Moving to Florida? Best and worst cities for driving
Florida is a popular tourist destination and typically receives over 100 million visitors each year, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. These figures include domestic travelers, with Florida being a very popular vacation destination for Americans, due to the hot weather and the many stunning beaches around Florida.
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The popularity of the state means that the highways can get very busy, particularly in peak vacation months. For residents in Florida, the busy roads can make it very difficult for commuting to work. There are other reasons that some cities are bad for driving, such as lack of good transport links or the number of vehicles there are per household.
If you are considering moving to Florida, it will help to understand which are the best and worst cities for driving in.
Florida’s Most Dangerous Cities for Drivers
According to statistics on the number of car accident fatalities per 100,000 residents, here are some of the most dangerous cities for drivers in Florida:
Orlando
Despite it being jam-packed with tourists coming in to experience the city's beautiful sights, Orlando is considered the most dangerous city to drive in Florida. It records about 30,000 traffic crashes annually. It has 13.2 car accident fatalities per 100,000 residents and a collision risk of 15.3%. Orlando also has the highest number of vehicle thefts, with about 1,390 vehicle thefts recorded every year.
Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale is another city with family-friendly beaches in Florida. Its enticing cultural centers, historic districts, and bustling shopping centers make it a great destination for tourists. But, this city is considered one of the most dangerous cities for drivers. It has 16.7 car accident fatalities per 100,000 residents. Its collision rate is 6.8%, with about 930 vehicle thefts annually.
Hollywood
Hollywood is a popular destination for tourists because of the spectacular Hollywood Beach Broadway, which is considered a family-friendly beach. Though Hollywood is a great place to be, from statistics, it is the third most dangerous city for drivers in Florida. It has a collision rate of 14.9%, and about 500 vehicle thefts are recorded every year. And it has 14.3 car accident fatalities per 100,000 residents.
Hialeah
Hialeah is known as the home of flamingos. It is a great city with plenty of business opportunities and a great community. Hialeah is a safe suburb and one of the most welcoming cities in Florida. But, despite all these, it ranks high as one of the most dangerous cities for drivers in Florida.
It has 12.5 car accident fatalities per 100,000 residents and a collision risk of 26%. It also has a vehicle theft rate of about 690 vehicles annually.
Best Cities for Driving in Florida
Though Florida has the most highest number of car accidents in the US, there are still some cities in Florida with low collson is, very minimal number of car accident fatalities, and a low number of vehicle rates. These cities are considered the best cities for drivers in Florida. They are:
Tallahassee
Florida’s capital city Tallahassee ranks top in terms of best cities to drive in when taking commuting time into account. The average drive to work for residents of Tallahassee is 20 minutes, much lower than the majority of other cities in Florida.
Gainesville
The average commute time for people living in Gainesville is just 22 minutes. Despite being the largest city in Alachua County, Gainesville comes out as the best city to drive in out of all the Florida cities when you also consider which city has the least driving offenses. On average, the number of vehicles per household is 1.44, which is lower than most other cities.
Jacksonville
People living in Jacksonville have an average drive to work time of 25 minutes and one of the main traffic issues with this city is that there are not as many walking routes, which means more people choose to drive.
St Petersburg
The average commute time in St Petersburg is also 25 minutes and the number of vehicles per household is 1.52, which is part of the reason there is more traffic in this city.
Tampa
The average commute time for drivers in Tampa is 28 minutes, which is still lower than the national average but is one of the highest in Florida. People in Tampa have better cycling routes than most of the other cities, which helps to reduce some of the traffic.
Miami
Miami gets very busy with tourists and the airport is the busiest international airport in the country. It is also a very popular destination for US residents who want to spend time on the Miami beaches. The commute time for people living in Miami is just over 32 minutes on average.
Why Do So Many Car Accidents Happen in Florida?
Year-in, Year-out, Florida retains its spot as the US state with the highest car accidents. There are over 15 million licensed drivers in Florida, and about 350,000 vehicle crashes are experienced every year. That’s about 1000 traffic crashes every day. Alarming, right?
According to reports from the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, over 3000 people die in a vehicle accident every year. And in 2020 alone, there were over 212,000 traffic crash-related injuries.
These numbers are quite disturbing, and in order to address the issue, we need to look at the root cause of it. Why are there so many car accidents in Florida?
One of the most prevalent causes of car accidents in Florida is drunk driving. Out of every 3000 fatal accidents, 800 are caused by drunk drivers. Another principal reason is distracted driving. One out of every four vehicle accidents in Florida results from the driver being distracted by calls, text messaging, or checking emails.
Reckless driving is also a contributing factor to Florida’s high number of car accidents. Most drivers ignore traffic signs and cut other drivers off at busy intersections. Also, many Florida drivers do not follow their speed limit. Hence, it becomes hard for the drivers to safely navigate corners and bend. Also, the driver would not be able to quickly react in the event of unexpected changes on the road, as a result, increasing the chances of getting involved in a motor accident.
Drivers falling asleep while on the wheel could also be another cause of car accidents. For most Florida residents, their day is usually busy and stressful. As a result, they could find themself feeling sleepy on the wheel.
It is also worth mentioning that Florida is a home for tourists and a high number of people relocating from other states to become permanent residents of Florida. This means a number of people might be unfamiliar with the roads, which could be a contributing factor to the high number of car accidents in Florida.
