Editor’s Note: We asked you to write about your personal experiences with driving on or avoiding I-95 in South Florida, and many of you responded. Thank you for writing, as always. Our selection of your letters is here.

I moved to Florida in 1985 to get away from the Long Island traffic. It was a dream come true to zoom around with very little interference. Fast forward to 2023, and traffic is terrible, especially on I-95.

You don’t need a Tesla to be a Left Lane Bandit (LLB). Many people go into the far left lane and stay there until they reach their exit. If they would move right except to pass, it would eliminate people switching lanes to get around LLB’s.

So many cars are on the roads that you wonder why cities and counties allow more development without more expressways.

The worst section of highway in South Florida is the Golden Glades Interchange. The turnpike funnels into one lane, eliminating any chance of a quick trip to Miami.

It’s very scary to be on I-95 with express toll lanes on the left, when your traffic lane completely stops, yet cars are going 85 mph in lanes five feet away. The highways themselves are great, but management of traffic is unsustainable.

South Florida is a beautiful place to live until you need to go get bagels or see a doctor or go to the beach or work.

W. Zane Morgan, Lake Worth Beach

A last resort

I won’t drive I-95 unless I’m forced into that situation.

I’ve been cut off the road for driving 60 mph. I’ve witnessed road rage, people tossing trash and motorcycles weaving between lanes while rarely seeing a state trooper. Roads such as East Sunrise Boulevard, where drivers race to beat the drawbridge, are just as bad, if not worse. A1A, with its blasting music, rage and speeding is disheartening.

Allowing right-on-red turns at stoplights was the worst. People will run over you at a “Walk” sign.

Richie Baptista, Fort Lauderdale

A lot scarier than COVID-19

Thank you for the opportunity to air my feelings about this madness. When COVID became a danger, I wore a mask and tried to be cautious, but I was more frightened of losing my life on I-95. I will go to all lengths to avoid that highway. When my husband, an excellent driver, is forced to use that highway with me, I feel like it may be the last time I see my family and home again.

Some specific problems are the insane people who change lanes repeatedly so they can go more than 80 mph. The northbound entrance to Woolbright Boulevard in Boynton Beach is frightening because cars are coming from both directions. The many lanes and merging make my heart palpitate.

Linda Halperin, Delray Beach

A NASCAR-like experience

I grew up in Lauderdale and now live in Massachusetts and winter here.

I avoid I-95 for many reasons. There should be a clear notification that it’s a NASCAR racetrack. There are no rules. Speed is king. Changing lanes requires one to risk life and limb due to race drivers traveling at 80 or 90 mph, passing on the right or left to position themselves to exit.

Heaven forbid you happen to be in their way. Worse, God help those with out-of-state license plates. That marks them as the enemy and therefore they must be passed no matter what.

How speeding drivers drive one-handed while signaling their disgust for everyone else on their speedway, with a never-ending one-finger salute, is beyond comprehension.

The good news is, at least if they are “saluting” they aren’t pointing a gun.

Lou Schippers, Ph.D., Duxbury, Mass.

Where are the troopers?

I steer clear of I-95. I live in Fort Lauderdale and drove to my teaching position in Coconut Grove from 2006 until my retirement in 2013. I entered I-95 southbound, every weekday at 5:40 a.m., at Sunrise Boulevard.

On my journey south, I would invariably encounter vehicles with broken windshields, no side mirrors or missing license tags with people or animals in the rear of pickup trucks and trucks or cars overloaded with furniture or construction materials, and no warning flags (Florida may need a vigorously enforced vehicle inspection program). Drivers and motorcyclists would dangerously exceed posted limits, with no evidence of the Florida Highway Patrol. On my way home, I would see the same dangerous magnified as traffic was significantly heavier.

During this time, express lanes or “Lexus lanes” became popular. I did not use them, but I frequently saw drivers disregard the plastic pole dividers and move from general purpose lanes to express lanes, again with no FHP troopers visible. I recall the Sun Sentinel has carried in-depth articles on the lack of FHP surveillance. It seems as if FHP has given up on enforcement.

I now avoid I-95 at all costs. On a rare trip to Miami or Palm Beach, U.S. 1 or A1A are viable options. It takes longer, but my peace of mind is more important now that I’m retired and have more leisure time.

Donald B. Bittler, Fort Lauderdale

More police needed

I travel this highway every morning from Woolbright Boulevard to PGA Boulevard. There are always racers who weave in and out of lanes nearly hitting cars that get in their way. I’ve learned who’s in the unmarked Dodge Chargers, but we need many more (police) to stop the dangerous drivers going more than 90 mph.

Charles Mochan, Boynton Beach

Slow down out there

I travel I-95 all the time and want to know why the Florida Highway Patrol is not out there giving speeding tickets. The speed limit is 65 mph and everyone is going 80, and making the lanes narrower makes it more dangerous.

I’m a retired Pompano Beach firefighter and was out there all the time on accidents caused by speed. You don’t have enough time to react when you are doing 80. We need to slow people down.

Joe Brooks, Pompano Beach

Seeking alternate routes

I’m 75 and retired and used to travel I-95 as a snowbird from Delaware to my winter home in Fort Lauderdale (I live here permanently now). I used to be not too intimidated, but now I avoid I-95 if at all possible. If an alternate route is available, I’ll seek it. Road rage is out of control. Who wants to have their vehicle shot at, or seriously injured or die just trying to get from one point to another?

Distracted drivers, mostly texting, are the rule, not the exception, not just on I-95 but everywhere in South Florida. Crazy drivers, speeding, changing lanes and weaving in and out of traffic, is a safety hazard — just to get a few cars ahead while putting sane drivers in danger.

Congestion, frequent slow downs or full stops due to accidents and construction work heightens the stress of driving I-95. Florida does not invest enough in law enforcement surveillance to improve safety on I-95. You can drive for miles and miles and FHP is nowhere to be seen.

Benjamin H. Miller, Fort Lauderdale

No accountability

I drove I-95 the length of Broward for 17 years and I still drive on it occasionally.

The stupidity of fellow drivers is well-documented. We witness racing, tailgating, texting, talking on the phone; bikes shearing off our side mirrors, weaving in and out; and enraged drivers looking to shoot people for any reason (or not).

We can rant all we want, but until drivers are held accountable by closed circuit TV, there’s no answer.

Suzi Daines, Deerfield Beach

Proudly car-free

I sure do (avoid 95), because I have no choice. Cyclists are not allowed on interstates. I have been voluntarily car-free for more than 30 years.

I do not envy motorists and their stressful, noisy, sedentary, expensive, polluting mode of transport. I prefer the safety of transit and the fitness of daily cycling. As a family doctor, I encourage my patients to do the same.

As for fixing dangerous I-95, the solution is simple and free: Return to a maximum speed limit of 55. This would not only save dozens of lives a year but much fuel, along with reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that go with combustion. Another suggestion that won’t cost much: Increasing service on the adjacent Tri-Rail line to offer people an alternative to the daily madness.

Thomas Demarco, M.D., Plantation