The new seat belt law in the State of Florida got off to a bang on July 1 with the Hillsborough County Sherriff’s department writing over 200 tickets on the first day alone. Since then there hasn’t been many headlines written about F.S.S. 316.614 but today the drivers in downtown Sarasota got a reminder about the new law on Friday.
As SRQ residents pulled up to the stop light at Fruitville and 301 they saw a nice man in a sombrero (see photo) holding a sign. The cardboard sign said “Read F.S.S. 316.614. Tickets on sale $99.00”. As drivers looked on and honked at the man, actually a Sarasota police officer, they didn’t know what was lurking just a few hundred feet away. The sign was really just used to cover up the walkie talkie clipped to his collar letting a second officer on the next block know which cars to pull over due to a seat belt violation. As of 11:00 a.m. the pair were still hard at work.
If you have been issued a traffic ticket in Sarasota or Bradenton, please do not hesitate to contact David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at fightyourtickets.com to discuss the matter. Also you can contact David via email or by stopping in our Sarasota office located at 200 N. Washington Blvd.
Monthly Archives: July 2009
TAMPA DUI BLOG: Florida Cops Caught On Tape Framing A Woman For DUI After They Rear End Her Car
The cameras mounted to police cars are supposed to help catch and prosecute the bad guys this time the camera caught the cops. Four Hollywood, Florida police officers are accused of faking an arrest report to cover up a traffic accident after a video camera recorded the four officers scheming to doctor a crash report and accuse an innocent woman of DUI. (read more)
Apparently Officer Joel Francisco rear ended a woman’s car and without knowing his dashboard camera was on he and three other officers conspired to create a fake crash report to cover up the accident. The original report said a cat sitting on the driver’s lap was the cause of the accident and the woman was arrested on charges of drunk driving. The state attorney’s office has now dropped those charges and the four officers are under investigation.
If you have been charged with a DUI in Tampa or Hillsborough County, please do not hesitate to contact David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at fightyourtampadui.com to discuss the matter. Also you can contact David via email or by stopping in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.
FLORIDA TRAFFIC BLOG: Red Light Cameras Ticketing For More Than Speeding Through A Light
In a couple weeks Bradenton drivers will be under the watchful eye of red light cameras. A similar company that installed the cameras in Bradenton is operating red light cameras in another Florida town and in just one month, they city is raking in fine money. According to Bay News 9 4,400 citations have been issued and one Lakeland woman has already accumulated more than $1000 in fines.
If you think the red light cameras won’t affect you because you will stop on yellow rather than gun it through a red, you need to be aware of another thing these cameras can catch. According to Lakeland police a majority of the red light camera tickets are for drivers rolling past the white line before making a right turn on a red. That was the case for Kristen Kent who received seven tickets at the same intersection for the same violation and now owes more than $1000.
Police contend this driving behavior is just as dangerous as speeding through a red light because a pedestrian could be in that crosswalk when a driver makes that right on a red without stopping. Kent says it is hard to argue with the photographic proof of her violations but argued she wouldn’t have been charged with the offense seven times if an officer had stopped her initially and let her know what she was doing was a violation.
If you have a traffic ticket in Bradenton, Sarasota or Manatee due to the red light cameras or any other offense, please do not hesitate to contact Sarasota Traffic Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT to discuss the matter or visit our website at fightyourtickets.com. Also you can contact David via email or by stopping in our Sarasota office located at 200 N. Washington Blvd.
TAMPA DUI BLOG: A Bad Night On The Road For The St. Pete Times As Two Employees Are Arrested For DUI
Two employees of the St. Petersburg Times newspaper were arrested late Monday and early Tuesday for suspicion of DUI according to the newspaper’s website. The first arrest happened at 11:15 p.m. Monday night and involved Tampa publisher Joe DeLuca. (read more) DeLuca, who is responsible for the Times’ business operations in Tampa, was pulled over at Gandy and Westshore according to reports. He refused to take a breath test.
Later that evening community sports editor Michael Camunas was pulled over on Bruce B. Downs where he allegedly blew a 0.19 on a breath test.(read more) Camunas is the community sports editor covering Hernando and Pasco counties. Both men were taken to Hillsborough County Jail on $500 bail.
If you have been charged with a DUI in Tampa or Hillsborough County, please do not hesitate to contact David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at fightyourtampadui.com to discuss the matter. Also you can contact David via email or by stopping in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.
FLORIDA DUI BLOG: Number Of Deaths Resulting From DUIs Up 19% In Florida From 2000-2008
Reading the latest statistics on DUI accidents and deaths in Florida can be a bit confusing. As with any statistic it really depends on how you look at the numbers. The total number of accidents this decade caused by driving under the influence has remained rather steady. The number has been somewhere between 22,000 and 24,000 each year. While that number has remained rather consistent, the number of deaths in DUI-related accidents has increased. (read more)
The number of deaths in DUI accidents has gone from 979 in 2000 to 1,169 in 2008. While that is an increase of 190 deaths and a 19% spike, it actually is not an increase when you look at the percentages. With more drivers on the road, the number of deaths per DUI accidents has remained at about 6 per 100,000. MADD and the Florida Highway Patrol believe those numbers are a good sign but both know more work needs to be done. While MADD continues to push for more stringent legislation, due to overcrowded jails, many in Law Enforcement believe the more logical next step will be education.
If you have been charged with a DUI in Tampa or Hillsborough County, please do not hesitate to contact David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at fightyourtampadui.com to discuss the matter. Also you can contact David by stopping in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.
FLORIDA TRAFFIC BLOG: Red Light Cameras Installed In Bradenton
In a couple weeks Bradenton drivers may need to think twice about running that red light coming off the DeSoto Bridge and heading south on U.S. 41 due to installation of new cameras. The cameras are up and will start taking photos of license plates beginning in August. (read more)
The cameras will be tested before implementation begins and the project is a joint venture with ACS State and Local Solutions. The company paid for the cameras and installation and will receive $40 from each $125 ticket. According to Bradenton Police Sgt. Brian Theirs studies indicate there is a high number of violations at this particular intersection.
If you have a traffic ticket in Bradenton, Sarasota or Manatee, please do not hesitate to contact Sarasota Traffic Attorney Stephen Higgins, Esq. at 1-800-FIGHT-IT to discuss the matter. Also you can contact Stephen via email.
FLORIDA TRAFFIC BLOG: Man Sentenced To Three Years In Jail Following 18th Arrest For Driving On A Revoked License
Going back to the mid-1970’s 63-year old Lonnie Harris had been arrested 16 times for driving without a license. That number is now up to 18 and Harris won’t get a chance to add to it for a while. Harris has agreed to a plea that will land him in jail for three years. (read more)
Harris received credit for the 62 days he spent in a Crystal Lake jail in 2007. This was his first arrest since being arrested in 2004 for the same crime in Lake County. Most of the man’s previous 16 arrests came in Illinois.
If you have a traffic ticket in Florida, please do not hesitate to contact Traffic Attorney Stephen Higgins, Esq. at 1-800-FIGHT-IT to discuss the matter.
FLORIDA TRAFFIC BLOG: Fines For Speeding And Running A Red Light Are Set To Increase In One Florida County
Starting September 1st fines for speeding and running a red light are going to be higher than Florida drivers are used to in at least once county. Sarasota County city commissioners voted to double the county’s surcharge on some noncriminal traffic violations. (read more)
The decision comes after a new state law was passed allowing Florida counties to double their fees to cover rising court costs. In Sarasota County traffic citation fees generated $700,000 but court costs were $1.2 million. City commissioners are obviously hoping this doubling of the fees will help offset that deficit.
If you have a traffic ticket in Florida, please do not hesitate to contact Florida Traffic Attorney Stephen Higgins, Esq. at 1-800-FIGHT-IT to discuss the matter. Also you can contact Stephen via email.
PINELLAS COUNTY TRAFFIC BLOG: Reckless Driving Traffic Stop Leads To Death Threats Against Pinellas Sheriff Deputies
What seemed like a routine traffic stop at 1:36 a.m. in Pinellas County turned into anything but that according to sheriff’s deputies. The police allege that Jose Miguel Rodriguez-Irizarry sped past four sheriff’s deputies at 63 MPH in a 35 MPH on Main Street in St. Pete. When deputies tried to pull Rodriguez-Irizarry over he sped up to 80 MPH in a 45 MPH speed zone. When deputies finally made the traffic stop, things got strange. (read more)
According to police reports after Rodriguez-Irizarry was stopped he asked the deputies not to arrest him and if they did he would kill them and their families. At that point a charge of threatening a public servant was added to reckless driving.
If you have been charged with a crime in St. Petersburg or have been involved in a traffic offense in Hillsborough County, please do not hesitate to contact Pinellas Attorney Stephen Higgins, Esq. at 1-800-FIGHT-IT to discuss the matter. Also you can contact Stephen by stopping in our new Pinellas County office located at 4500 140th Avenue North Suite #219.
FLORIDA TRAFFIC BLOG: Another Teen Involved In A Traffic Accident That Ends In A Death But This Time Its Murder
The Tampa Bay area has been torn over the hit-and-run case involving a teenager who ran over and killed a homeless woman and then fled the scene. The now 17-year-old girl has been offered a plea that would require she spend no time in jail. Just 60 miles away another Florida teen who driving led to a death is being charged with third-degree murder. (read more)
The case in Weeki Wachee involves 17-year-old Andrew Morris who took his mother’s car without permission and ended up causing a crash that killed Scott Bierwiler. The difference in the two cases is that Bierwiler was a Hernando County Police captain and the victim in Tampa was a homeless woman. That is the claim Morris’ attorney is making saying his client would not have been charged with murder had it not been a law enforcement agent who was killed in the traffic accident.
If you have been charged with a crime in Tampa or have been involved in a serious traffic offense anywhere in the State of Florida, please do not hesitate to contact Tampa Attorney Stephen Higgins, Esq. at 1-800-FIGHT-IT to discuss the matter. Also you can contact Stephen by stopping in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd. or feel free to email him.