Tampa Bay Traffic Trends Monday Through Friday

What's are the Tampa Bay traffic trends as we make our way through the work week?

A couple of things will happen soon that should make Tampa Bay area traffic improve. First, the snowbirds are on their way out. They generally leave Florida around late April and early May. This should clear the roadways somewhat as we see less tourist drivers heading out for early bird specials and enjoying attractions and leisure activities around the bay area. The second turning point will happen at the end of May once school is out. We won’t see school bus stops and carline overflow onto the road and the general traffic business that comes at school drop-off and pick up times.

The Tampa Bay area with more people moving to the beautiful Sunshine State. We’ll get a little reprieve during the summer months. But I observe some general traffic trends that happen Monday through Friday as far as commuter traffic goes. What trends do you see?

These are very touchy-feel observations, but I chat with our Traffic reporter, Pat George, and he sees some of these trends, as well.

Is it just another Manic Monday for drivers around Tampa Bay? Not exactly. It’s not a Monday-Rush-Back-To-Work crowd on the highways. I find that traffic is lighter earlier and gets heavier as the day goes along. Maybe people are a little tired after the weekend and just starting a tick later and a little sluggish on Mondays. On Tuesdays, drivers are in a productive mindset. They hit the roads a little earlier and hit the ground running. Wednesday traffic is somewhere in between Monday and Tuesday. Thursdays are a completely different story. Drivers seem to be in a hurry. And it feels like the most congested day of the week. While some people might take a Monday or a Friday off, Thursday appears to be the day that no one is off work. At least around the Tampa Bay area, Thursday is the day where more accidents happen.

Weekend, here we come. Are drivers speeding into the weekend? Yes and no. I notice that traffic is usually light on Friday. More commuters work from home on Friday or take it off completely. But there’s a problem. It’s a mix of drivers. You’ve got your Friday lollygaggers and your speed demon crazies. It’s a dangerous driving day because these two groups don’t play nice. You’ve got crazies passing the lollygaggers in the right lane.

Bottom line, whatever day of the week you drive, be careful. And though traffic around the Tampa Bay area feels crazy, it could be worse. Ever drive on a highway in South Florida? It’s like the Autobahn. What Tampa Bay traffic trends have you observed.

We all know how bad the traffic is here in Florida.Whether it's a biker weaving through traffic on the 275 or some nutjob riding the shoulder at rush hour blowing past emergency vehicles at 95. It’s confirmed, Florida has 6 of the deadliest counties for traffic fatalities in the United States.

A new report was recently released by ConvoyCarShipping.com listing the deadliest counties for traffic fatalities in the United States. The report says the team “sought out the U.S. counties with the highest rate of traffic fatalities between 2017 and 2022 using data from the Fatalities Analysis Reporting System (FARS).” And, is based on the Forbes Advisor ranking for the cities with the worst drivers. 

Out of the top 20 counties in the country, Florida claims 6 spots which is more than any other state in the US. With one person killed in a car accident every 12 minutes, there are about 40,000 deaths per year involving traffic incidents throughout the country.

Convoy split the deadliest counties into 4 different categories. They focused on population sizes of (0-19,999), (20,000-149,999), (150,000-499,999), and (500,000+). For the purposes of our list, we’re highlighting the 6 counties within the highest category of 500,000+.

Not only did they find the deadliest counties for traffic in the United States, but Convoy also included the deadliest major US highway or interstate within each county during the five-year period. Just a few weeks ago, we shared a Forbes list of the cities with the worst drivers in the country and once again, Florida cities made the cut.

Earlier this year, there was a fatal accident on East Bay with two people dying. A man was driving through Largo, Florida at 92 miles per hour when he struck a vehicle in the intersection killing the two passengers in the car he hit. 

Drivers have gotten so bad around Tampa Bay that law enforcement has started to use completely unmarked vehicles. The Mustang GT, Toyota Camry, Toyota Rav 4, and more everyday civilian vehicles are being used to blend in to catch dangerous drivers.

Volusia County was the 1st overall deadliest county in the U.S. For traffic fatalities.

Population Size: 579,192

Total Number of Fatalities from 2017-2021: 648

Rate of Traffic Fatalities per 10,000 People: 11.19

Deadliest Road In County: US-1

Number of fatalities on the deadliest road from 2017-2021: 82

Polk County was the 4th overall deadliest county in the U.S. For traffic fatalities.

Population Size: 787,404

Total Number of Fatalities from 2017-2021: 675

Rate of Traffic Fatalities per 10,000 People: 8.57

Deadliest Road In County: US-27 & SR-60

Number of fatalities on the deadliest road from 2017-2021: 70

Pasco County was the 5th overall deadliest county in the U.S. For traffic fatalities.

Population Size: 608,794

Total Number of Fatalities from 2017-2021: 515

Rate of Traffic Fatalities per 10,000 People: 8.46

Deadliest Road In County: US-19

Number of fatalities on the deadliest road from 2017-2021: 112

Duval County was the 6th overall deadliest county in the U.S. For traffic fatalities.

Population Size: 1,016,536

Total Number of Fatalities from 2017-2021: 830

Rate of Traffic Fatalities per 10,000 People: 8.16

Deadliest Road In County: US-90

Number of fatalities on the deadliest road from 2017-2021: 91

Hillsborough County was the 16th overall deadliest county in the U.S. For traffic fatalities.

Population Size: 1,513,301

Total Number of Fatalities from 2017-2021: 1,069

Rate of Traffic Fatalities per 10,000 People: 7.06

Deadliest Road In County: US-41

Number of fatalities on the deadliest road from 2017-2021: 101

Pasco County was the 5th overall deadliest county in the U.S. For traffic fatalities.

Population Size: 630,693

Total Number of Fatalities from 2017-2021: 435

Rate of Traffic Fatalities per 10,000 People: 6.9

Deadliest Road In County: US-1

Number of fatalities on the deadliest road from 2017-2021: 96