Drivers Can Be Ticketed $250 Under Florida Cell Phone Law-Mostly Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
Drivers can be ticketed $250 for distracted driving under a Florida cell phone law passed June 28, 2018.
The Truth:
While the Florida Legislature has been considering a cell phone restrictions for drivers, no such law has been signed into law. Posts making that claim went viral on Facebook in early 2018, and again in July of that year.
The rumor goes that police officers can ticket drivers $250 for simply have a phone in their hand. The new Florida cell phone law was supposedly signed on June 28, 2018, and went into effect shortly thereafter.
Although false, the contains a sliver of truth. Currently, using a cell phone while driving is considered a secondary offense in Florida. That means a police officer can’t initiate traffic stops for cell phone usage alone — but drivers could be ticketed if they were stopped for another offense, like speeding.
House Bill 33 would change that. Passed by the Florida House in March 2018, the bill would authorize police officers to stop and ticket drivers for using cell phones while driving. However, the bill stalled in the Florida Senate. It was ultimately indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration on March 10.
In other words, the measure failed. Given all that, we’re calling this one “mostly fiction.”