of age 18, teens qualify for a full unrestricted driver's license.

 

Driving in Florida offers unique challenges and hazards to anyone who gets behind the wheel. Understanding exactly what to expect from the highways of Florida can help you make safe decisions on the road.