Florida Motor Vehicle Statutes

[JAXrsx]

I thought I would post this for everyone. I think it should be a Sticky as it is a great reference for all of us who like to mod our cars.

Florida Motor Vehicle Statutes

It is a long page to browse through, but each law/statute is listed with a link to the full description.

Here are some that are probably more pertinent to us:

316.183 Unlawful Speed

316.191 Racing on Highways

316.220 Headlamps on Motor Vehicles

316.293 Motor Vehicle Noise (Exhaust systems)

316.2935 Air Pollution Control Devices; Tampering prohibited

316.2953 Side Window Tint

316.2954 Rear Window Tint

I think the rest is pretty much self explanatory. Most of the moving violations and other "standard" ticket violations are towards to beginning. Hope this helps some of you.

Cheers,

Craig

[po9i]

awesome post ill stick ythat for ya

[jstn]

nice post!

[JAXrsx]

Originally Posted by jstn

nice post!

Why thank ya!

[RacerX13]

316.183 Unlawful speed.--

(1) No person shall drive a vehicle on a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard to the actual and potential hazards then existing.

Ok.. so what if I just drank a 72 oz. bottle of water and am driving home and have to pee so bad I might explode? I think under those conditions, 125mph is reasonable and prudent for my own well being. Of course with regards to other drivers.

[JAXrsx]

Originally Posted by RacerX13

316.183 Unlawful speed.--

(1) No person shall drive a vehicle on a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard to the actual and potential hazards then existing.

Ok.. so what if I just drank a 72 oz. bottle of water and am driving home and have to pee so bad I might explode? I think under those conditions, 125mph is reasonable and prudent for my own well being. Of course with regards to other drivers.

I think you'd be better off letting yourself explode.....so long as the various bits and pieces of you weren't flying around at 125mph!

On a side note, a good friend of mine was speeding on I-95 up this way late one night because he was trying to make it to the next rest area cuz he had to pee bad. It was a construction area with a 55 limit and he was going around 75-80. He got pulled over as he drove into the rest area by an FHP trooper. The trooper was super cool about it. He let him go inside and "relieve" himself before he wrote the ticket or anything, and then he only wrote him up for 1-9 mph over and treated it like it was not in a work zone.

Craig

[RacerX13]

Yeah.. well. . maybe I should keep an empty 2 litre Coke bottle in the car for just such an occasion.

[Acuraivtec]

after reading the punishment for "Street racing" and "unlawful speeding" , I will never race in beeline again , and I will never ever drive 140mph on the way home.

[blaznazn]

the tint laws kinda got me on hold, I have 15% all around so that breaks the 35% light barrier.. besides me speeding and "drag" racing..never....me ??

[russtang]

I got stopped for speeding the other day and the cop told me something that originally I thought was pure b.s.. He told me that even though so many people have changed their exhausts for aftermarket , it is in fact illegal to do so if the sound they emit is louder than stock. So I did a little checking and I found under Title XXIX - public health, Chapter 403 - environmental control, section 403.415 8[a] No person shall sell or offer for sale for use as apart of the equipment of a motor vehicle any exhaust muffler, intake muffler or other noise abatement device which when installed, will permit the vehicle to be operated in a manner that the emitted sound level of the vehicle is increased above that emitted by the vehicle as originally manufactured and determined by the test procedures for new motor vehicle sound levels established under this section.
This sounds to me like that pretty much makes any aftermarket intake or exhaust illegal in the state of Florida as most make your car louder than stock. True or false ?...........russtang

[JAXrsx]

Originally Posted by russtang

I got stopped for speeding the other day and the cop told me something that originally I thought was pure b.s.. He told me that even though so many people have changed their exhausts for aftermarket , it is in fact illegal to do so if the sound they emit is louder than stock. So I did a little checking and I found under Title XXIX - public health, Chapter 403 - environmental control, section 403.415 8[a] No person shall sell or offer for sale for use as apart of the equipment of a motor vehicle any exhaust muffler, intake muffler or other noise abatement device which when installed, will permit the vehicle to be operated in a manner that the emitted sound level of the vehicle is increased above that emitted by the vehicle as originally manufactured and determined by the test procedures for new motor vehicle sound levels established under this section.
This sounds to me like that pretty much makes any aftermarket intake or exhaust illegal in the state of Florida as most make your car louder than stock. True or false ?...........russtang

If the statute which you quoted is current then it sounds as if it would be illegal to sell or use intakes AND exhausts. I knew that it was illegal to have the exhaust, but I did no know it also pertained to intakes(but it makes sense).

The big issue here is enforcement. Law enforcement agencies would have to conduct side-by-side tests of EVERY aftermarket exhaust system vs. the stock counterpart to determine if the noise volume increases. Common sense tells all of us that 99.99999% of aftermarket exhausts will be louder than stock, but they would need proof to use in court. Same would go for intakes.

I think that the issues have (obviously) only seen selective enforcement at best. If police started ticketing every car and truck that had illegal mods....it would be insane. If you do happen to get nailed though, I would say that you could try fighting it, but as the statutes show it is illegal.

Craig

[JAXrsx]

FUCK!!!!!!!!!!

Fucking JAX Beach police fags...

I got pulled over as I was pulling out of a parking lot...

The reason....noise abatement...aftermarket exhaust.

Unreal...there is no way it was loud....the engine never spun higher than 3000rpms.

The cop saw my exhaust and pulled me over just because....fuck I am pissed.

Craig

[TerrenceLP]

On the real it is a matter of open control. If you read through all of the laws in The 2004 Florida Statutes it is a joke! Home of the free? Not if you make too much noise. It's the rich fU$ck's making laws to keep what they got the way they want, nothing more nothing less. The sad part is how abunch of micro managing, controlling, people can truly effect your Saturday night!

[Bowdie81]

Nice post. I have 5% tint all the way around. I have an intake header and full exhaust. I guess i'm breaking all kinds of laws. Plus I have purple neons but, I found out they are not illegal unless they are blue, red, or you can see the bulb. I talk to a lot of cops. Plus the fact that I have a criminal justice degree and I'm a law official but not a cop.

[Grey Fox]

Why don't cops pull over people riding Harley's? They're louder than any exhaust I've heard on an import.

[JAXrsx]

Originally Posted by Grey Fox

Why don't cops pull over people riding Harley's? They're louder than any exhaust I've heard on an import.

Motorcycles are covered under a different section of the laws, and have different sound level tolerances. I think it sucks personally because I have been around some Harley's that were literally painful to listen to. I hate hearing loud imports as well, but like you said the loudest of (streetable) imports don't lay a candle to the Harleys.

Craig

[magoo]

Anybody have a statute on the number of cars a cop can pull over? I've been told by traffic school that its only one patrol car per ticketee, anyone able to confirm this?

[JAXrsx]

Originally Posted by magoo

Anybody have a statute on the number of cars a cop can pull over? I've been told by traffic school that its only one patrol car per ticketee, anyone able to confirm this?

I've never seen/heard of any "laws" which restrict how many cars a single officer can stop at one time. I have personally seen officers stop multiple cars at one time for speeding and/or other violations.

I can't say 100% that there is not a law for this, but it seems to me that it would be simply a choice left up to the issuing cop. If he has proof of infractions on multiple vehicles and can safely stop them all then why not?

Craig

[flyguy7150]

hmm just wondering anyone here in south florida been pulled over for their exhaust cause it was too loud?

[NHB_DC5R]

Originally Posted by flyguy7150

hmm just wondering anyone here in south florida been pulled over for their exhaust cause it was too loud?

my dad got pulled over driving my car cuz the exhaust was "too loud".....i have a base with magnaflow catback and CAI, and i know for a fact that a type s with only CAI IS HELLA LOUDER THAN MY CAR

[po9i]

i keep my silencer on whenever i go down..

[JAXrsx]

Originally Posted by NHB_DC5R

my dad got pulled over driving my car cuz the exhaust was "too loud".....i have a base with magnaflow catback and CAI, and i know for a fact that a type s with only CAI IS HELLA LOUDER THAN MY CAR

Thats the same exhaust I have and it is anything but loud (except maybe at WOT). Again though, any aftermarket exhaust is illegal here so we're screwed no matter what.

Craig

[DoubleXX]

Originally Posted by JAXrsx

I hate hearing loud imports as well, but like you said the loudest of (streetable) imports don't lay a candle to the Harleys.

Craig

Somebody hasn't revved an open header H22a Civic next to a Harley. TRUST me, they drown out the Harley as though he wasn't even there. Nothing a little 8k rpm redline can't fix.


Been there, done that.

[Acuraivtec]

god dang went over the emmissions statue and whoa they are serious about this.

[rsx2k5]

damn! i hate cops . some cops are real ass*****