| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to motor vehicles; creating the "Highway |
| 3 | Safety Act"; providing legislative intent relating to road |
| 4 | rage and aggressive careless driving; amending s. 316.003, |
| 5 | F.S.; defining the term "road rage"; amending s. 316.083, |
| 6 | F.S.; requiring an operator of a motor vehicle to yield |
| 7 | the left lane when being overtaken on a multilane highway; |
| 8 | providing exceptions; amending s. 316.1923, F.S.; revising |
| 9 | the number of specified acts necessary to qualify as an |
| 10 | aggressive careless driver; providing specified |
| 11 | punishments for aggressive careless driving; amending s. |
| 12 | 318.19, F.S.; providing that a second or subsequent |
| 13 | infraction as an aggressive careless driver requires |
| 14 | attendance at a mandatory hearing; providing for the |
| 15 | disposition of the increased penalties; requiring the |
| 16 | Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to provide |
| 17 | an educational awareness campaign; reenacting s. |
| 18 | 316.650(1)(a), F.S., relating to traffic citations, to |
| 19 | incorporate the amendments made to s. 316.1923, F.S., in a |
| 20 | reference thereto; providing an effective date. |
| 21 |
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| 22 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 23 |
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| 24 | Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Highway Safety |
| 25 | Act." |
| 26 | Section 2. The Legislature finds that road rage and |
| 27 | aggressive careless driving are a growing threat to the health, |
| 28 | safety, and welfare of the public. The intent of the Legislature |
| 29 | is to reduce road rage and aggressive careless driving, reduce |
| 30 | the incidence of drivers' interfering with the movement of |
| 31 | traffic, minimize crashes, and promote the orderly, free flow of |
| 32 | traffic on the roads and highways of the state. |
| 33 | Section 3. Subsection (86) is added to section 316.003, |
| 34 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 35 | 316.003 Definitions.--The following words and phrases, |
| 36 | when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings respectively |
| 37 | ascribed to them in this section, except where the context |
| 38 | otherwise requires: |
| 39 | (86) ROAD RAGE.--The act of a driver or passenger to |
| 40 | intentionally injure or kill another driver, passenger, or |
| 41 | pedestrian, or to attempt or threaten to injure or kill another |
| 42 | driver, passenger, or pedestrian. |
| 43 | Section 4. Present subsection (3) of section 316.083, |
| 44 | Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (4), and a new |
| 45 | subsection (3) is added to that section, to read: |
| 46 | 316.083 Overtaking and passing a vehicle.--The following |
| 47 | rules shall govern the overtaking and passing of vehicles |
| 48 | proceeding in the same direction, subject to those limitations, |
| 49 | exceptions, and special rules hereinafter stated: |
| 50 | (3) On roads, streets, or highways having two or more |
| 51 | lanes that allow movement in the same direction, a driver may |
| 52 | not continue to operate a motor vehicle in the furthermost left- |
| 53 | hand lane if the driver knows, or reasonably should know, that |
| 54 | he or she is being overtaken in that lane from the rear by a |
| 55 | motor vehicle traveling at a higher rate of speed. This |
| 56 | subsection does not apply to the driver of a motor vehicle if he |
| 57 | or she is in the process of overtaking a slower motor vehicle in |
| 58 | an adjacent right-hand lane or if he or she is preparing to make |
| 59 | a left turn. |
| 60 | Section 5. Section 316.1923, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 61 | to read: |
| 62 | 316.1923 Aggressive careless driving.-- |
| 63 | (1) "Aggressive careless driving" means committing three |
| 64 | two or more of the following acts simultaneously or in |
| 65 | succession: |
| 66 | (a)(1) Exceeding the posted speed as defined in s. |
| 67 | 322.27(3)(d)5.b. |
| 68 | (b)(2) Unsafely or improperly changing lanes as defined in |
| 69 | s. 316.085. |
| 70 | (c)(3) Following another vehicle too closely as defined in |
| 71 | s. 316.0895(1). |
| 72 | (d)(4) Failing to yield the right-of-way as defined in s. |
| 73 | 316.079, s. 316.0815, or s. 316.123. |
| 74 | (e)(5) Improperly passing or failing to yield to |
| 75 | overtaking vehicles as defined in s. 316.083, s. 316.084, or s. |
| 76 | 316.085. |
| 77 | (f)(6) Violating traffic control and signal devices as |
| 78 | defined in ss. 316.074 and 316.075. |
| 79 | (2) Any person convicted of aggressive careless driving |
| 80 | shall be cited for a moving violation and punished as provided |
| 81 | in chapter 318, and by the accumulation of points as provided in |
| 82 | s. 322.27, for each act of aggressive careless driving. |
| 83 | (3) In addition to any fine or points administered under |
| 84 | subsection (2), a person convicted of aggressive careless |
| 85 | driving shall also pay: |
| 86 | (a) Upon a first violation, a fine of $100. |
| 87 | (b) Upon a second or subsequent conviction, a fine of not |
| 88 | less than $250 but not more than $500 and be subject to a |
| 89 | mandatory hearing under s. 318.19. |
| 90 | (4) Moneys received from the increased fine imposed by |
| 91 | subsection (3) shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue |
| 92 | and deposited into the Department of Health Administrative Trust |
| 93 | Fund to provide financial support to verified trauma centers to |
| 94 | ensure the availability and accessibility of trauma services |
| 95 | throughout the state. Funds deposited into the Administrative |
| 96 | Trust Fund under this section shall be allocated as follows: |
| 97 | (a) Twenty-five percent shall be allocated equally among |
| 98 | all Level I, Level II, and pediatric trauma centers in |
| 99 | recognition of readiness costs for maintaining trauma services. |
| 100 | (b) Twenty-five percent shall be allocated among Level I, |
| 101 | Level II, and pediatric trauma centers based on each center's |
| 102 | relative volume of trauma cases as reported in the Department of |
| 103 | Health Trauma Registry. |
| 104 | (c) Twenty-five percent shall be allocated for emergency |
| 105 | medical services. |
| 106 | (d) Twenty-five percent shall be allocated for rural |
| 107 | emergency medical services. |
| 108 | Section 6. Section 318.19, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 109 | read: |
| 110 | 318.19 Infractions requiring a mandatory hearing.--Any |
| 111 | person cited for the infractions listed in this section shall |
| 112 | not have the provisions of s. 318.14(2), (4), and (9) available |
| 113 | to him or her but must appear before the designated official at |
| 114 | the time and location of the scheduled hearing: |
| 115 | (1) Any infraction which results in a crash that causes |
| 116 | the death of another; |
| 117 | (2) Any infraction which results in a crash that causes |
| 118 | "serious bodily injury" of another as defined in s. 316.1933(1); |
| 119 | (3) Any infraction of s. 316.172(1)(b); |
| 120 | (4) Any infraction of s. 316.520(1) or (2); or |
| 121 | (5) Any infraction of s. 316.183(2), s. 316.187, or s. |
| 122 | 316.189 of exceeding the speed limit by 30 m.p.h. or more; or. |
| 123 | (6) A second or subsequent infraction of s. 316.1923(1). |
| 124 | Section 7. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor |
| 125 | Vehicles shall provide an educational awareness campaign |
| 126 | informing the motoring public about the Highway Safety Act. The |
| 127 | department shall provide information about the act in all newly |
| 128 | printed driver's license educational materials after October 1, |
| 129 | 2008, and in public service announcements produced in |
| 130 | cooperation with the Florida Highway Patrol. |
| 131 | Section 8. For the purpose of incorporating the amendments |
| 132 | made by this act to section 316.1923, Florida Statutes, in a |
| 133 | reference thereto, paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section |
| 134 | 316.650, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read: |
| 135 | 316.650 Traffic citations.-- |
| 136 | (1)(a) The department shall prepare, and supply to every |
| 137 | traffic enforcement agency in this state, an appropriate form |
| 138 | traffic citation containing a notice to appear (which shall be |
| 139 | issued in prenumbered books with citations in quintuplicate) and |
| 140 | meeting the requirements of this chapter or any laws of this |
| 141 | state regulating traffic, which form shall be consistent with |
| 142 | the state traffic court rules and the procedures established by |
| 143 | the department. The form shall include a box which is to be |
| 144 | checked by the law enforcement officer when the officer believes |
| 145 | that the traffic violation or crash was due to aggressive |
| 146 | careless driving as defined in s. 316.1923. The form shall also |
| 147 | include a box which is to be checked by the law enforcement |
| 148 | officer when the officer writes a uniform traffic citation for a |
| 149 | violation of s. 316.074(1) or s. 316.075(1)(c)1. as a result of |
| 150 | the driver failing to stop at a traffic signal. |
| 151 | Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |