Florida speeders have a lot more at stake starting July 1
A new Florida law taking effect July 1 slaps first-time offenders caught excessively speeding with up to 30 days of jail time. The law targets drivers traveling 50 mph over the speed limit or exceeding 100 mph. First-time offenders face up to 30 days of imprisonment, a $500 fine, or both, while repeat offenders could be jailed for up to 90 days, pay a $1,000 fine, or both. Repeat offenders can also have their license revoked for up to one year, and those nabbed for speeding by 50 mph or more must appear in court.
However, not everyone agrees with the law’s stipulations. Florida House of Representatives member Mike Gottlieb said, “It’s constitutionally overbroad. It is incredibly invasive. It’s going to clog our court systems in a way that none of us can imagine. The bill makes sense, speeding kills, we want to punish people more severely for speeding. It’s not well thought out, and its enforcement and inaction, I would urge you, we need to reconsider this, tee it up next session. It’s not a good bill. It’s not in a great posture,” WFLA reports.
Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis, approved the bill on May 22 after it received a 75-38 vote in the state House and a 37-0 vote in the state Senate. Efforts to curb excessive speeding before Florida’s new law included Operation Southern Slow Down in 2024, a weeklong program emphasizing speeding enforcement and education. Operation Southern Slow Down 2024 also included states such as Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Florida’s Department of Transportation states that speeding contributed to almost 10% of statewide traffic fatalities from 2019 to 2023. In 2024, 3,100 deaths were recorded, The Mirror US reports. According to Florida’s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, drivers between 16 and 25 are the state’s most frequent offenders of excessive speeding.
Florida’s new learner’s permit law also starts on July 1
The excessive speeding law isn’t the only new Florida driving law kicking off on July 1. Starting July 1, Florida requires anyone who is at least 15 to complete a driver’s education course to receive a learner’s permit. Students had previously faced less strict mandates by only needing to complete traffic law and substance abuse education classes. The new law also requires teens applying for a license to receive parental approval, complete a Traffic Law and Substance Abuse Education course, pass a vision and hearing test, and a written driver’s exam. Drivers can apply for a license after driving with a permit for one year or when reaching 18, whichever comes first, if they receive no moving violations, and after logging 50 hours of driving experience with an adult 21 or older, 10 hours of which must be at night.
Final thoughts
While Florida will need time to evaluate the efficiency of its new law heavily penalizing excessive speeding, the state has other options if the legislation doesn’t lower instances like traffic fatalities. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) studies of cameras on residential roads in Maryland, on a high-speed roadway in Arizona, and on city streets in the District of Columbia found that the proportion of drivers exceeding speed limits by more than 10 mph declined by 70%, 88%, and 82%, respectively, six to eight months after cameras were introduced. Florida currently limits the use of speed cameras to school zones during school hours.
