Florida Traffic Law

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...

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...

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...

There is a new crack down going on in Orange County! It is the failure to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk law ( s. 316.130 F.S. ) and local law enforcement is watching for it! Actually, They are doing a bit more... Actually, they are setting you up. They have a plain clothes police officer standing at the ready to step out into the crosswalk as you approach. Once you are close, the undercover cop steps out and a marked unit is ready to pull you over if you do not hit your brakes. Why is this happening... Central Florida has the reputation of the most dangerous streets for pedestrians and the local governments have made it a priority to do something about it. Well, this is what they have come up with.  Is it entrapment? "But for" the actions of the plain clothes police officer the infraction would not have occurred - right? The Cost The fine for this ticket is $166. It is considered a moving violation and points will be assessed if you just pay the fine.

Orlando's "Stops" program. A Red Light Camera program still using unauthorized signage. Red Light Cameras are here to stay. If you don't like that it's too bad - get use to them. There is way too much money coming from them (because people continue to run them) for any municipality to give them up. Upset, disgusted, mad? Good. Now let's talk about fixing the problems faced by the municipalities. When these Red Light Camera companies came to Florida to peddle their wares it was like a dream come true for the cities and towns under the budget crunch from the "great recession." The Red Light Camera companies came to them promising them millions so it was no surprise that the bureaucrats, politicians, and accountants looked past all the legalities straight to the bottom line. Before anyone thought to look towards consequences we had major cities contracting with these companies to throw up the first of many red light cameras.  All seemed well a...

A few weeks back a woman in her twenties was killed on Interstate 4. She had gotten into a minor accident in the early morning hours and tried to get to the side of the road. As she walked/ran to get to safety she was struck and killed by another vehicle traveling above the speed limit. Every morning the news reports accidents on I-4 and other roads throughout central Florida. Often the accidents involve deaths. Every time we drive on I-4 there is someone exceeding the speed limit, tailgating, cutting off another driver or any combination of those activities in their rush to get somewhere. Somewhere that is undoubtedly not important enough to risk other people's lives for.  This is the tragedy. Commuters know all too well the dangers involved while driving on I-4 yet some don't care. Yes, the on ramps are not particularly well designed, the amount of vehicle traffic has increased, and the road needs to be resurfaced. However, most everyone that drives on I-4 knows this. Dai...