A DRIVER believes he was unfairly fined $100 for allegedly speeding in a school zone.
Joe Weaver from Hillsborough County, Florida, is among several motorists who blame a new law’s vague language for the citation and believes the state’s use of school zone cameras has become a money grab.
Several drivers living in a major state have been caught out by a new law[/caption]
It’s seen many hit by $100 fines for speeding in school zones – but some believe they incurred fines under confusing circumstances[/caption]
One driver was caught going 38 mph when he thought the speed limit was 40 mph[/caption]
According to WPTV, Weaver is one of many residents who feel Florida’s school zone speed camera law is unfair – with some believing they incurred fines under confusing circumstances.
The speed cameras, installed in school zones across Florida, including Hillsborough County, are positioned near schools to monitor drivers and capture violations when they exceed the school zone speed limit – as designated by the signage in the area.
The law, which came into effect across Florida in 2023, mandates school zones to have signs indicating when the reduced speed limit is in effect.
However, the law does not require flashing beacons to be operational, even if the sign states “20 mph when flashing.”
This, in turn, has caused widespread confusion among drivers.
In Weaver’s case, a school speed zone camera caught him going 38 mph when he thought the speed limit was 40 mph.
And that’s because the school speed zone sign wasn’t flashing when he was driving past an elementary school near his home.
“I got a raw deal,” he told reporters.
He added: “One shouldn’t have to guess or be baffled by what’s right and what’s wrong.”
But Hillsborough County Magistrate Dr. Tom Santarlas, when discussing the issue around the signs and their lack of flashing lights, said: “It’s a bit confusing but that’s the way the law stands.”
“It can be one or the other, it doesn’t have to be both.”
“I don’t like this law,” he added.
“There are times when the legislature falls short of its goal when enacting law, this is one of those times.”
Worse still, drivers who choose to contest their fines must pay additional fees for court costs, while most appeals are unsuccessful and very few violations are dismissed statewide.
The law has also generated significant revenue, with nearly $32 million collected from fines in less than a year, according to data provided to us by RedSpeed – the company that operates the school zone speed cameras in Florida.
David De La Espriella, a former Assistant Police Chief in Miami Beach who works as a client relations director for RedSpeed, said: “It’s violator-funded.
“If you don’t want to pay $100, it is a very simple hack – don’t speed in school zones and you won’t get a citation.”
But many believe the law feels like a “gotcha moment” rather than a genuine effort to improve safety.
Karen Bowman, a parent and teacher who lives nearby, was fined after a camera captured her going 33 mph through a school zone.
She then paid an extra $75 to cover court costs in a bid to make her case – only to be unsuccessful when Magistrate Santarlas explained the law, which sees drivers get fined even if the sign isn’t flashing.
Bowman said: “I felt like it was unreasonable that I would get a violation from a camera when the light was not flashing.”
She later added: “I’ve gone on Facebook and posted and said, don’t fight these tickets because you’re not going to win.
“It just feels like a gotcha moment, like a money grab a little bit more than just concern for child safety.”
How to fight a speeding ticket
According to a legally reviewed post, there are five effective strategies to fighting a speeding ticket if it was wrongfully issued.
- If pulled over and issued a ticket, drivers can argue or dispute a driver’s personal opinion. When issuing a speeding ticket, an officer is required to write their opinion and come to an “objective” conclusion. If the ticket was written based on that judgment, it can be contested. An example would be if you were going 75 mph in a 65 mph zone because others were traveling at the same speed, you could argue that it would be more dangerous to travel at 65 mph.
- You can dispute the officer’s presentation of evidence. If you were ticketed for something like running a stop sign or making an illegal u-turn, you can’t contest that if an officer saw you, but you can call things into court like eyewitnesses, diagrams, or photos.
- Argue that the ticket was issued by a “mistake of fact.” This is tricky, but a “mistake of fact” is a mistake made by a driver about a situation that was beyond their control, or if a driver legitimately did not know they were violating the law. For example, you were driving in two lanes because the lane markers were so worn down that you could not see them.
- You could say circumstances justified your driving. You could say you were speeding to pass a possibly drunk driver, or avoiding an accident by rapidly changing lanes. However, the argument won’t work if there’s proof you continued to speed after passing.
- Similar to the above, it could be argued that speeding was necessary to avoid harm. The key is to argue that if you weren’t speeding, you or someone else could have been harmed.
- Consult a traffic attorney, if all else fails. Many have free consultations to decide whether or not there’s a case.
Source: FindLaw
