Florida Traffic Tickets For Commercial Drivers
If driving is your job, you need an aggressive Florida traffic attorney to keep you on the road and earning money.
Florida has thousands of motorists who possess a commercial license. A commercial license can be a class A, B, or C. In addition, a commercial license may have a hazmat endorsement. A class “A” commercial license allows a driver to operate a truck or truck combinations that has a gross vehicle weight rating above 26,000 pounds. A Class “B” license allows a driver to operate a straight truck weighing 26,001 or more pounds. And the last type of commercial license, a class “C” allows a driver to transport hazardous materials and/or vehicles designed to transport more than 15 persons, including the driver, whose gross vehicle weight is less than 26,0001 pounds.
The enforcement of Florida’s truck laws is not limited to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Motor Carrier Compliance Division. The division which is staffed by sworn law enforcement officers is responsible for protecting the highway system in Florida as well as investigating traffic crashes which involve commercial vehicles. The Florida Department of Transportation Office of Motor Carrier Compliance has 258 sworn law enforcement officers that assist in operating 32 weighing facilities and 19 fixed inspection stations. That does not mean the Florida Highway Patrol or local law enforcement can’t issues tickets to commercial drivers for violation of Florida’s traffic laws.
According to statistics issued in August 2010, there were over 100,000 truck inspections in 2009 and over 20,000 citations issued—with fines of over $14 million collected. Many of the citations issued to commercial drivers include violations of weight restrictions while others may include a no trucks in left lane violation, careless driving, improper lane change, stop sign, unlawful speed, or violation of a traffic control device.
Many commercial drivers call our office out of frustration because they can’t elect traffic school to keep the points off their license. In many counties the Judges are very understanding to the fact that drivers with a commercial license can NOT use an election for traffic school. Depending on the facts of the particular case and the driving record of the commercial driver, the Judge still has the power to withhold adjudication and not assess any points on the driving record. Sometimes in exchange for not putting points on a commercial driver’s license, the Judge can court order a driver improvement school. These are all options that any commercial driver should realize before they just pay a citation for a moving violation. In many instances, and depending on the citation, payment of a citation will cause an insurance increase as well as making you a risk for employment. Out of state drivers should also explore any possible court options as paying the ticket will result in a conviction and often trigger points transferring back to the home state pursuant to an interstate compact agreement.
The attorneys of Finebloom and Haenel are available for our commercial drivers 7 days a week. Just give us a call so we can discuss the particular facts of your citation and determine if we can possible keep the points off.
