Florida Traffic Law

The new website is up! https://ejdirga.com. I will be using that site and blogging from there only about record expungements. I will continue to use this site to post about Florida Traffic Laws and Issues.

The Dash-Cam as an Answer to Everything When you receive a ticket that you are positive the police issued to you in error or you are in an accident that you are ticketed for but you think wrongly - you think "Dash Cam." The idea of the dash-cam usually passes through your mind after-the-fact. These little devices can be valuable since they can create evidence that can easily be introduced in court for your defense. Shortcomings and Longcomings of the Dash-Cam The problem with the dash-cam is two-fold. First, many people who get a dash-cam place it facing forward on their front windshield. This gives them a great forward but limited view. You may want to buy another dash-cam for the rear window. One thing you do not want to do is pull out a camera and start recording law enforcement after you have been stopped. Most Officers don't care about dash-cam recordings. They respect your ability to protect yourself and to prove them wrong (if they were wrong). However, wh...

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...

What Happens If SB488 and SB1612 Becomes Law Eric Dirga is an attorney in Orlando practicing criminal record expungement and sealing law. You can contact him at 407-841-5555 or email him at ejdirga@ejdirga.com. A proposed amendment to Florida's Record Sealing and Record Expungement law may mean that you will be able to expunge multiple cases. If the proposed amendment becomes law the effective date will be October 15, 2015. Sounds good but there are some changes that are not so good: For judicial expungement and non-judicial sealings you will have to wait 1-year after your case is closed (supervision ended) before you can start. AND THE BIG ONE: From the end of your case you want judicially expunged or non-judicial sealed to the day you apply for relief you cannot have been charged or arrested for any other offense. The Big One The Big One means if you have an old case you want sealed or expunged that is eligible under the current law but will be ineligible und...

Passing other vehicles while driving occurs every day. We do it or have it done to us each time we drive. This is a breakdown of this seemingly benign law. Keeping The Peace For whatever reason it seems that there are always people that want to go faster than you. You can be going less than the speed limit, the speed limit, or more than the speed limit and still someone has to get where ever it is they are going sooner than your driving rate will allow. Sometimes these people get upset or maybe it is just the way they drive. They tailgate you (prohibited under s.316.0895), driving seemingly only several inches from your rear bumper, or when they do pass they return to the lane you are in and come within inches of clipping the front end of your car. My solution is to put some sticker on the back end of your vehicle that will give the reader pause and think you just may be crazy but that won't work on the real crazies. All you can do is drive defensively. The Correct Wa...

 Biking is Fun Biking is a pretty popular sport. Everyone likes to bike except maybe people who like to fish - off a pier - in a chair - with a bucket next to them. I never got into fishing but I do bike. Don't have to be a pro to like biking I just like to recreational bike. You know, on the bike trails that seem to be everywhere these days. I don't enter races or anything, I just like to get outside sometimes and bike. Bike Helmets Are To Protect Your Brain Most people who bike today wear bicycle helmets. That is quite a change from when I grew up. We all thought bike helmets made you look dorky, and let's face it - they do. Today we know that a bike helmet can mean the difference between a minor fall and a major accident. So when I bike I always take my helmet. Brains Are To Protect You When I bike I also take my brain with me. I don't leave my cognitive reasoning in the closet when I bike. I use it to make my biking more fun, safe, and enjoyable. ...

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...

By now we are all aware of Red Light Cameras. They were implemented under the guise of "Safety." We have heard about them, we have seen them, and some of us have been caught by them. It, like most politics of today, has divided us. You have the people that are protesting with signs against them and you have the opinion letter writers posting their thoughts for them in local papers. The question isn't whether they are effective - they are, to the tune of millions of dollars being sucked out of our local economies and being sent to companies located in New York or Arizona. The real question is why they are so effective. Do That Many People Really Run Red Lights With the astronomical revenue being generated by Red Light Cameras it is easy to protest and easy to applaud them. The protesters see the cameras as governmental hands reaching into our pockets and taking our money. The pro-camera types look at the numbers generated and think everyone of those cited deserve it...

Florida has several toll roads that just about every resident must use at some point in their life. The problem is that nothing is as it seems with tolls. There is NO $100 Fine for a Toll Violation Before you enter just about any toll booth you will see a sign that states there is a $100 fine for violating the toll. That is a lie. Maybe in some corner of an obscure statute it says that the fine is $100 but that is never what you face if you are cited for running a toll. Just as a refresher - if your vehicle registration address is correct or, if you are a SunPass or E-Pass account holder, your account address is up to date then if you run a toll you will: First receive a notice saying you ran a toll and ask for the toll amount plus a small administrative fee. If that is not paid you will receive another notice asking for the toll amount (e.g., $1.25) plus $25. Finally, if that is not paid a citation for $262 will be issued (not $100). Having an Account With SunPass or E-Pas...

If you get a ticket or are charged with a crime you may, at your leisure, decide to look up what it is you are charged with and maybe even try to find out what the penalty could be. If you have done this you probably gave up in frustration. Don't feel bad - Lawyers often feel the same way. As an example, I recently had a client charged with a traffic violation that carried with it a $1000 fine. At first blush you might think my client was charged with speeding in a school zone at the Holy Nun Academy or worse. That's a huge fine! Unfortunately, for my client, all he did was have a screw come loose on his License Plate tag holder on his motorcycle. Yes, it is a $1000 fine for placing a tag on a motorcycle that makes it hard to read, but enough about that. I wanted to find out where this fine amount was located in the statutes. There are several ways to access the online statutes. I like the senate's access because I know where the search feature is there ( http:/...

Section 316.126 of the Florida Statutes is home to what is now called the "Mover Over Law." We should know it to mean we need to vacate the lane closest to a pulled over police car that has its lights on. Actually, it means a bit more than that. Hopefully, I can help elucidate everything the statute means. Pull Over When An Emergency Vehicle Approaches The first part of the statute refers to what we already think we know. When an emergency vehicle approaches with either lights or sirens on we must pull to the curb and allow the emergency vehicle to pass. Here are what emergency vehicles are that require this action: Vehicles of the fire department (fire patrol), police vehicles, and such ambulances and emergency vehicles of municipal departments, public service corporations operated by private corporations, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Health, the Department of Transportation, and the Depa...

This post deals with the Red Light Camera statute, s. 316.0083, Fla. Stat., better known as the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Program Act. Mark Wandall was a victim of a red light runner. His tragic story has since been manipulated by our legislators and local representatives into a cash grab whereby safety is no longer the goal. In fact, safety has been completely overlooked and abandoned, evidenced by the discovery that yellow light times have been trimmed to dangerous levels in order to boost the profits from red light cameras. But I digress... One of the peculiarities of the statute is the decision to cite the first named owner on the registration of a vehicle when there are multiple owners. Since the driver of the car is never viewed by the cameras (a strange requirement of the law) it just puts blame on the owner of the vehicle. If there is more than one owner the first named gets cited. There is no explanation for why the statute does this except the argument by the state that i...

As of today, October 1, 2013, Florida has a new law in effect. It has been dubbed the "Florida Ban on Texting While Driving Law" and it starts out with "It is the intent of the legislature to[...]". This usually means there may be some wording that does not make sense or is ripe for legal challenge so when the judges who must decide the issue read the law they have some guidance as to what was meant. The legislature intends this law to "improve roadway safety for all vehicle operators, vehicle passengers, bicyclists, pedestrians, and other road users." In other words, everyone that comes in contact with a road or is in close proximity. It is also to "[p]revent crashes related to the act of text messaging while driving a motor vehicle" and "[r]educe injuries, deaths, property damage, healthcare costs, health insurance rates, and automobile insurance rates related to motor vehicle crashes." Don't hold your breath on those last parts...

Let's take a look at section 318.15 of the Florida Statutes. This section basically says that if a driver fails to either pay the ticket (bad), elect driving school (good), or challenge the ticket within thirty days of receipt of the citation the Clerk shall notify the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles [Department] within 10 days of such failure. Immediately after that notification the Department will issue a suspension notice to the driver that takes effect 20 days after the date of the letter. Additionally, if the driver fails to appear at a scheduled hearing the Clerk will notify the Department with the same result. What we are talking about here is the letter that people receive telling them that "Hey! Guess what - your license is suspended effective on blah, blah date! Have a great day!" What the letter fails to state clearly is that there are options to the driver to "repair" the situation. But hey, the silver lining is that they noticed yo...

Lately, there has been some push-back on red light cameras in Florida. Two high ranking legislators want Florida to join 13 other states that ban camera enforcement. This comes after a Tampa Television News channel discovered that the state had, without comment, sneakily reduced the yellow light times to the minimum allowed by a new modified law. (See Noah Pransky).  Well get ready. These camera companies are about to out spend everyone to convince legislators to keep the cameras. They call it "educating" the representatives. It is actually large donations to re-election campaign funds.  The stronger the resistance the stronger the municipalities will argue for the cameras to stay. Why not - they are making millions. That would not be so bad if the municipalities were in business. They aren't - they represent us. Apparently, they believe we want them to pick our pockets.  90% of red light cameras come from cars that miss the light by less than half a second. A fraction...

Is it any wonder that people do not trust government. We pass laws against texting because it distracts drivers while at the same time government erects hundreds of electronic signs that they want us to read as we drive so we can go look for a "Silver Alert" vehicle. When it comes to Toll Violations we are told, by a sign before each toll both, that the fine for violating the toll is $100.  I have yet to see a toll ticket that can be paid with $100. The one dollar toll ends up always being over $200 when it becomes a ticket. Not only is it deceitful it is also frustrating. Toll Violation tickets can end up costing people over $300 when the Clerk sends the ticket off to collections. There seems to be no grace-period either. The clerks send all tickets now-a-days immediately to collections upon it becoming late. I sure would like to know whose relative on the county commission got the gig with collections for the court. Pure robbery of the citizenry there. Anyhoo, the way...

Have you ever driven past a toll and seen the big green sign indicating that the fine is $100 if you don't pay? If you have ever received a toll ticket you know that the sign is an outright lie. Most Toll Tickets Are Well Over $200! Most toll tickets are well over $200 when you receive them. Does that mean you have to pay all that money? Absolutely not. The Law Allows For Many Ways To Reduce Your Toll Ticket The law provides many ways to have a toll ticket reduced. Unfortunately most of those options require that you act within 30 days after the issuance of the ticket. That is not as easy as it sounds. Most people find out about a toll ticket only when the Department notices them of a pending drivers license suspension, well past the 30 days. We Can Also Challenge The Amount At A Hearing You can still challenge a toll ticket if it is past the 30 day time limit so long as your license has not yet gone into suspension. Additionally, even if your license has gone into susp...

I unfortunately cannot answer all questions regarding Red Light Camera questions over the phone. Instead I'll ask everyone to ask the questions below in the comments' section. This way those with similar questions may find their question already answered.  Thank you.

March 4, 2013 I have been fighting red light camera tickets since 2010. Over the last two years it has become clear that there some very disturbing things going on with the red light camera cases and specifically the companies that have installed them. Before I go too far into this post I want to make sure my position is clear. Running red lights is one of the most hazardous things a person can do. The main cause for running a red light is speed - not texting or any other politically correct target of the day - it is speed. When a person drives over the speed limit they all think the amber light has been shortened to accommodate more camera tickets. It's not the time of the amber, it is the speed of the vehicle. Additionally, the cities and counties that are fighting to push these tickets through are just trying to do what is right, what they believe is their job to do. They are doing nothing wrong in the prosecution of these cases. However, they need to start looking at w...

Year In Review, Looking Forward December 31, 2012 Red Light Cameras The Red Light Camera debacle continues in the state of Florida. Spurned on by greed (not "safety") the law is full of problems. Unfortunately, in our society it is money that sways justice rather than justice itself. The noble cause of freedom has long ago disappeared from the minds of our elected "representatives" (joke). The Red Light Camera contracts that were signed before any state law was enacted were based on the idea that a single municipality could derive revenue by creating it's own traffic laws within it's boundaries. The Fifth District Court of Appeal rightfully struck down this tack by the cities as being in violation of the "uniform" traffic law requirement. This reasoned decision was not enough for the cities that had jumped the gun with the implementation of the red light cameras. They have now asked the Florida Supreme Court to review the Fifth District...