Criminal Justice
Speed Demons Face $1K to $5K Fine Under New Florida Law
Posted Oct 8, 2008, 12:22 pm CST
By Martha Neil
One might think that speed demons who exceed the posted limit by 50 mph or more would be something of a rarity.
But such race-car-driver wannabes apparently aren't all that unusual, South Florida authorities found after the state legislature enacted a new law quadrupling the minimum "excessive" speeding fine to $1,000 for such drivers, reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
On the second day the new law was in effect this month, officers using airplanes cited 80 drivers traveling at up to 150 mph for excessive speeding, the newspaper says. The tickets were issued in less than two hours, at one end of the Palmetto Expressway, in Miami-Dade County.
Although the $1,000 ticket may seem steep, compared to the previous $250 fine for those who exceeded the speed limit by 30 mph, the new law provides for even stiffer penalties for scofflaws. "Get caught a second time, and you'll fork over $2,500 and lose your license for a year," the newspaper writes. "You'll pay $5,000 for the third offense and forfeit your license for 10 years."
Motorcyclists now can also be fined for popping wheelies.
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