julio 2019

New Florida Texting & Driving Law Effective July 1 2019

Florida has finally fallen in line with the overwhelming majority of other states. Florida made texting while driving a primary traffic offense. The law goes into effect on July 1, 2019.

Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill on May 17, 2019. Making texting while driving a primary offense means that police can soon make a traffic stop on the reasonable belief that a driver was messaging or emailing on a mobile device. The new law also prohibits the use of a handheld cell phone when operating any motor vehicle at any school crossing, school zone, or construction zone.

How You Can Receive a Violation

Currently, police can only cite drivers for texting while driving if they’re stopped for a different violation. That makes it a mere secondary violation and nearly impossible to enforce.

Texting while driving requires the diversion of a driver’s physical, mental and visual capacities from the roadway. We use the same three senses to drive. When signing the new law at a Sarasota high school, the governor said that “Studies have shown that texting while driving is one of the worst of all driving distractions, and a recent study ranked Florida as the second-worst state for distracted driving.” He went on to say that “It’s my hope that by taking action to address distracted drivers today, we will be able to make our roads safer and hopefully prevent some of these crashes that we’ve seen, injuries, and unfortunately, some of the deaths that we’ve seen.”

Governor DeSantis remarked that in 2016, Florida had nearly 50,000 distracted driving accidents that caused 233 deaths. Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells said that “Making texting while driving a primary offense will allow law enforcement to enforce the law and to save a lot of lives.”

The New Law for Texting While Driving

Under the new law, texting at a stoplight or when a vehicle isn’t in motion is not an offense. The statute exempts emergency personnel. Similarly, the law exempts people who are reporting emergencies or crimes to law enforcement, receiving messages from navigation, safety, and weather alerts.

A first violation of the new texting while driving law won’t be a moving violation. It’s punishable by a fine of $30 plus court costs and fees upon a conviction for a first violation. Your second violation within five years of the first violation becomes a moving violation and the fine doubles. In either case, you will receive three points on your driver’s license.

School and Work Zones

The prohibition on texting while driving in school and work zones will be enforced beginning October 1, 2019. Law enforcement will issue warning tickets until January 1, 2020. Only South Dakota, Nebraska, and Ohio remain states where texting while driving is still a secondary offense. Yet, Missouri prohibits texting while driving by anybody under 21 years of age. Although, texting while driving remains perfectly legal in Montana.

CONTACTE A UN ABOGADO DE MULTAS DE TRÁFICO EN TAMPA

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Cargo por fraude de odómetro – Tampa FL

Both the federal government and the State of Florida have put laws in place that work to protect consumers from odometer fraud. Florida Statutes 319.35 makes it a third-degree felony to “knowingly tamper with, adjust, alter, set back, disconnect or fail to connect” an odometer of a motor vehicle so as to show a lower number of miles than the motor vehicle has actually been driven. A conviction for odometer fraud carries up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. Here’s how odometer fraud hurts people as used car buyers:

• Payment of increased sales tax as a result of the inflated price.
• Higher insurance premiums as a result of lower mileage.
• More frequent maintenance and repair costs.
• Reduced vehicle safety for the driver and passengers.

The Prosecution Has the Burden of Proving You Guilty

Tampa is one of the hotbeds of Florida odometer fraud. Our experienced and effective Tampa equipo de defensa penal knows the issues that prosecutors face when they try to prove tampering with a vehicle’s odometer. Remember that you’re presumed innocent. The prosecution has the burden of proving you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Over the years, we’ve been able to raise countless reasonable doubts on behalf of our clients.

Don’t Give a Statement or Confession

Even innocent victims of odometer fraud can have allegations of odometer fraud raised against them when they go to sell that same vehicle a year or two later. Both buyers and sellers must be very careful. If you’re arrested for odometer fraud, the worst thing that you could do would be to give the police any type of a statement or confession. The prosecution will use it to try and prove you guilty.

Protect your rights by invoking them. You have the right to remain silent, so exercise it by not giving the police any information that they’re seeking other than your identity, birth date, and address. You also have the right to an attorney. Exercise that right immediately by calling us after any arrest for odometer tampering in or around Tampa. We know what we’re doing, and we can take it from there.

Multas ilegales por placas en Tampa, FL

Que la policía detenga a alguien por una placa ilegal suele ser un pretexto para una breve investigación del conductor con el fin de evaluar si podría estar bajo la influencia del alcohol, las drogas o ambos. Incluso si un conductor no ha consumido alcohol, o si no ha cometido ninguna infracción de tránsito desde que un oficial de policía comenzó a observar su vehículo, cualquier parada de tráfico es algo más que una simple molestia.

Intercambio de etiquetas o pegatinas

En los casos que involucran placas ilegales, puede haber una violación de la letra de la ley. Luego está el área gris que involucra el espíritu de la ley y las observaciones subjetivas del oficial de policía que realizó la parada de tráfico. Estatutos de Florida 320.261 considera delito cuando “cualquier persona coloque a sabiendas en cualquier vehículo motorizado o casa rodante una placa de matrícula, o coloque a sabiendas una calcomanía de validación o una calcomanía de casa rodante en una placa de matrícula, si dicha placa o calcomanía no ha sido emitida, asignada o transferida legalmente a dicho vehículo, será culpable de un delito menor de segundo grado…”. Un delito menor de segundo grado en Florida se castiga con hasta 60 días de cárcel y una multa que no exceda los $500.

Problema de condena por etiqueta ilegal

Aunque es poco probable que se imponga una pena máxima, una condena por etiqueta ilegal daría lugar a un récord criminal permanente. Ese registro puede interferir con oportunidades laborales, educativas y de vivienda. Defensas para sección 320.261 existen. Por lo tanto, contáctenos si se le acusa de una infracción ilegal de etiquetas del estatuto, especialmente si espera tener una verificación de antecedentes próximamente.

Violaciones sin saberlo y ser inculpado

Prácticamente todo el mundo tiene marcos alrededor de sus placas. Estos pueden anunciar la concesionaria donde compraste tu auto o mostrar logotipos de equipos deportivos o mensajes. Algunos de ellos incluso tienen cubiertas transparentes o ligeramente entintadas que van sobre las placas. Estatuto de Florida 316.605(1) establece que no se debe colocar nada sobre la placa que impida que esta sea clara y legible. Eso incluye también tu estampa o calcomanía. Lo que puede ser claro y legible para un oficial de policía puede no serlo para el siguiente oficial. Ahí es cuando entramos en el espíritu de la ley y la subjetividad de un oficial de policía. Es posible que un juez esté o no de acuerdo con un oficial.

¿Arrestado por intercambiar placas o calcomanías en un vehículo? Contacte RHINO Lawyers. Nuestro equipo de defensa penal Se puede conseguir mucho más que 60 días, $500 y una condena penal. En el caso de un cargo por el marco de la placa, tienes muchas posibilidades de que el juez desestime el caso si te representamos.