Hurricane season is approaching in less than three months, which means Mother Nature may decide to send more rain our way, making the roads slicker and more dangerous for South Florida drivers. We’ve mentioned in the past but it’s worth reminding drivers regarding the proper use of their vehicle lights when it’s raining.
When it is raining yes, you should definitely have your headlights on so that others can spot your vehicle during a heavy downpour. What you shouldn’t do? Use your hazard lights. You’ve likely seen drivers use their hazard lights on more than one rainy occasion for seemingly no reason at all. It’s worth reminding users that using these hazard lights on already dangerous roads is only making things more confusing and dangerous for fellow drivers. While there may be good intentions behind it, using hazards (or “flashers”) is illegal and may result in a fine.
The flashers are intended to be used if the vehicle is pulled over on the side of the road, if it is disabled, or if it’s in an accident. The only scenario where flashers should be used while a vehicle is in motion is when it is part of a funeral procession.
This update is brought to you by Miami traffic ticket lawyer Hochman & Goldin, P.A. We can assist you with criminal traffic violations and we are ready to answer your questions and help you fight your ticket. Please call 305-665-1000 to speak with a Miami expungement attorney.
This information is provided for educational or informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. The information is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship and is not intended to substitute for legal advice.
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There are the unwritten rules of the road and then there are the ones that become law. Drivers often tense up when they spot law enforcement nearby. If you’re driving behind one of these vehicles and they happen to be driving really slow, the unofficial rule is to be patient and not pass the vehicle.
Would you pay a little extra to avoid traffic slowdowns? Express lanes such as those on I-95 are already intended to ease the flow of traffic, but what the state has in mind is quite different. Double-decker toll lanes are being proposed on the Palmetto Expressway, resulting in an express route between South Dade and State Road 836 with the goal of allowing drivers to pay money to avoid traffic tie-ups.
Were you recently involved in a DUI offense? You may have a lot of questions on your mind as to how to proceed. Should you admit fault? Is there jail time? While these are things you should seek legal assistance with, there are other ways a DUI may affect you that you may not be aware of.
A topic we’ve discussed on previous occasions is one that many South Florida drivers are familiar with. You’re minding your own business and driving safely in the left lane for purposes of passing and yet you run into that one driver going too slow who refuses to move out of the way. You may politely flash your lights to get them to move but these efforts go ignored.
Most of us know by now that Florida’s reputation for safe roads and drivers is, to put it mildly, not a very good one. A report by The Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety (AHAS) recently examined how states rank based on their traffic safety laws. The states were evaluated on how many of the sixteen AHAS recommended road safety laws were implemented or enforced. States with fewer than seven were marked “red” while those with at least nine were marked “green”. Perhaps not surprisingly, Florida has earned the dubious honor of being among the worst, with a mere five of the recommended laws.
When a law enforcement officer asks for your license, vehicle registration, and insurance, it’s not a good sign. Chances are you’ve probably been stopped for having committed a traffic infraction or you were involved in a crash. Thanks to modern technology, the officer is quickly able to verify your registration and the status of your license through a consistently updated Florida database. However, that is not the case when it comes to insurance.
Last time we told you about a new bill that aims to tackle cell phone usage here in Florida. Called the “Hands-Free Florida Law”, the bill would prevent drivers from utilizing their mobile device to send a text or talk unless they are using a handsfree device. Another bill was recently announced that would take things a step further. HB 107 would make it illegal to even touch a phone, with the bill stating that a driver “may not operate a motor vehicle while manually typing or entering multiple letters, numbers, symbols, or other characters into a wireless communications device….” The sweeping bill has lead to some confusion.
As we approach the end of 2018, Miami law enforcement recently announced they’re ramping up efforts to crack down on drivers that may be driving impaired via an initiative being dubbed Operation Safe Holidays. A greater number of officers will be out patrolling the South Florida roadways and there will also be an increased amount of DUI checkpoints. These checkpoints will continue into New Year’s, which typically sees a larger number of impaired drivers on the road.
Standstill traffic is practically a tradition in Miami where the major highways and roadways like I-95 and Bird Road become heavily congested. Thanks to smartphone apps like the popular Waze, drivers are often redirected through local neighborhood streets as a means of circumventing the bottlenecks while shaving off a few minutes from the commute.