ORLANDO, Fla. – News 6 traffic safety expert Trooper Steve Montiero answers viewer questions twice per week in a segment called “Ask Trooper Steve.”
Trooper Steve on Thursday was asked, “What are some of the earliest traffic laws in Florida?”
Today’s traffic laws may feel strict at times, but Florida’s very first rules of the road were much simpler — and a lot slower.
In 1905, the state legislature passed its first automobile law, requiring drivers to register their cars with the county tax collector. Instead of the metal license plates we know today, many early vehicles carried painted numbers or leather tags on their bumpers to show they were registered.
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The law also set the first speed limits in Florida — just 8 mph in town and 15 mph on country roads. While that might sound more like a leisurely bike ride today, those speeds were considered fast on dirt roads shared with horses, wagons and pedestrians.
By the 1920s, as automobiles became more common, Florida cities began adding stop signs and even some of the state’s first electric traffic lights. A statewide driver’s license, however, didn’t come until 1939, decades after the first cars appeared. That was the same year the Florida Highway Patrol was established.
Those early 1905 rules laid the foundation for the modern driving system we know today. And while 8 mph may no longer cut it, the goal of keeping Floridians safe on the road has stayed the same.
If you have a traffic question for Trooper Steve, email him at asktroopersteve@wkmg.com.
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