Florida Traffic Law

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...

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...

The saga of Drew Dyer seems to have come to an end. Drew was cited for careless driving, a civil infraction with a fine of $166 . According to the Sentinel, Drew ran a stop sign, lost control of his car, and ran it into the side of a house at a speed great enough to cause $20,000 worth of damage. Then, he and his friend(s), after making contact with the home owner but before police arrived, fled the scene. I am now working on the "Drew Dyer Motion to Dismiss." All future "Leaving the Accident Scene" cases will be asking the court to dismiss the case or reduce to careless driving. I like Buddy Dyer. I think he has been a good mayor for Orlando. Much better than Glenda Hood. I don't blame him for influencing the outcome of this case. I think any parent would. However, law enforcement failed miserably. They caved under pressure and that just upsets me. In order for the people to respect law enforcement they have to see integrity in their ranks. This will do not...

Plywood covers damage to home. Apparently, Drew Dyer drove his Infinity into someone's house early Sunday morning . His father the mayor said "Teenage driving, I guess… It's every parent's nightmare," on Tuesday morning during a brief news conference where he said his son did everything right following the incident.  Orlando Police Chief Paul Rooney, the Chief of Orlando Police Department, responded to the scene after "spending the evening patrolling radio traffic and monitoring downtown crowds pouring out of clubs." Mayor Dyer said the Orlando Police Department's Police Chief, the number one top officer, that his presence was not special treatment for his son. Now let's look at the law. 316.061 Crashes involving damage to vehicle or property.— (1) The driver of any vehicle involved in a crash resulting only in damage to a vehicle or other property which is driven or attended by any person shall immediately stop such vehicle at the scene o...

Under Florida law a driver can have his or her driver's license suspended for a whole host of reasons. Some make sense, others do not. (See my webpage regarding reasons for the government to suspend your license ). Often times a driver has no idea their driving privileges have been suspended or revoked until he or she has been pulled over and is informed by law enforcement. (To check your driving privilege status go here . For questions and answers regarding suspended drivers licenses ). Prosecutors and Judges take suspended drivers licenses seriously The usual reason for a suspended drivers license is the driver has forgotten to make an election on a prior ticket. Once they are informed of the error by law enforcement they quickly fix the situation and reinstate their drivers license. In doing so, they forget about the "driving with a suspended license" ticket they just received. Before the driver knows it he or she is being pulled over again for the same exact thi...

The short answer is unfortunately "yes." The problem is that when you ask how you can "fix" this problem - and a 5-year suspension is a big problem for anyone - you will receive different answers from everyone you talk to.  Clerks are trained to not give out anything that could be construed as legal advice so often times they will tell you that you are stuck or to hire an attorney (best advice and not just because I am one). Worse, the DMV personnel will all tell you something different and nothing helpful. A five year suspension is typically issued because someone has been found guilty of three "Driving While License Suspended" [DWLS] citations within a five year period of time (subject to the DMV's "new math" determination). DWLS tickets are usually due to unpaid tickets (if you don't take care of a ticket you receive within 30 days the county clerk will suspend your drivers license). A 5-year suspension occurs because you just pay yo...

We have been fighting the Red Light Camera tickets here in Orlando, Florida, over the past year and we have been very successful.  When I write "we" I am referring to the 3-5 attorneys in this area that have made a concerted effort to defeat these citations. After repeated hearings and the attempts by the the municipalities to have their evidence conform to the rules it is slowly but surely becoming evident that the method of "conforming" to the rules may not be so genuine.  I'm referring here to the companies that install the red light cameras and must produce the evidence needed to prove the infraction (not the municipalities themselves). When theses companies have run up to an evidentiary obstacle in one case it seems as if they go back on all pending cases and try to "conform" their evidence to overcome the obstacle.  This has created some interesting results that, as of right now, we have not had to use against them.  It is going to be interesti...

Any one who has ever plead guilty to a minor criminal offense realizes the huge black mark that it makes in today's computer age. People today can just do a search for "background check" and find hundreds of private companies willing to take their money to provide them with a little information on someone they are curious about. Unfortunately, what people find when they search is just the cover of the book - they don't bother to understand the circumstances of the offense which can't be discerned from a brief glance of the public record.  They read "theft" and they think "thief" rather than teenager acting on a dare. Florida has passed a law that allows people to clear up one criminal offense that has been dismissed or had adjudication withheld. This seems trivial to prosecutors, who often times argue that it is legalized lying, but for the person with the black mark an expungement can make the difference between getting a job and being un...

I can remember as a kid going out to the closest "fly-by-night" insurance company and getting the bare minimum insurance coverage that would make my car legal.  Heck, I didn't have much money but I had a car and I wanted to drive it - and did I. For probably the first 4 years of my driving life I spent nearly 100% of my money on my car.  I had to make it sound better, run faster, jack it up, bigger tires, and on and on.  And this was on a Gremlin!  It was one of those weird, rare Gremlins that had a V8 sitting under the hood and for the first two gears (it was only a three speed) it was quite quick.  I, fortunately, decided my life was going no where and joined the Army before I could cause any damage on the road, and that was a very good thing.  Nearly thirty years later I look back and wonder how I ever made it out of my teen years.  There are lots of reasons for this bewilderment and the thing I want to focus on here is the fact that I was under-i...

Does the City of Orlando know what the law requires for Red Light Cameras? A look at the picture below would indicate to me that they do not. Orlando's signs are wrong.  Do you know why? Florida is required to have "uniform" traffic laws. That was the curse that brought down the red light cameras before the state passed a unifying law regarding the cameras. Uniformity requires that all laws regarding the red light cameras be the same throughout the state. This also includes the way in which these laws are enforced. Unfortunately, for Orlando, they have not caught up to that "uniformity" thing. Eric J Dirga

The City of Orlando likes to tout how red light cameras are all about safety.  Let's see how they define safety... http://www.cityoforlando.net/economic/codeenforcement/orlando_stops/numbers.htm . Apparently, safety is about money, or it is determined by the amount of money brought in.  Notice how they do not mention the number of accidents that occurred or if that amount has been reduced. This is how government fleeces our pockets under the guise of "safety." Eric J Dirga

Does this sign meet the correct specifications of the Florida DOT? Is this sign  not in conformity to the Florida Department of Transportation [DOT] specifications? According to the DOT, all red light camera signs that notify drivers of a red light camera at the oncoming intersection that permits right turns on red must have a sign located below the "Photo Enforced" sign that indicates "INCLUDES RIGHT TURN." Orlando started their "Orlando Stops" campaign before the independent Red Light Camera enforcement was declared unconstitutional.  After that the legislature created a new statute that made red light camera enforcement uniform statewide.  This statute had requirements on how the cameras should be placed, maintained, etc.  However, this was after Orlando and other cities had already "placed" their cameras.  In fact, the DOT came up with specifications for these cameras only in April of 2011. Compare the sign above with the specific...

Notice how far from the corner this sign is. We have been told that red light cameras are all about safety.  It's a great pitch - who is against "safety?" The problem is that it just does not add up to be about saving lives and injuries because... ...If they wanted to do that there are several inexpensive things they could do that would make these intersections safer, albeit, less profitable. 1. Extend the length of the duration of the yellow light.      They should have tried this before they spent million$ installing these cameras. 2. Place Red Light Camera signs at the corners of the intersection.      Currently they place a sign some distance away from the intersection advising people that the intersection has a camera. However, the overwhelming number of citations issued are for "right on red" turns.   If this practice is so dangerous (turning right on red) why not place another sign at the corner where the right on red turns ar...