Florida Traffic Law

There is a Florida Statute that penalizes you for simply possessing a handcuff key. It is found in section 843.021, Florida Statutes, and is titled, "Unlawful possession of a concealed handcuff key." I'm writing this post because this is the kind of "slow creep" law that the government produces without anyone noticing. Yet year over year they add up making more and more unwitting individuals criminals. This law prohibits the following behavior: Any person who possesses a concealed handcuff key commits a felony of the third degree, punishable by a $5,000 fine and/or 5 years in prison. Notice that the "title" and the "prohibited behavior" of the law says that there an unlawful way to possess a handcuff key when you conceal it. At least that is what I take from it. Luckily, the creators of this crime have included some definitions that cannot be overlooked (but usually are - mainly by law enforcement). The first definition is the “In custo...

I started this post thinking that it should be relatively easy to explain when you can use the HOV lane in Florida. Instead, I have come away more frustrated with the law, lawyers, legislators, and any big government advocate out there. This is a classic example of bureaucratic "___________" (input word here). How Would You Write The HOV Law? Before we get into the baloney of how the Florida legislature wrote the HOV law, let's imagine that we wrote it or just imagine how you think it was written. With a little thought we would come up with something like: HOV means High Occupancy Vehicle and that type vehicle can be any vehicle that has a driver and at least one passenger. HOV Lane means a lane designated for use by an HOV. A designated HOV lane requires that any vehicle driven in that lane have at least 2 people in that vehicle. If there is only one person in the vehicle while driving in an HOV lane that person is breaking the law and if caught shall be issued...