Driving and Walking in Jacksonville

[UpOn2Wheels]

Let me preface this post by describing a little bit about me.  I'm a car guy and a motorcycle guy; I grew up turning wrenches in the family garage and have had a passion for all things with a motor and wheels since I was a kid.  I've had some great (and bizarre) vehicle-based opportunities in my life, including:

- A year spent racing cars in SCCA competition, where I learned I was neither fast enough to get rich nor rich enough to get fast
- Getting lost in Tokyo while driving a 1965 Corvette roadster (How NOT to blend in, lesson 1)
- Driving a full size tour bus in the UK (with a manual transmission, of course), where the roads are approximately the size of sidewalks. Narrow sidewalks.
- Teaching a friend how NOT to crash his original Porsche 930 (aka 911 Turbo), perhaps the most terrifying road car in the history of mankind to drive.  Wheelspin in third gear at 95 miles per hour sure is fun...

I've driven the Autobahn in all kinds of conditions, in all types of cars.  I've lived all over the US, and dealt with the motorized insanity that is Boston, New York, DC, Los Angeles, Chicago, etc.  I've even driven in Vero Beach, land of the blue hairs. 

Nothing in my prior existance has prepared me for driving in Jacksonville.  Collectively, this city harbors the absolute worst drivers I have ever encountered, anywhere on the planet.  I think this is because no one from Jacksonville is really FROM Jacksonville; people learn their bad habits elsewhere, then bring them here when they relocate.

Can anyone explain why:
- Rush hour speeds, even in dry weather with no traffic congestion, never approach the speed limit?  Do people here not want to get home?  Are they enjoying the commute (and the ever present cell phone conversation) that much?
- Rain is treated like a cataclysmic event, requiring drivers to hold a steady 10 mph and enter corners at no more than 1 MPH (fully blocking the lane while turning in, of course)?  You could safely drive on black ice, with bald tires while hauling unstable nitroglycerin at higher speeds than drivers in Jax during a rainstorm.
- It's necessary to get on the cell phone, as soon as you get in the car?  Who are you talking to at 6:00 in the morning?  Because if Jesus calls me at that hour, he's going to have to leave a message.  There is NO ONE I want to talk to at that hour.  In fact, there really isn't anyone I need to talk to in the car; I can almost always wait until I get to my destination.
- Lane discipline is as foreign a concept as string theory and particle physics?  In the rest of the civilized world, it works like this:  keep right, pass left.  Here, it's more along the lines of "block anyone from passing, regardless of the lane you're in".  Keep right, pass left, people - say it with me.
- No one has any idea how big their vehicle is?  An F-350 Dually does not qualify as a "compact" car, hence, you should not try and park in a space labelled "Compact".  Likewise, when driving on Mandarin road, is it necessary to see how close you can position your right hand mirror to my shoulder as I walk along the road?  Or do you just not understand that you have 3 to 4 FEET of clearance around your car or truck?  If you're not comfortable driving a truck large enough to have its own gravity, why not pick something a little more manageable, like a Toyota Camry?

Tell me I'm wrong.  Flame away, but tell me that each and every one of you doesn't invent new and exciting swear words involving bizarre sexual acts and bodily functions each and every time you get behind the wheel.

[Reaper man]

Tell me I'm wrong.

No, you're completely right.  People here drive like retarded monkeys with a bad crack habit.

[billy]

People in Atlanta have a number of the same traits.
I've seen people here shave, read a newspaper,or even a novel while driving.
Not to mention people who use dramatic hand guestures while on the phone to people who can't see them.
Upon2Wheels, what are you driving these days?

[Captain Zissou]

The past couple weeks I have had terrible experiences with this.  This morning for example, two people were driving 30 mph on Old St Augustine road totally blocking the Southbound direction.  In one guy's defense, I think he was high....  People don't understand that driving too slow is just as dangerous to other motorists as driving too fast.

As far as the rain goes, I've invented a few obscene phrases to shout when drivers put the hazards on and slow to 35 when my wipers are barely on.

[UpOn2Wheels]

People in Atlanta have a number of the same traits.
I've seen people here shave, read a newspaper,or even a novel while driving.
Not to mention people who use dramatic hand guestures while on the phone to people who can't see them.
Upon2Wheels, what are you driving these days?

Daily driver/dog hauler is a Toyota FJ Cruiser.  Great rolling bomb shelter for the end of the world, too.  The "cheaper than a psychotherapist" car is a Mazda Miata - absolutely the most fun you can have behind the wheel on a limited budget.

Bike is a BMW K1200RS, the last of the flying bricks.  If I don't find a job soon (been unemployed since April), the bike will be on the market. 

[UpOn2Wheels]

 In one guy's defense, I think he was high....  People don't understand that driving too slow is just as dangerous to other motorists as driving too fast.

I developed a theory after we moved down here.  I think that JEA randomly picks neighborhoods and pumps quaaludes into the water supply - it really would explain a lot.

[tufsu1]

Nothing in my prior existance has prepared me for driving in Jacksonville.  Collectively, this city harbors the absolute worst drivers I have ever encountered, anywhere on the planet.  I think this is because no one from Jacksonville is really FROM Jacksonville; people learn their bad habits elsewhere, then bring them here when they relocate.

The sad thing is...from my experience, Jacksonville drivers may actually be the best in the state!

[Dog Walker]

Bike is a BMW K1200RS, the last of the flying bricks.  If I don't find a job soon (been unemployed since April), the bike will be on the market. 

I can remember being in the Frankfort airport when the K bikes first came out.  There was one in a glass case in display there.  While I was plastered against the case whimpering with desire, my wife was behind me saying, "No way!  Forget it!"

I'm always amazed at how the people in Jacksonville DON'T slow down some when it rains.  It's always amazing to see  how they hydroplane and spin out into the medians and slide through intersections.  

The most fun place to watch rainy day drivers has to be the Atlantic Blvd exit off the Hart Bridge expressway coming toward the river.  There is a hard right turn there with a retention pond just beyond it.  FDOT has gradually escalated the warnings there to a flasher because about one car per week in the summer time rains doesn't make the curve and ends up in the retention pond.

[Ethylene]

I would like to know when did red lights and stop signs cease to mean stop? I'm afraid it isn't just a Jacksonville phenomenon and everyone everywhere, except me, either only hesitates on occasion or just lumbers through at all intersections whenever turning right. Come on why not yield the right of way! It's simply not safe at any speed and just plain rude!

[Dog Walker]

As a frequent pedestrian (walking the dogs) I can attest that red lights and stop signs for most drivers  are just signals to slow down slightly and look for on coming cars which means that they don't see me in the cross walk in front of them.

Hey people, the broad white lines you see in the road in front of the marked pedestrian walkways are called STOP BARS.  That's where you are supposed to STOP before checking for pedestrians or on coming traffic.  You are also not supposed to stop across the marked pedestrian walkway at the red light.  I WILL knock on your window and make you back up to unblock it or plant a foot in the side of your door if you won't.

[Captain Zissou]

^ You should try transitioning from Gainesville to Jax!  In Gainesville, you get a ticket if you don't come to a full stop when a pedestrian is anywhere in the cross walk.  As soon as a pedestrian steps off the curb, you're obligated to stop.  My sister caused a guy to get a ticket once because she waived him through while she was on a run.  Also, pedestrians rule the road down there.

Having lived there for 4 years, I assumed I'd get similar treatment in Jax.  WRONG! After almost getting hit a few times, I learned my lesson.

[UpOn2Wheels]

I can remember being in the Frankfort airport when the K bikes first came out.  There was one in a glass case in display there.  While I was plastered against the case whimpering with desire, my wife was behind me saying, "No way!  Forget it!"

Yep, that would have been about '84 or so.  For me, it was lust at first sight - there was something about the K bikes that always looked "right".  IMO, the last generation of flying bricks were the best looking ones of the production run; the new K bikes look like they were styled by a blindfolded 8 year old.  With a lumber crayon.

[Reaper man]

The sad thing is...from my experience, Jacksonville drivers may actually be the best in the state!

That is a very, very scary thought.

[Jason]

Its true!  The I-4 corridor is the worst because of the tourists.

And hardly anyone on the highways in Florida understands that the left hand lanes are for passing ONLY.  "Keep Right Except to Pass".

[north miami]

Nothing in my prior existance has prepared me for driving in Jacksonville.  Collectively, this city harbors the absolute worst drivers I have ever encountered, anywhere on the planet.  I think this is because no one from Jacksonville is really FROM Jacksonville; people learn their bad habits elsewhere, then bring them here when they relocate.

The sad thing is...from my experience, Jacksonville drivers may actually be the best in the state!

tufsu1- I believe you must be a Chamber Booster!(Beltway approach is classic too! I disagree with you-'Luv 'ya!)
In my experience- the traffic situation is better in my native Miami. A larger volume moves "better".Many have made that seemingly surprising observation.