Careless Driving - Florida

[JML2007]

Florida

I recently got a careless driving citation for passing on a double yellow. It was a straight road for over 6 miles. The double yellow was because of a turning lane in the south bound direction and i was heading north. It was at the beginning of the turning lane for the south bound lane. And it was on the double yellow line and not the area that has the yellow hash marks.

I didn't even have to speed to go around the car i passed because it was going 45mph in a 60 mph zone.

Should this have been a ticket for a passing in a no passing zone? florida statute 316.0875

316.1925 Careless driving.--

(1) Any person operating a vehicle upon the streets or highways within the state shall drive the same in a careful and prudent manner, having regard for the width, grade, curves, corners, traffic, and all other attendant circumstances, so as not to endanger the life, limb, or property of any person. Failure to drive in such manner shall constitute careless driving and a violation of this section.

316.0875 No-passing zones.--

(1) The Department of Transportation and local authorities are authorized to determine those portions of any highway under their respective jurisdiction where overtaking and passing or driving to the left of the roadway would be especially hazardous and may, by appropriate signs or markings on the roadway, indicate the beginning and end of such zones, and when such signs or markings are in place and clearly visible to an ordinarily observant person, every driver of a vehicle shall obey the directions thereof.

(2) Where signs or markings are in place to define a no-passing zone as set forth in subsection (1), no driver shall at any time drive on the left side of the roadway with such no-passing zone or on the left side of any pavement striping designed to mark such no-passing zone throughout its length.

(3) This section does not apply when an obstruction exists making it necessary to drive to the left of the center of the highway, nor to the driver of a vehicle turning left into or from an alley, private road or driveway.

[Hey There]

(12-3-07
JML2007 Florida

Regarding
316.1925 Careless driving.--

(1) Any person operating a vehicle upon the streets or highways within the state shall drive the same in a careful and prudent manner, having regard for the width, grade, curves, corners, traffic, and all other attendant circumstances, so as not to endanger the life, limb, or property of any person. Failure to drive in such manner shall constitute careless driving and a violation of this section.

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Acccording to your post, you neither endangered life, limb or property of another driver when you passed the slow moving vehicle in front of you. No driver had to swerve or apply brakes, in order to avoid a collision.
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A book published by NOLO on Beating a traffic ticket explains in Chapter 2, Pages 3 & 4
how to analyze a traffic ticket to verify if the violation a driver is cited for has really occurred.
Chapters 9, 10 and 11
describe what steps the cited driver can take before trial and how to conduct a proper defence in court.
And on the Internet:
(Plea bargaining on a speeding ticket )--typed in on Google -- will bring up a page with websites describing what steps to take to contest a traffic ticket. The (Speeding Ticket -- Fighting or Plea Bargaining )website is particularly informative. Although much of this website deals with speeding the information can be useful to the driver that is cited for a different traffic citation.
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By typing in Discovery for Traffic Tickets on Google ,websites on the first page provide information on how to obtain copies of the officer's notes and information he plans to use in court. If Discovery isn't available, then how to make a request for public records is described.
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Affidavit of Defence is an alternative to a court appearance in Florida for trafffic infractions.(Rule 6.403)
Florida Rules of Traffic Court website can be accessed along with other websites on the same page by typing in Discovery for traffic infractions in Florida.(or other key words related to Traffic Court Rules in Florida.)
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Some lawyers will give a one time consultation for free or for a modest fee $50.00. A local lawyer should be able to advise you on your rights, map out your options, and explain any rules that are puzzling .

Best Regards,
Hey There