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South Atlantic / Safety in Florida

« on: January 10, 2016, 02:29:45 pm »

I just wanted to give a heads up to anyone planning on riding through the panhandle of Florida.  A group of three of us cycling the Southern Tier route (west-east) found that almost immediately after arriving in Florida we had several close-calls with vehicles, and 6 miles east of Crestview, FL on route 90, our third cyclist riding in the back was hit by a truck.  Somehow, he's ok, but one of the scarier parts of the experience was that several people and police officers on the scene admitted to having hit cyclists.  There are bicyle lanes, but they're often nestled between lanes of traffic going straight and right turning lanes, and some drivers seemed not to notice us.  I just wanted to give a heads up to anyone planning on riding the route.  I recommend wearing a mirror, bright clothes, and a flag if you can.