Texting and Driving in Florida

Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of automobile accidents and texting while driving is one of the most common forms of it. While one is texting and looking at one’s cell phone, he or she is not looking at the road and this drastically increases the risk of causing an accident. Many States are working to crack down on this danger, including illegalizing it. The history of this in Florida is a bit tumultuous, but it is important to knows the laws of the land with regards to texting and driving.

Currently the law in Florida states that it is illegal to text while driving. That being said, the circumstances surrounding such a ticket are enforced in a manner one might not expect. While a police officer can give out a ticket and a fine for texting while driving, he or she cannot pull someone over simply for this violation. There needs to be another violation that the driver is being pulled over for, such as speeding, expired tags, or having a headlight out, and then the texting while driving citation given on top of the other.

There has been a movement for the past few years that is pushing to do away with the secondary clause and have texting while driving be an offense that one can be pulled over for, but legislature is slow on this. It has been proposed multiple times and there is strong support for such a revision, but it has stalled out every time. Will this law be changed soon? Possibly someday, but probably not soon.

Nonetheless, accidents due to texting while driving happen and if you have been injured in one, you have grounds to file a personal injury lawsuit. When you do, we at Franco Firm are here to help you win your case and see you receive the most amount possible. To learn more about the services we offer, please call us at (813) 872-0929.