Traffic Offenses Defense in West Palm Beach
A traffic citation in Florida is easy to overlook. Pay the fine, move on. But that decision has consequences most people don’t consider until their insurance rate goes up, they are notified that their license is suspended, or they learn they have accumulated enough points to lose their driving privileges entirely.
Whether you are facing a routine speeding ticket or a serious criminal traffic charge, Jeacoma Law can help. Call today for a confidential consultation.
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- TRAFFIC OFFENSES IN FLORIDA
Civil Infractions vs. Criminal Traffic Offenses
Florida distinguishes between civil traffic infractions and criminal traffic offenses, and that distinction matters.
Under Chapter 318, Fla. Stat., most routine traffic violations are classified as noncriminal infractions. These include speeding tickets, running a red light or stop sign, improper lane changes, texting while driving, equipment violations, and similar offenses. These violations do not carry jail time, but they do carry fines, and moving violations add points to your license that can lead to a suspension.
Criminal traffic offenses are a separate matter. They include reckless driving, knowingly driving with a suspended or revoked license, leaving the scene of a crash, driving under the influence, dangerous excessive speeding, and participating in a street takeover. Criminal court handles these charges and can result in jail time, probation, and a permanent criminal record.
The Point System and What It Costs You
Florida uses a point system administered by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Points are assigned based on the type of violation and accumulate on your driving record. Consequences escalate quickly.
Twelve points within twelve months result in a 30-day license suspension. Eighteen points within eighteen months result in a three-month suspension. Twenty-four points within thirty-six months result in a one-year suspension.
Beyond suspensions, points can raise your insurance premiums. Even a single speeding ticket can trigger a rate increase that costs you far more over time than the fine itself. That is why Andrew pulls your complete driving record before advising you on any ticket: the right move on a $150 citation depends on what is already on that record.
Why Contesting a Ticket Matters
Paying a citation is an admission of the infraction. It goes on your record and, for a moving violation, adds points. Contesting a ticket, even a minor one, preserves your options. An attorney can request a hearing, challenge the basis for the stop, question the calibration and accuracy of speed-measurement equipment, and, in many cases, negotiate an outcome that keeps points off your record.
For many moving violations, Florida also lets you elect a basic driver improvement course instead of taking points, with adjudication withheld. That election is limited to once every 12 months and to eight times in a lifetime, and it is not available to commercial driver’s license holders. Whether to use it or save it and fight the ticket instead is a decision Andrew makes with you after reviewing your record.
Common Civil Traffic Infractions
These are noncriminal violations. They will not put you in jail, but they carry fines and, for moving violations, points.
- Speeding: The fine depends on how far over the limit you were traveling. Fines are doubled in school zones and in posted construction zones when workers are present.
- Careless driving: A noncriminal moving violation that carries three points. It is often cited after a crash and is a different, far less serious charge than reckless driving.
- Red light and school bus camera violations: Red light camera violations carry no points. However, ignoring a camera notice results in a uniform traffic citation, and failing to pay or contest that citation can lead to a driver’s license suspension.
- Texting while driving: A primary offense in Florida, meaning law enforcement can stop you for it even if no other violation occurs.
Criminal Traffic Charges
Reckless Driving
Penalties:
- First conviction: Punishable by up to 90 days in jail and by a fine of $25 to $500.
- Second or subsequent conviction: Punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of $50 to $1,000.
- Property damage or injury: A first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
- Serious bodily injury: A third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Driving With a Suspended or Revoked License
- drive a motor vehicle on a Florida highway while your license is canceled, suspended, or revoked; and
- knew of the cancellation, suspension, or revocation.
Penalties:
- First conviction: A second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
- Second conviction: A first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
- Third or subsequent conviction: A first-degree misdemeanor with a mandatory minimum of 10 days in jail. It becomes a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, only if the current violation or the most recent prior one involved a suspension that came from a DUI, a breath or blood test refusal, a traffic offense causing death or serious bodily injury, or fleeing and eluding.
- Driving while designated a habitual traffic offender: A third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, regardless of how many prior convictions you have.
Habitual Traffic Offender (HTO) Designation
Permitting an Unauthorized Person to Drive
- own a vehicle or have it under your control; and
- authorize or knowingly permit someone who is not legally authorized to drive to operate it on a public highway or street.
Penalties:
- Any violation:A second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
- Crash causing injury or death:If you knowingly lent the vehicle to someone whose license was suspended and the vehicle is involved in a crash causing bodily injury or death, your license is suspended for one year.
Leaving the Scene of a Crash
- stop immediately at the scene, or as close as possible;
- remain at the scene; and
- provide information and render aid as required by law.
Penalties:
- Property damage only:A second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. The court may also order restitution.
- Injury:A third-degree felony punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment.
- Serious bodily injury:A second-degree felony punishable by up to fifteen years’ imprisonment.
- Death:A first-degree felony punishable by up to thirty years in prison and carrying a mandatory minimum of four years.
Fleeing and Eluding a Law Enforcement Officer
- know that an officer has ordered you to stop and willfully refuse or fail to stop your vehicle;
- stop, then willfully flee in an attempt to elude the officer; or
- willfully flee a marked patrol vehicle with its lights and siren activated.
Penalties:
- Failing to stop or fleeing:A third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, whether you ignored a known order to stop or fled a marked patrol vehicle with its lights and siren on.
- High speed or wanton disregard:Fleeing a marked patrol vehicle with its lights and siren on at high speed, or in a manner showing wanton disregard for the safety of people or property, is a second-degree felony punishable by up to fifteen years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
- Serious bodily injury or death:If high-speed or wanton flight from a marked patrol vehicle causes serious bodily injury or death to anyone, including a pursuing officer, the offense is a first-degree felony punishable by up to thirty years in prison and a three-year mandatory minimum.
- Aggravated fleeing or eluding:Fleeing a known order to stop while unlawfully leaving the scene of a crash is a second-degree felony if the flight injures someone or damages property, and a first-degree felony with a three-year mandatory minimum if it causes serious bodily injury or death. These are separate offenses that can be charged alongside leaving the scene.
- License revocation and forfeiture:Any conviction under this section requires revocation of your driver’s license for one to five years. The vehicle involved is deemed contraband and subject to forfeiture.
Florida’s “Super Speeder” Law
- exceed the posted speed limit by 50 mph or more; or
- drive 100 mph or more in a manner that threatens the safety of others or property, or that interferes with the operation of any vehicle.
Penalties:
- First conviction:Punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.
- Second or subsequent conviction:Punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
- Second conviction within five years:A driver’s license revocation of at least 180 days and up to one year.
Because this is a criminal charge, you can’t simply pay it like a traffic ticket. You must appear in court, and a conviction leaves a criminal record.
These cases can be defended. The State must prove the speed, and radar, laser, and pacing evidence depends on properly calibrated equipment and proper procedure. Under the 100-mph prong, speed alone is insufficient: the State must also prove that the driving threatened people or property or interfered with other vehicles. Andrew’s first request in any speeding case is the calibration and maintenance record for the device that clocked you. In the right case, you can negotiate the charge down to a civil infraction.
Car Meetups and Street Takeovers
A car meetup is legal. A street takeover is not, and Florida’s street-racing law treats nearly everyone involved in one as a criminal defendant. A “street takeover” means taking over part of a highway, roadway, or parking lot by blocking or impeding traffic to race, drag race, or perform burnouts, doughnuts, drifting, wheelies, or other stunt driving. Parking lots count.
The law extends beyond the driver. Under § 316.191, Fla. Stat., you commit an offense if you:
- drive in a street takeover, stunt drive, race, or drag race on a highway, roadway, or parking lot;
- participate in, coordinate (including via social media), facilitate, or collect funds for a takeover;
- knowingly ride as a passenger during a takeover;
- purposely slow, stop, or block traffic, including pedestrian traffic, to facilitate a takeover;
- drive a vehicle to film or record the participants (news media excepted); or
- drive a vehicle carrying fuel for the participants.
Penalties:
- First violation:A first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail, a fine of $500 to $2,000, and a one-year driver’s license revocation.
- Second violation within one year:A third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of $2,500 to $4,000, and a two-year revocation.
- Third or subsequent violation within five years:A second-degree felony punishable by up to fifteen years in prison, a fine of $3,500 to $7,500, and a four-year revocation.
- Coordinated street takeover:Driving, blocking traffic, filming, or carrying fuel during a takeover involving 10 or more vehicles operated in an organized manner is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of $2,500 to $4,000, and a two-year revocation.
- Blocking an emergency vehicle:Knowingly impeding an emergency vehicle responding to a call is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. A second offense is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to fifteen years in prison, with a four-year license revocation.
Officers can arrest without a warrant based on probable cause. Officers can impound the vehicle for 30 business days, and a vehicle used by its owner in a repeat violation within five years may be forfeited. Under this statute, a plea or a finding of guilt counts as a conviction even if adjudication is withheld.
Spectators are not exempt. Attending and watching a race or takeover is a noncriminal infraction carrying a $400 fine. Filming the event, posting it on social media, betting on it, or knowing a driver are factors used to determine whether someone was a spectator.
These cases frequently hinge on who was actually doing what. Being at a meetup is not the same as driving in a takeover, and being nearby is not the same as choosing to attend one. Identification from the crowd and social media video, whether traffic was actually blocked, and what role a person played are all contested questions. Because social media posts are commonly listed as evidence, say nothing about the event, online or off, until you have spoken with Andrew.
Talk to a Traffic Defense Attorney
Many people assume traffic tickets are not worth contesting, but that assumption is often wrong. The long-term costs of points, insurance increases, and potential license issues often outweigh the short-term inconvenience of contesting the citation.
Criminal traffic charges are different. Reckless driving, driving on a suspended license, leaving the scene, fleeing and eluding, dangerous excessive speeding, and street takeover charges are prosecuted like any other crime, with the same exposure to jail, probation, and a permanent record. Several of them cannot be resolved with a withhold of adjudication, which means that a plea entered without an experienced attorney can leave you convicted of a felony in a traffic case.
Before you pay a ticket or enter a criminal traffic courtroom, talk to Andrew Jeacoma. For a citation, he will review it, your driving record, and your options, including whether to fight the ticket or use a driver improvement election, before you commit to anything. For a criminal charge, he will examine the stop, the officer’s report, and the equipment the State intends to rely on before anyone enters a plea. Call (561) 603-2203 for a confidential consultation. He serves clients throughout South Florida, including Palm Beach, Martin, and St. Lucie counties.
CDL Holders and Professional Drivers
If you hold a commercial driver’s license, a traffic conviction carries consequences beyond those for a standard license. Florida imposes stricter standards on CDL holders, and certain violations can disqualify you from operating a commercial vehicle.
CDL holders also lose options available to other drivers. You cannot elect driver improvement school to avoid points, even for a ticket in your personal vehicle, and federal anti-masking rules restrict outcomes that would keep a conviction off your commercial driving record. If your livelihood depends on your CDL, a traffic ticket is not something to pay and forget. Andrew treats a CDL citation as what it is: a threat to your job, and he looks for every resolution the anti-masking rules still allow.
- Protect Your Future