ORLANDO, Fla. – A new Florida law that creates much harsher penalties for “dangerous” speedsters went into effect on Tuesday.
HB 351, also known as the “Super Speeder” establishes a new criminal offense under a state statute labeled “dangerous excessive speeding.”
Lt. Tara Crescenzi said the Florida Highway Patrol has been preparing to implement the new law, which targets drivers who go at least 50 mph over the speed limit or who speed at 100 mph or more in a way that threatens the people or property around them.
“It’s extremely dangerous,” Crescenzi said. “If you are traveling 50 miles over the posted speed limit, you are interfering with everyone else that’s on that roadway, not just traffic, also pedestrians and bicyclists.”
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Speeding itself is generally considered a noncriminal traffic infraction, punished primarily with fines, but HB 351 makes it so that excessive speeding is an arrestable offense. This is in addition to any applicable fines for speeding.
Under the law, someone who commits “dangerous excessive speeding” can be punished by up to 30 days in jail and a fine of $500 for a first offense.
A second offense could result in up to 90 days in jail and a fine of $1,000.
Additionally, a repeat offense within five years, could result in revocation of that person’s driver’s license for up to a year.
“This law will help us be able to educate drivers by these hefty fines and even jail time and impounding the vehicle,” Crescenzi said. “That type of penalty hopefully sticks with them, that this isn’t a joke and that lives depend on it.”
HB 351 is one of over 120 state laws that began July 1.
You can find the full list of those laws here.