Generally speaking, a police officer from the state of Florida won’t stop you if you are only speeding a couple of miles per hour over the speed limit on the freeway or highway, as long as you are not driving in a reckless way that would endanger others. Push this by more than a few miles per hour, and you cannot expect the same leniency. If you are exceeding the speed limit by over 30 mph, you can expect a different set of rules and more enhanced penalties in comparison to an offense where you are simply a few miles over the speed limit.

If you have received a speeding ticket for being accused of speeding over 30 mph above the speed limit, one of the most important things to do is to seek experienced legal counsel. With the right representation, you may be able to reduce the damage to your driving record. The Law Place in Dixie County has a wealth of knowledge and experience accumulated from defending people in positions just like yours. Our telephone lines remain open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to work around your busy schedule. Contact us today on (855)-831-7020 for a free consultation.

How Do the Circumstances Surrounding My Traffic Stop Impact My Situation in Dixie County?

It is certainly true that the circumstances of your traffic stop will have a large impact on whether or not a law enforcement officer will be willing to demonstrate leniency in regards to your ticket. It may be possible for the police officer to write on your speeding ticket that you are exceeding the speed limit by 29 mph instead of 30, lowering the consequences for your driving record.

However, if you are exceeding the speed limit in a residential area, a construction zone, or a school zone, then it is highly unlikely that the police officer will be willing to bend the rules at all. Furthermore, in a construction or school zone, you can expect the fines associated with your speeding ticket to be doubled.

Of course, there is no guarantee that a Florida police officer will grant you any leniency, no matter what the details of your specific speeding incident are.

What Are the Fines Associated With a Dixie County Speeding Ticket?

If you were on the receiving end of a speeding ticket in Dixie County, especially if you were exceeding the speed limit by 30 miles per hour or greater, we would highly recommend you get in contact with an experienced lawyer in order to stand as much chance as possible at minimizing the consequences of your speeding ticket.

Fines from a speeding ticket vary from county to county in Florida. A speeding ticket in Dixie county for exceeding the posted limit by more than 30 miles per hour will result in a mandatory court date, where a fine will be decided. Speeding 20-29 miles per hour over the speed limit will result in a $258 fine, whereas speeding 1-9 miles per hour over the speed limit will only result in a $108 fine.

While the fines associated with a speeding ticket are a financial inconvenience, they are not the truly dangerous consequences of exceeding the speed limit. These come in the form of points on your driver’s license and the marring of your driving record. If you accumulate enough points on your driving record, you could have your driver’s license revoked.

What Are Some Other Issues Associated With a Dixie County Speeding Ticket?

If you have been caught exceeding the posted speed limit by 30 mph or more, things are not as simple as they would be if you had been speeding by a lesser amount. When speeding 29 mph miles or less over the limit, you would be able to pay a fine and carry on with your life as normal – provided you were not approaching the maximum amount of points on your driver’s license.

However, with 30 mph or more, you will be issued with a mandatory court date. The exception to this would be if you hire the services of a Dixie County speeding lawyer, who could then appear in court instead of you. If you live outside the state of Florida and were just passing through, this service could be particularly beneficial.

When considering your court date, it is important to remember that the judge in question will likely have heard every possible excuse you could formulate hundreds of times before. As such, unless you were genuinely not exceeding the speed limit (and have some way to prove this), then it is generally not advisable to attempt to talk yourself out of receiving any speeding tickets. It is a much better plan to allow your experienced attorney to do all of the talking and negotiating on your behalf.

What Are the Usual Methods of Speed Measurement Employed by Florida Law Enforcement?

There are a number of methods that a Florida law enforcement officer could use to measure the speed of your vehicle at the time of your alleged speed limit offense. However, only specific devices are officially approved by the state of Florida to measure the speed of a vehicle. If a device that is not officially approved was used to measure your speed, then the evidence will be inadmissible in court. For a full list of each one of these state-approved speed detection devices, you can visit the Florida Administrative Code website.

The following is a list of the commonly utilized devices that could be used to measure your speed and potentially result in the issuing of a speeding ticket.

Radar Gun

A radar gun is the method most commonly employed and is often the device that people imagine being used in a speeding case. This device can measure how fast a vehicle is traveling and will give the officer the results in mph.

Radar guns work by creating radio waves that bounce off a vehicle and return to the device. The device receives the waves and will amplify them to a speed readout device.

For a radar speed detection device to work correctly, the vehicle in question must be in the line of sight of the police officer operating the radar gun. These devices are also not entirely fool-proof. Without an appropriate level of skill and practice from the officer operating the device, the results can be inaccurate. For this reason, the officer operating the device will need to be appropriately certified and licensed within the standards set forward in Florida Statute 316.1906.

Laser Gun

Laser guns are growing in popularity with police officers throughout America. Appearance-wise, they look incredibly similar to a radar gun. However, the manner in which they operate is different.

Laser guns work by shining a high powered laser onto the speeding vehicle. The laser bounces back off the vehicle and returns to the device, and the time between these two actions is then used in a calculation against the speed of light in order to provide a figure for the speed readout.

More Uncommon Methods

There remains a number of less common methods that can be employed by police officers to measure the speed of vehicles in Florida state.

One example would be pacing, wherein the police officer will catch up to the speeding vehicle in their own vehicle and stay a set time period at that speed while maintaining a set distance. Pacing, as a method of speed measurement, can be impacted by a number of different factors. This means that it is much easier than other methods to be challenged in court by an experienced speeding attorney.

How Do Points on Your Driver’s License Work for Speeding Offenses?

As you are most likely already aware, the maximum amount of points you can receive on your driver’s license before having it revoked for a month is twelve in a year. Each time you are found guilty by a court for speeding over 30 mph above the posted limit, you will receive four points on your license.

If you manage to accumulate eighteen points within as many months, you will lose your license for a period of three months. Once you reach twenty-four accumulated points within thirty-six months, your driver’s license will be suspended for an entire year.

There are also other factors that can complicate the rate at which you accumulate points on your license. If your excessive speed results in an accident, you will receive six points on your license instead of the usual four.

What Are Some Additional Complications Associated with Exceeding the Speed Limit by 30 MPH or More?

Additional complications you can expect when facing a ticket for speeding over 30 mph will include losing the option to attend a traffic school, which would usually give you the opportunity to avoid points on your license as a result of your ticket.

As well as this, your fine may exceed the usual amount if you have a history of driving offenses or misdemeanors.

Contact The Law Place Today

If you have recently exceeded the speed limit by 30 mph or more and have received a ticket as a result, it would be highly advisable to seek the legal counsel of an experienced Dixie County speeding attorney.

Accumulating a number of tickets for excess speed and points on your license can disrupt your personal life and earnings. However, there are many things that an experienced attorney can do for you. It is possible that the device used to measure your speed could make the evidence inadmissible. Depending on the specifics of your case, your attorney may be able to convince your judge to withhold adjudication, meaning that if you receive no additional tickets for a specific amount of time, you will receive no points on your license.

Here at The Law Place in Dixie County, we offer no-obligation free consultations over the telephone, and our lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call us on (855)-831-7020 today for a free telephone consultation!