Florida car insurance

Hi,
We are moving to Florida. That is a whole other topic, but right now I want to comment on the cost of car insurance in the state of Florida. It is insane. Why? Because this state has the highest occurrence of accidents in the USA according to our insurance agent....and he should know.

I have an explanation for this phenomenon. It is called drug abuse. Not by the kids you are thinking of, it's the elderly that are to blame. They are all on meds, loads of meds. Heart meds, blood pressure meds, sleeping pills, cancer drugs, diabetic assisters, pain controllers, anti-inflamatories.... They pop pills for everything and anything, and then they get behind the wheel of a car. Asked to pee into a cup and have their system tested, they would flunk the interview in a heart beat, lose their job or get fined by the NBA for doping. Hell on wheels takes on a whole new meaning in this state.

As we age, and the lucky ones of us do get to do this trick, we lose some of our fine motor skills and reaction time. Add in modern pharmacology to this mix and there is no wonder the auto body industry in Florida makes a small fortune. It's bad enough that the state never makes you renew your license at any age. You can't tell me that someone who got their drivers license 65 years ago, and hasn't taken a driving course since then, knows all the new rules of the road that have occurred and been added to the books. When they learned to drive, people were sticking their hands outside the window to signal a turn. Turn signals are a new-fangled item to this generation. Add in a radio, GPS, On-Star, automatic sensing windshield wipers and you know you are going to get one distracted driver. Now make it dark outside with on-coming head light glare and add in too many digitalis candies and what have you got? BANG!

'Officer, I'm so sorry, I didn't see the fire hydrant. It wasn't there yesterday.'

If you take more than three different prescription medications a day you should have to take a drug test to see if you are really legal to man a vehicle. In Ontario, you have to take your drivers test at 80 years old and again every two years to prove you understand the rules of the road, have decent visual capability and can manage a car in motion. I'm not sure why we wait until people are 80. I know plenty of 60 year olds who wouldn't pass these tests right now. My solution would be to make mandatory driving tests every ten years from 20 to 60 years of age, every five years from 60 to 80 and every year after that. Think of the industry boom to the 'learn to drive' instructors. My guess is that the insurance rates in Florida would go down in a big hurry.

GM can't make the self-driving car available fast enough for my money. Sign me up for one before I sink into this quagmire of Mr. Magoo drivers.

Xox
M