DRIVERS will need to be more wary of the lights their vehicles are equipped with come October, or risk being slapped with a $5,000 fine.
The act can also result in felony charges being prosecuted, as well as serving up to five years in prison just for having a certain color light on your car.
The new law targets vehicles with lights that can be mistaken for those of various first responders and emergency vehicles[/caption]
Florida drivers could be pulled over simply for having th[/caption]
House Bill 253 seeks to revamp how drivers who use aftermarket lights to mimic first responder and emergency vehicles are prosecuted.
The law isn’t targeting the aesthetic or color of light specifically, but rather when a specific color is used in combination with placement reminiscent of various first responder and emergency vehicles.
Those vehicles with red, red-and-white, or blue lights which are visible from the front are specifically being targeted by the law.
These colors are reserved “almost exclusively for police, fire, and certain emergency or [Florida] state-owned vehicles,” per The Ticket Clinic.
Those drivers whose vehicles are both equipped with front-facing lights of this color and attempting to imitate law enforcement stop will be prosecuted as outlined above.
Actions such as pulling over a fellow civilian driver or flashing lights at another driver qualify as imitating a law enforcement stop.
Exceptions apply to official first responder and emergency vehicles, as well as other state-owned vehicles, escort vehicles, roadwork and utility trucks, and volunteer fire patrols.
While Florida HB 253 emphasizes the intent of imitating a law enforcement stop for prosecution, even just having the light fixtures on your car could result in being pulled over.
Furthermore, the officer’s discretion will reign supreme, meaning drivers could be punished for taking action which they don’t realize qualifies as law enforcement imitation.
Florida drivers are best served avoiding any light fixtures which are visible from the front, can flash, rotate, or strobe, are blue, red, or white in color, and could be mistaken for emergency lighting.
Drivers with lights already installed on their vehicle which may fall into HB 253’s specifications are best served removing them.
The law doesn’t go into effect until October 1, but will do so immediately without a warning or grace period.
HB 253 also addresses other motor vehicle matters with respect to law enforcement avoidance.
Drivers who purposefully alter, cover up, or obscure their license plates or vehicle registration certificates will be hit with second-degree misdemeanors or higher.
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
Those drivers doing so while actively committing a crime or fleeing from law enforcement will be charged with a third-degree felony.
NEW LAWS NATIONWIDE
This lates law from Florida is one of over 30 hitting the state next month, with another notable one seeing some drivers being forced to both change their license plate and pay an annual use fee.
Maryland is also implementing a traffic crackdown in October, which could slap speeders with $425 fines.
Conversely, Connecticut has enacted a new law focused on slow drivers occupying the left lane which will go into effect next year.
At the end of September, adult Ohio drivers younger than 21 will be forced to take driver’s ed even if they’re already licensed, which could cost them $400 or more.
In November, Oklahoma is set to enact a law which will more harshly punish drivers convicted of a DUI, and reform how event bartenders are trained and their legal responsibility.
