Steps To Take When Charged With Street Racing

In 2002 street racing in Florida was deemed a first-degree misdemeanor. The Florida statute that details this law considers street racing to be defined as using one or more motor vehicles in competition. The statute goes to further define common challenges in a race (getting to a goal in a specific time limit, endurance tests, speed challenges, etc.) and states that an accusation of street racing in Florida is contingent on whether or not the actions can be reasonably interpreted by police as a challenge to race.

The flaw in this statute is that it essentially takes several traffic citations such as speeding, aggressive driving, or reckless driving, and evolves them into the criminal charges of street racing in Florida. When you are convicted of street racing it is the arresting officer saying that you were racing, and not just speeding.

The statute continues to state that a driver may not drive a vehicle in a race, coordinate a race, knowingly ride as a passenger in a race, or cause traffic to slow or stop for a race. There are also provisions to include criminal charges for being a spectator at such an event.

Penalties for Street Racing in Florida

Because street racing in Florida is a first-degree misdemeanor it carries the potential for jail time up to 1 year and fines up to $1,000. In addition to the normal misdemeanor penalties, you face the revocation of your drivers license for up to 1 year. Your vehicle also may be impounded, causing additional costs to remove it from the impounding facility.

Additional criminal charges and penalties may be added if your arrest for street racing in Florida occurs within 5 years of a prior violation. In this case, the license revocation would increase to a 2-year time period. If you receive a 3rd violation within this 5-year period, revocation time increases to 4 years, and fines increase to a minimum of $2,000 and a maximum of $5,000.

Fighting Criminal Charges of Street Racing in Florida

The difficulty in fighting criminal charges of street racing in Florida is that the conviction is largely on the observations of the arresting officer. It is the word of the officer against yours, meaning you will need a solid defense from a Miami criminal defense attorney to potentially avoid the maximum penalties.

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