Florida road trip safety questions.

[Truvelo]

I had a film called Supaglass applied to my car. It stops someone from smashing the side or rear windows to gain entry to the car. Here's a video of it in action

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The only problem is the cost which is £600 (around US$900). However I am more confident about leaving stuff in the car, out of sight of course. This company seems to operate only in the UK although I suspect similar products are available in other countries. If you're fortunate enough to drive a Lexus they come with laminated side windows as standard so the extra film isn't needed.

[realjd]

I got a deal on renting a Ford Escape, but now I'm wondering if I should have because it doesn't have a lockable trunk for luggage. Are car break-ins at beaches, restaraunts, whatnot a problem or should I not live in fear?

During the day, it's pretty rare unless you leave a laptop or purse on the passenger seat or some other high value item. I've never had issues with my GPS or radar detector - both items that attract thieves. I wouldn't leave them at night parked outdoors though. But I can't imaging thieves really looking for luggage anyway.

[formulanone]

It's possible, but I think it depends on the mentality and resourcefulness of a thief in question. Basically, not leaving any reason to attract thieves helps...but some people will steal anything. I have been to shopping malls during the holiday season in which people seem to check car door handles to see if they're locked or not. One example was a middle-aged lady...I personally believe that there are people, given the opportunity to commit a "perfect crime", would do so if they could get away with it and not damage property nor cause physical harm to others.

I've had my car broken into twice in 20 years, the last in 1994. The first time was not in a great area, at night and unlit, but they stole my lighters, cassette tapes, road maps, and jumper cables...and left me with a smashed rear quarter-window; mysteriously leaving the radar detector and tape deck alone, which might have actually been worth something! The only thing left in view was a black container that held the cassette tapes, which was partially under my seat, but that might have been what captured the thief's interest.

The next break-in was at my workplace, where they stole my backpack - which I left on the passenger seat - instantly losing three textbooks, all my college notes for the semester, but yet again leaving the CD player (upgrade!) and radar detector (same one) in their place. The thief obviously didn't like my taste in music, as I used to carry about 30 CDs in their jewel cases in a box in behind the passenger seat...still, used CD stores were at their peak at this time (easy money). Got the company to defray the cost of loss and repairs by making us park out of sight, leveraged by the fact two managers and a few other employees had break-ins that afternoon. The notes were the worst loss of all, naturally. Probably caused by a disgruntled ex-employee.

[FLRoadsGuy]

Want a quick easy way to tell if a car registered in the state of Florida is a rental or not? Look at the license place. If the tag expires in June it means that either 1) the person who owns the car was born in June or most likely 2) It is owned by a business company. And the other thing to look for is a bar code sticker usually on the driver's side on the non-movable section of the window or the corner of the rear window.

[Mdcastle]

Well, I'm back home from the trip. Drove 1403 miles all in one state. Beautiful weather and no major problems.

[roadman65]

I have a question regarding US 1 in West Palm Beach.  Is the area around where US 1 changes alignments north of Downtown a safe area?  I noticed the same type of activity that is taking place in the Pine Hills and Parramore areas of Orlando and I do not want to be like many to automatically assume that all minority neighborhoods are trouble.  I have driven Miami plenty of times and felt safe and in Tampa as well I felt safe, but I do not know the area here. 

It seemed like it might be questionable and its always good to know for future reference.  Also, I am to assume that from Jupiter to Florida City, that US 1 is red light city meaning all urban or suburban with frequent signals timed independently.  I never clinched it totally through Miami, but I know from Jupiter to Hollywood it is all arterial  and being it was later on after the day rush, I could not see how the signals operated in peak times. 

[realjd]

You mean where it runs east/west for a few blocks? There appear to be a few newer antique shops, art galleries, and coffee shops in that area. I know that US1 does run through some bad areas in WPB, but that immediate area looks fine on Streetview at least. Now it may get bad a few blocks off of the highway, I don't know.

Regardless, as long as you stick to US1, you'll be fine even in the bad areas. At it's worst it will be like West Colonial in Orlando. Sketchy area, but safe to drive down as long as you don't go on any of the back roads.

[formulanone]

It's fine...if you're not actively looking for trouble, you won't find it.