General Advice on Driving in Florida

[rogerdunnaker]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Dads_Taxi
Just to clarify, Blott means that UK cards don't work for "Pay At Pump". Obviously you can pay for your gas with UK cards inside the gas station.

Also to clarify, there are some unmanned toll booths which ONLY take coins, 75c I think, hence the need for Quarters. For some reason, people seem to think that throwing a dollar bill in the coin-bucket will work. It doesn't.

Lastly, good tip here -quite often the petrol pump, er, gas pump, will not work until you lift up a pointless lever on the pump. I have no idea what this used to do in the olden days, but in the 21st Century of microprocessors I'm fairly certain this lever could now be superceded. However MANY pumps still require you to lift it before you can get your gas.


UK credit cards do work in some stations, if the pump asks for the zip code registered to the card you will have to pay inside, however, if it doesn't ask for the zip code the pump will take your payment without the need to go inside.

The station on H27 on Polo Park does not require you to pay inside, the pump will accept your UK credit card.
And Lastly (again), when you have filled your car with gas, remember to get in the driver's side of the car, not the passenger side, to avoid embarrassment. This comes from personal experience.
[/quote]

[SandraBulmer]

Don't forget it is a legal requirement to carry your driving licence when driving in case you are stopped by police.

We are in Orlando at the moment and have seen an increase in police pulling vehicles over, so would also advise observing speed limits.

Sandra

[Clare R]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by SandraBulmer
Don't forget it is a legal requirement to carry your driving licence when driving in case you are stopped by police.

[/quote]

also the car rental documents and any insurance paperwork

[Pookie]

Also come to a <s>full</s> stop at the Stop signs.........

These stop signs are not for slowing down and cruising through as we do here in UK with roundabouts.

At a 4 way stop sign the first person to arrive is the first person to go and so on, so forth.

Lynne

[SeanT]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Pookie
Also come to a <s>full</s> stop at the Stop signs.........

These stop signs are not for slowing down and cruising through as we do here in UK with roundabouts.

At a 4 way stop sign the first person to arrive is the first person to go and so on, so forth.

Lynne
[/quote]

very true, got stopped by the local cop on our first morning last year[msnembarrased], gave me a right telling off but let me off with a fine [clap]

[Clare R]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:[At a 4 way stop sign the first person to arrive is the first person to go and so on, so forth.[/quote]

And if two cars do arrive together it is the one to your right that has the right of way

[Sniff]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Pookie
Also come to a <s>full</s> stop at the Stop signs.........

These stop signs are not for slowing down and cruising through as we do here in UK with roundabouts.

At a 4 way stop sign the first person to arrive is the first person to go and so on, so forth.

Lynne
[/quote]
Actually the STOP signs in the USA are the same as the STOP signs in UK (and in many other countries). You must come to a halt. Roundabouts are something completely different of course, and there are a few of those in the USA.

Slightly off topic, where I live in Germany they have just discovered roundabouts, and maybe half a dozen have appeared in the past 2 or 3 years. But they don't quite understand them

They are built much too high in the middle, so you can't see any approaching vehicles. And watching the Germans use them is hilarious. In German the traffic priority is from the right, unless otherwise signposted, and they apply that rule also to roundabouts (wrongly, actually, but they are just using what they know). It's very disconcerting to see someone going round a roundabout actually stop to let someone else on [:O][:O]

[lafifille]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:[i]In German the traffic priority is from the right, unless otherwise signposted, and they apply that rule also to roundabouts (wrongly, actually, but they are just using what they know). It's very disconcerting to see someone going round a roundabout actually stop to let someone else on [:O][:O]
[/quote]

I almost crashed into an old lady who drove one of those small cars you drive without a license the other day: she got into the roundabout, then panicked when she saw a big truck arriving to her right and braked real hard, when the truck was actually already stopped, as it should.... I never anticipated that she would actually stop in the middle of the road and it's fortunate I had let enough distance between us, or I would have flattened her in such a tiny car! The truck driver kept telling her to go, but she wouldn't budge...[confused]
Last year I found myself facing another old lady in the same type of car in the roundabout: she said to me that since she was going to her left, she failed to see the point of going all the way around by turning right... [xx(]
I like old ladies, I just hate when they drive those awful cars [}]. And God knows we DO have enough roundabouts in France that they would know how to use them!

[Sniff]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by lafifille
Last year I found myself facing another old lady in the same type of car in the roundabout: she said to me that since she was going to her left, she failed to see the point of going all the way around by turning right... [xx(]
[/quote]
Haha, I love that one! Impeccable logic