Despite about 2,500 total road fatalities, 214 distracted driving fatalities and nearly 40,000 distracted driving injuries per year, Florida’s distracted driving law is one of the least restrictive in the nation. The real trouble begins if you have a road accident while distracted driving, because the civil liability you may face could far exceed any statutory distracted driving penalty.
Distracted Driving Restrictions
Florida imposes no general ban on cell phone use, whether hand-held or hands-free. The state bans only texting and driving. Even texting and driving is a secondary offense – an officer cannot pull you over for texting unless he personally witnesses you committing another offense such as speeding. The fine is $30 for a first offense and $60 for a second offense plus court costs.
There are no special restrictions for novice drivers, minors or school bus drivers, and there are several exceptions that cover situations such as emergencies (reporting a serious car accident, for example). Further, the Florida state government prohibits cities and counties from enacting their own local distracted driving laws. Florida has established several dozen designated “safe zones” for cell phone use at highway rest stops and similar locations – it maintains the greatest number of such designated areas in the nation.
In the Event of an Accident
If you are involved in a traffic accident in Florida while using an electronic device such as an iPhone, your liability could far exceed the $30 to $60 you would pay for a distracted driving citation.
Although texting and driving is illegal in Florida, it is not absolute proof that the traffic accident was your fault. If an accident victim sues you for damages, he will have to prove that texting and driving was negligence under the particular circumstances of the accident and that your negligence was a substantial factor in causing the accident. If he meets this burden of proof, you can be held liable for all damages arising from the accident.
If two parties were at fault for the accident, Florida applies a “pure comparative negligence” standard. Suppose that a driver runs a stop light and hits you broadside, but that you were stopping and starting through the intersection because you were busy texting a friend. If you sue the other driver and the court decides that your texting constituted negligence, you will share fault for the accident with the other driver. If you were 40 percent at fault and the other driver was 60 percent at fault, for example, you will have to shoulder 40 percent of your own damages, while the other driver will have to pay 60 percent of your damages. Likewise, the other driver can sue you for 40 percent of his own damages.
Criminal Penalties
Normally, negligent driving is a civil offense, not a criminal offense, meaning that you can’t go to jail for it. There is an exception, however, if your conduct constituted “culpable negligence”, which means reckless disregard for human life or safety. Speeding and texting your way through a school crossing zone, for example, might be enough to constitute culpable negligence if you strike a child. The definition of culpable negligence is highly circumstantial – it depends on the specific facts of each individual case.
– Updated through September 1, 2016