JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA — “Buckle up Florida” may be one the state’s most important slogans, a new report suggests. The Sunshine State has the worst drivers of any state in the nation, according to new rankings from CleverMove.
FLORIDA HAS 3 OF THE 5 WORST CITIES FOR DRIVING
Jacksonville has the worst drivers of any city in America, according to the rankings. The Bold City’s peers were not far behind, however, as Orlando ranked two spots lower at number 3 overall and Tampa came in at number 4. Miami skidded into the top 25, finishing at 24th place.
To make matters worse, 1 in 5 Florida drivers don’t have car insurance — a rate that’s 54 percent higher than the studied city average (13 percent).
The rankings took into consideration 9 different factors, including: driving deaths, annual precipitation days, insurance premiums, the number of auto repair shops and public perception.
Florida’s moist climate plays a part in the rankings, given that rainy weather makes driving more difficult. The vast majority of cities in the top 25 had more than 100 annual precipitation days.
JACKSONVILLE: AMERICA’S COLLISION CAPITAL
Jacksonville’s 10.9 annual traffic-related fatalities per 100,000 residents is the third highest in the U.S. and far surpasses the national average of 6.6. This unsettling figure is aided by an even more disturbing achievement: Jacksonville has the highest rate of alcohol-related driving deaths.
“Four major highways and two interstates converge in Jacksonville, making it a popular thoroughfare for drivers traveling the Sunshine State,” CleverMove noted. “But with so many intertwined roads and interchanges, Jacksonville drivers who fail to follow basic vehicle safety, such as using their turn signals, will likely find themselves in an accident.”
The Fuller-Warren bridge – which stretches across the St. John’s River in downtown Jacksonville – carries one of America’s deadliest interstates: I-95.
Nearly 1 in 8 Americans agreed that the Bold City deserves its notorious distinction.
ORLANDO: WHERE BODY SHOP OWNERS’ DREAMS COME TRUE
The City Beautiful can get ugly on the highway, as Orlando is the nation’s third worst city for driving. Prominent theme parks bring in big bucks from tourism, but they also help produce congested interstates. A Florida Department of Transportation spokesman once called the roadways in downtown Orlando “a bowl of spaghetti.”
“An influx of summertime tourists who are unfamiliar with the roads make driving in the place where dreams come true something more of a nightmare,” the report noted. “In the touristy areas, visitors are constantly staring or snapping photos instead of watching the road, causing 21 percent more hard-braking events than the national average, according to Allstate’s best drivers report.”
TAMPA: HOME TO CUBAN CIGARS AND PRICEY PREMIUMS
While the torcedores roll cigars in Ybor City, drivers roll stop signs everywhere in Tampa. Congested highways play a part in Tampa’s high insurance premiums and double-digit driving fatality rate per 100,000.
“Each year, Tampa motorists pay $3,459 to insure their vehicles — the fifth-highest amount among all 50 cities studied,” the rankings noted. “It’s no surprise, then, that 1 in 5 Tampa drivers (20 percent) are uninsured.”
