Florida Traffic Law

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...

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...

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...

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...

Recently, the Orange County (Florida) government announced that they will increase the number of Red Light Cameras from 10 to 50 in the near future. (See Orlando Sentinel ). The argument FOR these cameras is that it discourages red light running and, thus, increases safety. The County better hope not. The installation costs are in the millions and the lease rate is $4,750.00 per month, per camera. These cameras cost the municipality $4,750.00 per month. They are bilking us for way more. The Orlando Sentinel, no longer an objective newspaper - rather a political rag, has taken sides in this issue and is squarely behind the installation and the bilking of Orange County residents and visitors for money. They tout that "[t]he move is a dramatic expansion from the 10 cameras already mounted at some of the county's more crash-prone thoroughfares ." I dare them to look at the crash statistics for these intersections and those without cameras. Yes, with the expansion, ev...

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...

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...

Recently, Orange County released the dispositions of thousands of traffic ticket cases from late 2009 - 2011. The error for not reporting these citation dispositions is not important. The concern is that the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, upon receipt, has done the due diligence and sent out suspension letters for those drivers that now meet the requirements for suspension. The good news is that there may be a way to undo the suspension. Often times past citations, especially those that cause a suspension, can be modified to avoid the suspension. Even if the suspension has already begun relief can be had by motion. When a suspension is being issued by the Department it will send out a letter notifying the driver of the impending suspension of driving privileges. It is best to seek an attorney to try and avoid the suspension as soon as the letter is received. However, there is no time frame for which this can be done. The probability of obtaining relief often depend...

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

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...