Driving to Key West

[AZDude]

In less then two weeks, I will be taking a drive to Key West, Florida.  I plan on spending two nights in the Miami area.  The first night will be for when I first arrive there.  The second night is so that I have a place to stay while I drive back from Key West. 

Anyway, A co-worker of mine had informed me of a very disturbing thing.  He told me about criminals that rear end tourists (i.e. out of state drivers) while stopped in traffic, and when the driver gets out to inspect the damage, the crooks will take their chance and mugg the usnsupecting tourist.  He told me that its so common that rental cars from the Miami area are unmarked, meaning they are not marked as fleet vehicles.  I've found some info on this online as well.

Does anyone here have any insight on this?  How much truth there is to this? Tips?  What to do if I do get rear ended down there?  I'm going to put my video camera on the rear package tray of my car and face it to the rear so that it can record what goes on during my drive (I've done this before).

[SP Cook]

Don't live in fear.

[corco]

What SP Cook said.

Not marking rental cars as such is just common sense- all tourists everywhere are a little bit more subject to muggings and crimes than locals, but that's not a good reason to worry about it.

I'd bet a significant amount you're more likely to get mugged in Miami than you are in Key West, but the odds of it are really small in either place.

It sounds like a really, really stupid crime to try to commit, too, so I can't possibly believe it happens very often. If you're stuck in traffic, there's going to be a ton of witnesses and there won't really be anywhere for the mugger to go once he rear ends you, plus his car is right there and unless it's a stolen car the car has the criminal or somebody who knows the criminal's information. I would be more worried about getting pick-pocketed while walking down the street, quite frankly.

So use common sense. If you get rear ended (and it won't be a car-totalling collision. The criminal is not going to wreck a $20,000 car to get $100 out of your wallet, even if it is a stolen car), get out to check the damage somewhere where there are people watching (this is good practice anyway- if the person who hit you thinks it was your fault and wants to be hostile, it's good not to be alone with them). A mugger would have to have huge cajones to mug you in front of a crowd of people. That's highly unlikely to happen. If you're really paranoid, call the police before you get out of the car.

Frankly, the whole story doesn't pass the smell test because it doesn't make any sense for a criminal to do that, so I wouldn't be horribly worried.  

[AZDude]

Thank you guys.  Corco, you make excellent points, and I appreceate your input.  SP Cook, I like your moto. 

I'm still going to go and I'm still going to set up my camera since I do it anyway.

[Truvelo]

There's a busy intersection near me with about four lanes of traffic waiting at lights which gets backed up during the rush hour. It's been on the local news a few times where people on foot will prey on lone female drivers stuck in traffic and open the passenger door to steal their handbag off the seat. If the door is locked they may use small stones or grit to smash the window and grab the bag. The robber will then run off with the bag leaving the driver in shock. It's become so bad in some areas it has its own name "jamming". Just like "frosting" where people leave their car running outside their house in winter to warm the engine and defrost the windows. A low life piece of excrement will spot the empty car with its engine running and drive off in it and insurance companies will often refuse to pay out because the owner left the keys in the car.

As others have said the problem of car crime isn't as bad as the media make it out to be. In both the examples I've given, the owner/driver is partly to blame. Never leave hangbags on show and never leave your car unattended with the keys in it.

[Sykotyk]

Yeah, it doesn't pass the smell test.

It is true that rental car companies in Florida had in the past decided to stop (either by law, or by common sense) to stop marking their rental cars as rentals. A tourist is always an easier target than a local. They're unfamiliar with the area (harder for them to summon help, retell the events of the heist, also allowing them to accidentally venture into high crime areas without knowing it) they tend to carry more cash/valuables than a local (they are on vacation, so credit cards and cash are abundant), not the most vigilant (they're more worried where they're headed, keeping look out for signs, stores, buildings, exits, start times, etc) and they're extremely unlikely to have ever seen the assailant before, as opposed to someone local.

But, that happens everywhere that tourists swarm.

[Ace10]

They better not think of mugging me! Recently my boyfriend and I took a trip from Orlando to Biloxi using a rental - rental had regular plates from Escambia county. You couldn't tell it was a rental, but if someone decided to mug us, they'd know quickly that they were actually dealing with locals!

I have driven a lot through Miami, but I stuck mostly to the toll roads and US-1 from Homestead down to Key Largo and into Key West. Sure, some parts of Miami, Hialeah, and surrounding areas look a little, er, ghetto, but use your common sense, watch out for things as usual, and you should be fine.

[realjd]

I visit the Keys 3 or 4 times a year, and have spent a good amount of time in Miami. There were a few instances of the rear-end mugging that you described (including one guy who was shot when he didn't stop), but that hasn't happened since the 80's. The government cracked down HARD on tourist crime and the city's reputation as dangerous for a tourist hasn't been deserved since the late 80's. I've never, not even once, felt unsafe anywhere that I've gone in Miami.

Have you ever had Cuban food? Go check out a restaurant called Versailles on SW 8th in Little Havana. It's incredible.

[florida]

This might not be a great statistic, but the few times I've driven around Miami (Hialeah, Gardens, Opa-Locka, Kendall), I've never seen or had any of that happen to me.

[realjd]

This might not be a great statistic, but the few times I've driven around Miami (Hialeah, Gardens, Opa-Locka, Kendall), I've never seen or had any of that happen to me.

If you've made it through Opa-Locka with no problems, I think that alone shows Miami isn't that bad!

[AZDude]

Thank you all for your help. 
How is the city of Dania Beach?  That's where I'll be spending the night(s).

[florida]

Thank you all for your help. 
How is the city of Dania Beach?  That's where I'll be spending the night(s).

Dania Beach abuts Hollywood, which is a nicer area along the coast. US 1 south of Hollywood has been spruced up with streetscaping, but I'm unsure if the same has been done north of Hollywood (yet would assume it has been). There shouldn't really be any issues in that area, especially if you're staying on A1A.

If you've made it through Opa-Locka with no problems, I think that alone shows Miami isn't that bad!

It was only around the airport (where SR 953 & 916 intersect), heh, but still the general area.

[AZDude]

Well, you guys I made it there and back with no problems.  Miami is a nice city.  The drive on US 1 at night is a ride to remember, absolutely beautiful.  Anyway, didn't get rear ended, which is good.  And overall, I had fun.

[florida]

Well, you guys I made it there and back with no problems.  Miami is a nice city.  The drive on US 1 at night is a ride to remember, absolutely beautiful.  Anyway, didn't get rear ended, which is good.  And overall, I had fun.

That's good to hear! Where did you drive on US 1 at night?

[RoadWarrior56]

If you take the same route to Key West they used on "Drive, the TV series", you will enjoy a new eight+lane freeway with mountainous scenery all the way. 

[jwolfer]

In less then two weeks, I will be taking a drive to Key West, Florida.  I plan on spending two nights in the Miami area.  The first night will be for when I first arrive there.  The second night is so that I have a place to stay while I drive back from Key West. 

Anyway, A co-worker of mine had informed me of a very disturbing thing.  He told me about criminals that rear end tourists (i.e. out of state drivers) while stopped in traffic, and when the driver gets out to inspect the damage, the crooks will take their chance and mugg the usnsupecting tourist.  He told me that its so common that rental cars from the Miami area are unmarked, meaning they are not marked as fleet vehicles.  I've found some info on this online as well.

Does anyone here have any insight on this?  How much truth there is to this? Tips?  What to do if I do get rear ended down there?  I'm going to put my video camera on the rear package tray of my car and face it to the rear so that it can record what goes on during my drive (I've done this before).

Remember the band in the early 1990s Dead German Tourist... from the Ron and Ron Radio Show

[AZDude]

Well, you guys I made it there and back with no problems.  Miami is a nice city.  The drive on US 1 at night is a ride to remember, absolutely beautiful.  Anyway, didn't get rear ended, which is good.  And overall, I had fun.

That's good to hear! Where did you drive on US 1 at night?

Between Key West and where it becomes I-95.  Mainly referring to the part between Palm Drive and 17th Avenue.  Although it was a little late (9:00pm Florida Time), I actually felt safe being the lone Arizona car riding along with a many Florida cars.

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