By RICARDO LOPEZ

If The New York Times believes it’s necessary to present a workshop to student journalists on how to cover Miami safely that might be an indication that the city presents unique challenges.

Growing up in Las Vegas, I’m used to seeing some out-of-the-ordinary things. With so many strip joints, nightclubs and other less-than-wholesome venues of entertainment, little tends to shock me. But runaway alligators and bands of hobos who offer to fix flat tires?

Las Vegas may have met its match.

Panelists on the workshop, which was held on the first day of the 2009 New York Times Student Journalism Institute, advised against going downtown after dark and to be careful when driving. Miami drivers, they say, tend to drive recklessly while they chow down on lunch, text message and tweeze their eyebrows. After all, if you’re too busy giving yourself a pedicure as you speed down the highway, how can you possibly dodge the mattress that might fall off the truck in front of you? Falling objects on the highway is apparently not unusual.

After all, The Miami Herald had a story on the front page of its Saturday edition that thousands of shoes had been mysteriously tossed onto a major highway. The abandoned shoes tied up traffic before they were cleaned up. Imagine the excuse to your editor because you missed deadline: “I would have gotten back to the office sooner but…”

Aside from driving issues, the economic recession has led to increased crime and groups of homeless loitering under highway overpasses. Allan Richards, associate dean of the school of the journalism department at FIU, says a group of homeless people helped him change a flat tire. But he still warned to be careful.

To avoid standing out and being a potential crime victim, Jose Lopez and Lizette Alvarez, who both work for The New York Times, said you should try to dress for the setting. Depending on the neighborhood, I may be out of luck. Conduct is also important. Walk confidently and don’t look lost. Jose gave an extreme example of what he did to fit in when he covered the war in Bosnia. He grew a beard and didn’t shower at the suggestion of a photographer familiar with the country.

So while we’re not in a war zone, reporters should watch out for alligators, reckless drivers and hobos hanging out by the highway. Maybe I should have packed my Kevlar?