Florida Move Over Law Violation

[datura44]

You must have misunderstood what I said jk. Pay attention. I was never speeding above the posted speed limit. I'm just not sure how much I slowed down. Does that make any since to you? It's not hard man.

Yes, people do tend drive below the speed limit in the left lanes.

Again you twist my words saying that I "claim" to have slowed to 10 less. Read back, I said estimated based on the video (which I could be totally off).

Let me say it this way: I did slow down to 20mph under the limit. So, do I have a defense now?

[jk]

you said you didn’t know your speed so you can’t argue you were at least 20 under the limit. If the cop says you weren’t 20 under the limit and you say “well, I don’t know how fast I was going because I didn’t look at my speedometer the entire time”, you will lose. A cop is often trained to determine speed and contrary to chuckles claims, you were not always behind the cop. Once you passed him you were in his direct view and he could judge your Speed.

[RJR]

44, do you recall in your mind if you did either of these while approaching the police car?

1. Braked to any degree?

2. Let up on the gas pedal to any degree?

[bcr229]

Ok I watched the video. OP was on a straight and level stretch of interstate and the strobe lights from the emergency vehicles should have been visible long before he started passing the white pickup on his left. So, instead of passing the pickup on the right he should have backed off and dropped in behind it.

VA and WV have that law, and it's posted prominently on signs when you enter the states. Drivers have also started moving over for any kind of activity on the shoulder, not just for emergency vehicles. Drivers are usually polite about letting people in the right lane move left during these situations even in heavy traffic.

[jk]

44, do you recall in your mind if you did either of these while approaching the police car?

1. Braked to any degree?

2. Let up on the gas pedal to any degree?

it is determinable by viewing the video op did slow somewhat (again, his speed at any time in the video can be accurately calculated) .

The fact remains he cannot lawfully testify he slowed to a speed 20 mph below the posted limit as he stated he did not look at his speedometer to determine his speed at any time during this event.

If it gets into a cop v. Defendant, state wins. That means unless op can impeach cops testimony that op was exceeding posted limit minus 20 and state he was in fact moving at posted limit minus 20 or less, op loses. Op argues he couldn’t move over due to white truck. I strongly suspect the cop will have a different view of the situation but even if op really couldn’t move over, the law obligates him to slow to no more than posted limit minus 20.

So, possible defenses I see:



wasnt aware of the law: fails although that and a sympathetic judge and the statement op did slow somewhat might get the op a break on the punishment.

Cop couldn’t determine ops speed; there are radar that can tag multiple targets. Even without that, there are radar that will tag the fastest vehicle. That combined with a statement from the cop op was the fastest vehicle in radar view defeats claim. Additionally cops in many areas are actually considered to be able to legally and accurately determine speed. In fact, in such areas the radar is actually merely supporting evidence of the cops determination.

. Chuckles wants to argue cop can’t determine speed in the rear view mirror. That’s likely true but that is also irrelevant. First, cop may have been looking directly at op as he approached and if so, could determine speed. Second, the speed of concern is the speed as he passed the cops. How fast he was going before or after he passed the area the cops were in doesn’t matter. He could be going 100 mph but if he slowed to 20 under before he passed the cops, he complied with the law. The op was obviously in front of the cop that tagged him as op passed the second cop car so the rear view mirror argument is complete bullshit. Of course we don’t know how the cop determined the ops speed so at the moment this argument is little more than a discussion. If op wants to fight the ticket he is able to seek discovery that may be supportive of such a defense. Of course, op cannot honestly state he was at posted limit minus 20 or slower so he really can’t argue the cop was wrong but only that his determination is undependable. That is usually a losing argument. There is a super slim chance there is a defense in there somewhere but unlikely.

Any other argument by the op or chuckles presented is not a defense but an attempt to gain the sympathy of a judge. While such mitigation may result in a reduced penalty, it is not an actual defense but it is sometimes successful in mitigating the penalties. Op needs to understand the difference between an actual defense and an attempt to mitigate penalties. A court may take the attempt to garner sympathy as an attempt to evade justice or whining if presented as a defense. That can actually backfire on the defendant so due respect and acceptance of the law and presenting mitigating statements as mitigating statements is suggested rather than attempting to present mitigating statements as a defense to the violation.

ya never know. Judges have been swayed by a person accepting guilt but seeking sympathy along with earnest statements showing due respect for the courts and the law and rewarded them by dismissing the ticket. It’s unlikely but not unheard of.

My personal two cents is;
it would cost me more in lost income than the cost of the ticket. Op states he has not had a ticket for at least 20 years so a single ticket should not affect his insurance rates. I have a similarly great driving record. That limits actual costs of the ticket to what he is required to pay to settle the ticket. The smart action, in my personal situation, would be to pay the ticket and move on with life.

[budwad]

You show the video to the judge. It clearly shows you did not slow down. You were keeping pace with the vehicles in lanes 2 and 3 that presumable were doing the speed limit or above and promptly increased speed after passing the officers. And if you watch the tree line leaving the frame on the right side of the video, you can see that you may have applied your break at 0:15 for a very brief moment. Hardly enough to reduce your speed.

My take is that you weren't paying attention. Perhaps your mind on matters other than driving. You reacted too late to slow down and said f*** it.

If you come to a forum to hear only what you want to hear, it's a waste of your time and ours.

[jk]

You show the video to the judge. It clearly shows you did not slow down. You were keeping pace with the vehicles in lanes 2 and 3 that presumable were doing the speed limit or above and promptly increased speed after passing the officers. And if you watch the tree line leaving the frame on the right side of the video, you can see that you may have applied your break at 0:15 for a very brief moment. Hardly enough to reduce your speed.

My take is that you weren't paying attention. Perhaps your mind on matters other than driving. You reacted too late to slow down and said f*** it.

If you come to a forum to hear only what you want to hear, it's a waste of your time and ours.

Actually it shows he did slow. I’m not going to calculate it to determine the actual speeds but the video does prove he did slow to some extent

[budwad]

Obviously not enough and not in time.

[RJR]

Maybe, it's just my depth perception, but I can't see where he slowed at all?

[bcr229]

Maybe, it's just my depth perception, but I can't see where he slowed at all?

Count the dashed lines that divide the lanes and say the numbers out loud (I had to restart every 10). Toward the end of the video it's obvious that he slowed down.