Driving is an integral part of life for people who live in and visit Florida. Unfortunately, however, authorities have cracked down on a number of different types of offenses that can lead to administrative or even criminal consequences, depending on the situation. What follows is an overview of some of the most common traffic ticket types across state of Florida.
All of these should be taken seriously if you receive one in the mail or from your police officer directly, and should prompt you to hire a knowledgeable Florida traffic ticket attorney immediately. Our data used for the analysis is publicly available Here.
Common Florida Traffic Citations Written in 2016
Careless Driving
Careless driving is one of the most popular statutes referenced in the state of Florida by a law enforcement officer. In 2016, 211,000 drivers were ticketed for this offense often associated with car accident investigations managed by the Florida Highway Patrol.
This is a four-point ticket if you were involved in a crash that led to a careless driving citation. Practically every careless driving citation is issued in relation to an accident and your certified driving record will maintain these four points for a period of 36 months. This can lead to a big increase in your insurance in addition to other consequences and problems if they are not fought in court and removed.
According to the state’s Uniform Traffic Citation Data more than half of Careless driving tickets in Florida were dismissed outright or adjudication was withheld in 2016. Our experienced attorneys recommend fighting this citation and urge you to speak with us before accepting the penalties. Click here to go to our careless driving services page.
Reckless Driving
As defined in Statute 316.192, Reckless driving is Any person who drives any vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless driving. Also, Fleeing a law enforcement officer in a motor vehicle is reckless driving per se. Speeding excessively, weaving from lane to lane, driving on medians or shoulders are some examples of reckless driving. In 2016, 5,381 drivers were ticketed for this offense and of them 25% were found guilty. Click here to go to our reckless driving services page.
Driving With a Suspended License
Every driver on the roads of Florida must have an appropriate license in order to drive. If you’ve never had a license or knowingly had your license suspended, you could be facing fines and time in jail. If you are caught driving with knowledge that your license is suspended, the charge is criminal and more severe. In 2016, 137,668 drivers in Florida received criminal citations for DWLS and 35% of them were found guilty.
Running A Stop Sign
72,843 Florida drivers received stop sign tickets in 2016 making it another one of the commonly issued traffic citations. Many people are pulled over for not making a complete stop while others completely miss the sign. Of them about 27% simply paid the fine and allowed the charge to stick on their driving record. Like almost all citations we recommend fighting to have it removed in court because no matter how small, blemishes on your driving record can come back to haunt you especially if your job requires frequent time on the road.
Call A Traffic Ticket Attorney For Advice
Any traffic ticket citation is a serious one. If you ignore the ticket or simply pay it and try to move on, your insurance could take a hit. If your driving record has already accumulated other violations recently, you can expect that those will influence you, too. A license can be suspended after too many violations too close to one another, so it’s important to realize how even one point being added to your record could be dangerous if you’re not careful. Before paying any traffic ticket call 1-800-CITATION for a free consultation.
