Have a big foot? “Super speeders” could face much higher fines, jail time, and even losing their licenses if Gov. Ron DeSantis signs a bill passed by the Florida Legislature.
HB 351 was passed unanimously by the Senate last week. It makes “dangerous excessive speeding” a crime and describes it as going over the speed limit by 50 mph or more or driving recklessly faster than 100 mph.
People who break the law for the first time could get up to 30 days in jail, a $500 fine, or both. If they break the law again, they could get up to 90 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine. People who speed too often could lose their licence for up to a year.
The bill from Rep. Danny Alvarez, R-Hillsborough County, and Rep. Susan Plasencia, R-Winter Park, is not as strict as the bill it replaced, Senate Bill 1782 from Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-Hollywood.
For a first offence, that one would have raised the fine for careless driving to $1,000, taken away the driver’s licence for six months, and seized their car for 30 days. If it was a second offence, the fine would be at least $2,500, and the licence would be taken away and the car would be impounded for 30 days.
More bad news for slow drivers: an addition to a large transportation bill that would have raised the speed limits in Florida by 5 mph was taken out earlier in April.