Florida DUI Traffic Ticket Lawyer Blog

A speeding stop led to much more than just a traffic citation for a 44-year-old Tampa woman. Joyce Ray was pulled over in Clearwater for driving a reported 79 M.P.H. in a 45 zone. According to TampaBay.com when police got to the vehicle they saw a minor in the car with alcohol. It was at that point they began to investigate more than a speeder.

During their investigation Clearwater police found two credit cards on Ray that did not belong to her. They later discovered that she had allegedly stolen 10 credit cards from a private employee area at a David’s Bridal. She reportedly charged more than $3000 on those stolen cards. She is in a Pinellas County Jail now on charges of grand theft, burglary, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and scheme to defraud.

If you have been cited for a traffic violation that led to your arrest in St. Petersburg, Clearwater or Pinellas County and you are in need of qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Defense Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourPinellasArrest.com. Also you can contact David via email or by stopping in our Clearwater office located at 4500 140 Ave. North #203.

Deputy Lee Harrington is facing disciplinary actions following his wrongful arrest of a former state representative. Harrington has been suspended and demoted due to his arrest of Mark Flanagan who reportedly obstructed a hit-and-run case. In a Bradenton Herald story Sheriff Brad Steube said Harrington had no grounds to arrest Flanagan.

According to the story Flanagan was trying to protect his son who was a witness to a hit-and-run case. For non-traffic misdemeanors there is usually a notice to appear in court issued, not an arrest. Harrington will lose 240 hours without pay for his mistake and will return to work as a dispatcher, which comes with a pay decrease of more than $10,000.

If you have been cited in a traffic accident and need qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Traffic Attorney Stephen Higgins at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTickets.com. Also you can contact Stephen via email or by stopping in our Sarasota office located at 200 N. Washington Blvd.

Thousands of residents in Polk County were without power early Sunday morning and now they know why. Apparently 28-year-old Luke Huber crashed his car into a power pole on Old Polk City Road and State Road 33. That caused an estimated 3,500 residents to lose their power for much of the day. It was eventually restored around 9:00 p.m.

According to Bay News 9 Huber has now been arrested and charged with DUI. He was booked into Polk County Jail with one count of driving under the influence. It took utility crews more than 15 hours to get the power pole fixed following the single car accident.

If you have been charged with a DUI in Polk County, please do not hesitate to contact DUI Defense Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) or online at FightYourPolkDUI.com to discuss the matter. Also you can contact David via email or by stopping in any of our four central Florida offices.

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Unit took National School Bus Safety Week to heart. The sheriffs wrote traffic citations to 59 drivers who failed to stop for school buses letting off passengers. Many of the traffic offenders didn’t even know they had broken the law according to the story on the Bradenton Herald’s website.

Part of the confusion for drivers is not being aware of what the law is when it comes to school buses. Most drivers know they must stop when they are on the same side of a street as a school bus. Many are being ticketed though for not stopping on the opposite side of the road. Motorists are required to stop going the opposite way if there isn’t a raised median, unpaved section of at least five feet or some other form of barrier. The ticket for this infraction is over $270.00.

If you have been cited for a traffic violation in Sarasota, Bradenton or Manatee please do not hesitate to contact experienced Defense Attorney Stephen Higgins at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTickets.com. Also you can contact Stephen via email or by stopping in our Sarasota office located at 200 N Washington Blvd.

A traffic accident has led to the death of a Bradenton man while on the job early Friday morning. According to Sheriff’s deputies and an article on TampaBay.com 34-year-old Frederick Solomon was killed at the scene of an accident while in the midst of performing his duties as a sanitation worker in Brandon.

Solomon was behind his work truck when a Plant City man rear-ended the truck with his 1988 Toyota. The driver, 33-year-old Lloyd Cribbs, Jr. of Plant City, caused the truck to pin Solomon between it and another car killing the man. Cribbs was taken to the hospital and no charges have been filed in the death as of yet.

If you have been cited for a traffic violation in Tampa that left another person injured and need qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Defense Attorney Stephen Higgins at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourCase.com. Also you can contact Stephen via email or by stopping in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.

Hit-and-Run or Leaving The Scene of an Accident is a serious charge in a fender bender but when the driver kills a pedestrian it elevates to a serious crime and that is why the Florida Highway Patrol is asking for the help of the public in Pinellas County. According to a story on the St. Petersburg Times website, the FHP is seeking anyone with information on a Thursday night hit and run crash.

Tony Sorenson was killed walking across Ulmerton around 8:00 p.m. The 41-year-old resident of Ft. Meyers was hit by a silver Ford F-150. Sorenson was pronounced dead at the Largo Medical Center and the driver of the Ford truck is unknown. If you have information on the traffic accident, please call (813) 631-4020.

If you have been involved in a traffic-related felony in St. Petersburg or Pinellas County and you are in need of qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Defense Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourPinellasArrest.com. Also you can contact David via email or by stopping in our Clearwater office located at 4500 140 Ave. North #203.

The Sarasota County Sheriff is cracking down on driver’s who are getting behind the wheel despite the fact they have a suspended license. On Thursday Sheriff’s deputies were in court monitoring DWLS cases and followed driver’s out into the courthouse parking lot. If a driver with a suspended license got behind the wheel, they got nabbed according to Todd Ruger of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in today’s paper. Only two driver’s who were followed out of court got into a car to drive and both were arrested.

The officer’s thought they may have had a third arrest when a man with a history of DUI charges left court and headed to a liquor store but officer’s lost him when he slipped out a back door. Today the sting, called ‘Operation Gotcha’ moves to South County where half of the county’s 6,000 suspended drivers reside. This was the first sting at the Sarasota County Courthouse but Sheriff’s deputies said to expect more.

If your license has been suspended and that led to your arrest in Sarasota or Mantaee County and you are in need of qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Criminal Defense Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourSuspension.com. Also you can contact David via email or by stopping in our Sarasota office located at 200 N. Washington Blvd.

A Sarasota County woman was pulled over at 2:00 a.m. because she was allegedly driving while her license was suspended. The traffic stop and subsequent arrest of Crystal Haas seemed to be going fairly normally until the woman started complaining she felt ‘closed in’ while handcuffed in the back of the North Port police car. At that point the officer rolled down the window of the cruiser and Haas slipped out of her handcuffs and bailed out the window according to police reports chronicled in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Haas took off on foot with an officer in chase. The officer reportedly Tasered the woman twice but she continued to flee the police and jumped into a near-by canal. The officer finally caught up to Haas and pulled her out of the canal and at that point the woman is alleged to have tried to strike the officer and then kicked him once he put a second set of cuffs on the woman. Haas has been charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, escape and resisting arrest with violence. She was released from the Sarasota County jail on $11,500 bond.

If you have been cited for a traffic violation that led to your arrest in Sarasota or Mantaee County and you are in need of qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Criminal Defense Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourCase.com. Also you can contact David via email or by stopping in our Sarasota office located at 200 N. Washington Blvd.

U.S. Highway 19 in Clearwater was covered in orange juice concentrate and diesel fuel during rush hour on Tuesday afternoon. Now the driver of that orange juice truck has been identified and cited according to a story on TampaBay.com. Lake Wales’ Rodney Smith was ticketed for careless driving following a one-car accident that caused the spill.

The story says that Smith was driving on Gulf To Bay when he turned right and lost control of his truck. The orange juice hauler flipped and caused the spill. Smith, 39-years-old, was taken to Bayfront Medical Center due to injuries suffered in the accident. He is in stable condition and his injuries are not-life threatening.

If you have been cited for a traffic violation in St. Petersburg or Pinellas County and you are in need of qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Defense Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTickets.com. Also you can contact David via email or by stopping in our Clearwater office located at 4500 140 Ave. North #203.

Ambulance driver Justin McKenzie has been charged with careless driving for causing an accident that led to the death of 64-year-old Jerold Hager. The accident took place on Busch Boulevard just after 9:30 p.m. Monday evening. According to an article on TBO.com, McKenzie was trying to maneuver around stopped traffic and hit Hager head on sending the man to the hospital where he somewhat unexpectedly died of his injuries Tuesday morning.

Hager was driving his two grandsons home from Boy Scouts when the traffic accident occurred. Neither of the children suffered serious injuries. The story says that neither vehicle was speeding at the time of the crash and that McKenzie has a clean criminal history outside of a 2000 traffic ticket for speeding.

If you have been cited for a traffic violation in Tampa and need qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Hillsborough County Defense Attorney Stephen Higgins at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTickets.com. Also you can contact Stephen via email or by stopping in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.

An investigation is underway into the death of 38-year-old Robert Miller. The Seminole man died following a stay in the Pinellas County jail after an October 2 arrest for DUI, trafficking in oxycodone and doctor shopping. Miller was being held at Largo Medical Center since October 10 after spending time in the jail’s medical facility due to undisclosed medical conditions as reported on TampaBay.com.

According to the article Miller was taken to Largo Medical Center after being found unresponsive by jail staffers more than a week after he was booked into Pinellas County jail. Miller was released from custody while hospitalized for some reason according to a sheriff’s spokesperson. According to records, this was Miller’s fourth arrest for DUI.

If you have been charged with a DUI or any crime in St. Petersburg, Clearwater or anywhere in Pinellas County, please do not hesitate to contact Pinellas DUI Defense Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) or online at FightYourPinellasArrest.com to discuss the matter. Also you can contact David via email or by stopping in our Pinellas office located at 4500 140th Ave. North #203.

Timothy Thompkins has turned himself into police at Faulkenburg Road jail following a Tuesday night car accident that he was involved in. According to TampaBay.com Thompkins crashed into a marked police cruiser on Gibsonton Drive near I-75 and then left the scene.

Deputy Brian Craig was injured in the traffic accident and was taken to University Commons Hospital with minor injuries. The accident took place at 9:00 p.m. when Thompkins’ Grand Am was headed northbound towards the highway. The 19-year-old is facing charges of leaving the scene of an accident and driving without a license.

If you have been cited for a traffic violation in Tampa that led to criminal charges and need qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Defense Attorney Darren Finebloom at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourCase.com. Also you can contact Darren via email or by stopping in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.

It seems like there have been a lot of police officers and their cruisers hit by cars these days. Another hit-and-run against an officer in Pinellas County is being reported by Bay News 9. This time it is an 81-year-old driver who has been cited. Jean Stevens apparently struck a St. Petersburg Police officer during a traffic stop.

Officer Juan Cortes had parked his cruiser on the side of 62nd Ave. where he was responding to a call of a found bicycle. According to police reports he was loading the bike into his trunk when a 1987 Toyota Carolla struck him from behind. Stevens has been cited for careless driving and the officer has been released from the hospital with minor injuries.

If you have been cited for a traffic violation in St. Petersburg or Pinellas County and you are in need of qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Traffic Defense Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTickets.com. Also you can contact David via email or by stopping in our Clearwater office located at 4500 140 Ave. North #203.

When you think about the Florida Highway Patrol and speeding tickets you usually think of a cop giving you a citation not trying to get rid of one. Tallahassee.com is reporting the story of one trooper who tried to get a speeding ticket taken away so a friend wouldn’t have to pay the fine. Trooper William Grissom is now under arrest.

Grissom was charged with a felony for falsifying official documents when he completed a notice of dismissal for a speeding ticket fellow Trooper Matthew Rabun issued on August 14. Grissom changed the citation indicating the radar failed the end of shift test and then he signed Rabun’s name. Grissom realized how serious of a mistake he made and urged his friend to pay the fine.

If you have been cited for a traffic violation anywhere in Florida and don’t have a friend on the force to take care of your ticket, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Traffic Attorney Stephen Higgins at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTicket.com. Also you can contact Stephen via email.

A Clearwater man who is accused of ramming a Pinellas County Sheriff Deputy’s cruiser was located hiding under the water, below a dock in nothing but his underwear. According to a story on TampaBay.com, 38-year-old Dana Shepard was arrested after police dogs helped sheriffs locate the man who is accused of ramming a stolen car into the deputy who stopped him for an expired tag.

According to the police Shepard backed his car into the cruiser and then drove off. At one point he abandoned the stolen vehicle and fled on foot. Deputies not only used police dogs but helicopters as well to locate the suspect. He has been charged with driving with an expired license, tag not assigned, fleeing and eluding, leaving the scene of an accident, grand theft auto and aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer.

If you have been cited for a traffic violation that led to an arrest in Pinellas County and you are in need of qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Defense Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourPinellasArrest.com. Also you can contact David via email or by stopping in our Clearwater office located at 4500 140 Ave. North #203.

Spring Hill’s Michael Sutton has been charged with reckless driving and driving while license suspended following a head-on collision with a school bus according to Hernando County Sheriffs and a story on TBO.com. Sutton may also be facing DUI charges as FHP awaits toxicology reports to determine whether the 33-year-old was under the influence.

According to the story Sutton and his passenger were both seriously injured and taken to local hospitals following the traffic accident. The bus, which was carrying 30 students, was hit at 3:30 p.m. by Sutton’s Toyota. No one was injured seriously on the school bus but some passengers were treated for minor injuries. The FHP had reports that Sutton was traveling at a high rate of speed and weaving on eastbound and westbound lanes before the crash.

If you have been cited for a traffic violation in Tampa Bay and need qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Traffic Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTickets.com. Also you can contact David via email or by stopping in any of our four central Florida office locations.

More than two years ago 83-year-old Vertis Ryan died in a traffic crash. Now it is up to a Tampa jury to decide if it was just an accident or a homicide. Roger Yeager’s trial began yesterday in Hillsborough County on charges of reckless driving, vehicular homicide and street racing. The driver of the car he was accused of racing has already pled guilty and is serving three years in prison. He was the first witness to testify against Yeager.

According to the prosecution Yeager rammed his Nissan 350Z into a Ford Taurus that was making a U-Turn on Gibsonton Drive. According to an article on TBO.com Smith has already testified that he noticed Yeager was revving his engine and took off when a street light turned green. Smith passed the Nissan but then Yeager caught back up and the two began to race before he saw Yeager’s taillights as the car entered a curve where he crashed with the victim’s Taurus.

If you have been cited for a traffic violation in Tampa that led to criminal charges and need qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Defense Attorney Darren Finebloom at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourCase.com. Also you can contact Darren via email or by stopping in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.

A 21-year-old Hudson, Florida woman has been charged with careless driving following an accident last week in which she hit two teenagers according to a report on TampaBay.com. Deanna Leggio was driving early in the morning last week when she swerved to avoid two children walking toward a bus but in the process hit two others.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, she was driving north on Utica Drive when she neared a bust stop at Utica and New York Ave. That is when Leggio ran into the two teens. The 15-year-old and 13-year-old victims were taken to the hospital for treatment. Leggio has now been charged with careless driving in the incident.

If you have been cited for a traffic violation in Tampa Bay and need qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Traffic Attorney Stephen Higgins at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTickets.com. Also you can contact Stephen via email or by stopping in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.

The State of Florida has been changing traffic laws and fees a lot lately. There has been great debate as to whether the changes are for public safety or to raise money for the cash-strapped state. According to Bay News 9, another state legislator is proposing a bill to change a traffic law in the name of safety.

State Senator Thad Altman has proposed that booster seats be mandatory for children up to the age of seven. The current law requires a child in a car be restrained in a booster seat up to the age of four. He and booster seat saleswoman Barbara Hill are in support of the changes. The article on the stations website cites stats they say almost 200 children between the ages of 4-7 have been killed in Florida car crashes the past decade. They add almost 1,000 more have been injured.

If you have been cited for a traffic violation anywhere in Florida and need qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Traffic Attorney Stephen Higgins at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTickets.com. Also you can contact Stephen via email.

When it comes to creative excuses to avoid traffic tickets, cops have probably heard them all. Some are legendary. The Bradenton Police Department are charged with finding out if the latest excuse for a traffic accident is real or made-up. A 33-year-old woman was involved in a single car accident and told police the cause of the crash was an abscessed tooth according to a story on Bradenton.com.

The woman claimed the pain from her bad tooth was so bad she lost control of her car and hit a flagpole, fire hydrant and bus bench. She suffered serious enough injuries that she was flown to a local hospital. The accident occurred on Manatee Avenue after 9:00 p.m. last night. The street was closed so a helicopter could land and take the woman to the hospital.

If you have been cited in a traffic accident and need qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Traffic Attorney Stephen Higgins at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTickets.com. Also you can contact Stephen via email or by stopping in our Sarasota office located at 200 N. Washington Blvd.

While you still can’t be cited for a traffic violation for texting and driving in Florida, there is one county where you can lose your job for doing so. ABC Action News’ Elizabeth Dinh is reporting that Polk County has banned its 2,000 employees from texting while on the road or on the clock. Polk officials say that after a third offense violating the rule, an employee will be suspended and could be fired.

The new rule is in response to the increasing number of crashes of trains and buses that are a result of the driver being distracted by test messaging. While the first few times a county employee is caught there will only be warnings issued, Polk County is hoping the new rule will lower the chance of a major accident and injuries caused by a county employee.

If you have been cited for a traffic violation in Polk or Hillsborough County and need qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Traffic Attorney Stephen Higgins at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTickets.com. Also you can contact Stephen via email or by stopping in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.

Monday night a Tarpon Springs woman was run over and killed crossing the street at U.S. 19. On Wednesday Tarpon Springs Police identified the woman as 45-year-old Charlotte Boynton according to a story on TBO.com. She was struck while pushing a bicycle across the street at approximately 7:20 p.m.

Investigators are now trying to find the cause of the accident. They are reviewing witness accounts and evidence while awaiting toxicology reports to see if DUI was behind the fatal accident. No charges have been filed yet and the Tarpon Springs Police say none will until the investigation is complete.

If you have been cited for a DUI in Tampa Bay, please do not hesitate to contact DUI Defense Attorney Stephen Higgins at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) or online at FightYourTampaDUI.com to discuss the matter. You can also contact Stephen via email or by stopping in any of four Florida offices.

A 22-year-old in Clearwater led Pinellas Police on a chase that ended when he crashed his convertible Corvette into an oak tree according to TampaBay.com. The incident began with Anthony Hodson allegedly tapping on the window of his ex-girlfriend early Wednesday morning. That led the 22-year-old woman to call police and report the man who was prowling around her Dunedin home.

Police arrived on the scene and Hodson is reported to have taken off at a high rate of speed to elude arrest. Deputies tried to stop the man but it wasn’t until he lost control of his car and crashed it into a tree that they were able to place him under arrest. Hodson has been charged with felony habitual traffic violations, reckless driving, violation of parole, resisting arrest without violence, fleeing and eluding, prowling and loitering.

If you have been cited for a traffic violation in Tampa Bay and need qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Traffic Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTickets.com. Also you can contact David via email or by stopping in our Clearwater office located at 4500 140 Ave. North #203.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff Office reported a car crash early Tuesday morning that has cost a 59-year-old man his life. As reported on the St. Petersburg Times website, Juan-Patino-Grajales died at the scene of the accident which took place on Memorial Highway. Two other men were taken to the hospital with injuries that were not listed as life-threatening.

According to police reports a 1999 Ford Explorer with three people inside was speeding when it came up on a car in the left lane. The Explorer went to pass on the right side and lost control. The car flipped over and crossed the median. Grajales was a passenger in the car and was sitting in the front seat.

If you have been cited for a traffic violation in Tampa and need qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Traffic Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTickets.com. Also you can contact David via email or by stopping in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.

A 3:00 a.m. traffic stop led to two arrests for Driving Under The Influence and Child Abuse and Neglect. The Ocala Star Banner first reported the story of the parents who were driving around very early Thursday morning with their baby in the backset, not restrained, while allegedly under the influence of alcohol. The young boy was uninjured but both the mother and father were arrested for DUI on top of the child abuse charges.

The young boy’s 25-year-old father and 20-year-old mother remained in Marion County jail as the child was released to his great-grandmother. Sheriff’s deputies pulled the couple over for driving erratically at a high rate of speed according to police reports. Jeremy Bryant had a blood-alcohol level at or below the legal limit but admitted to drinking and smoking crack cocaine that day. The couple had already been cited earlier that day for an open container violation and for having no driver license.

If you have been cited for a DUI in Tampa Bay please do not hesitate to contact DUI Defense Attorney Darren Finebloom at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) or online at FightYourDUI.com to discuss the matter. You can also contact Darren via email or by stopping in any of four Florida offices.

The Florida Highway Patrol is reporting a traffic accident that has sent a 67-year-old woman to the hospital in critical condition. According to a story on TampaBay.com a Pasco County woman named Sharon Zacharias was involved in a head-on collision when a 16-year-old driver swerved out of his lane and hit her Mitsubishi pick-up.

Jonathan Kubiak was driving in Zephyrhills when his 2001 Volkswagen Jetta moved into an eastbound lane and crashed into Zacharias’ truck. Both drivers were taken to local hospitals. Kubiak’s injuries were considered minor. The teen was driving alone with only a learner’s permit. He has been charged with violation of his license and failure to stay in a designated lane.

If you have been involved in a traffic incident in Tampa that led to an accident and need qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact Criminal Defense Attorney Darren Finebloom at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTickets.com. Also you can contact Darren via email or by stopping in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.

Texting and driving is a bad idea and there are numerous studies and stats that back that up. In some reports it has been found that texting while driving is many times more dangerous than drinking and driving. The practice is under scrutiny at the federal level right now but before the U.S. Government puts a ban in place, Florida lawmakers may beat them to the punch according to an article at TBO.com.

A bill has been filed in Tallahassee to make texting and driving a noncriminal moving violation punishable by fines. Similar proposals have failed previously but the current bill will focus solely on texting and not talking on cell phones as well. Eighteen states already have some ban in place. Reports put the number of deaths due to distracted driving at 6,000 nationwide.

If you have been cited for a traffic violation in Tampa and need qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Traffic Attorney Stephen Higgins at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTickets.com. Also you can contact Stephen via email or by stopping in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.

With a national summit and a bill in the Florida House, distracted driving is becoming a major issue in the United States as well as in our home state of Florida. Most expect the practice of sending text messages while driving to become a traffic offense in Florida shortly, until then Tampa high school students got a lesson in just how dangerous distracted driving can be thanks to a program sponsored by Allstate and reported on in the Tampa Tribune.

Students from Sickles, Lennard, Leto, Wharton and Freedom high schools took part in the class held in the parking lot of Steinbrenner Stadium. The high schoolers were asked to navigate cones while texting, eating, listening to loud music, drinking and being in a car full of fellow teens. On this day the drivers were only running over cones but the point the instructors made on any other day those could have been pedestrians.

If you have been cited for a traffic violation in Tampa and need qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact experienced Traffic Attorney Stephen Higgins at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTickets.com. Also you can contact Stephen via email or by stopping in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.

In April 2007 Angela Stone lost her daughter to a drunk driver. Christopher Marcone, 27-years-old, is serving a 13-year prison sentence after he plead to DUI manslaughter and three other related counts. Yesterday the mother of the 13-year-old girl who lost her life received a $330 million jury verdict in a civil case brought against the DUI driver that killed her daughter according to a report on the website TampaBay.com. Six jurors took less than 60 minutes to rule Marcone should pay Stone $275 million in punitive damages and $55 million in compensatory damages.

According to the article Stone and her lawyer filed the suit to send a message to those motorists who drive drunk and also to the automaker they have sued in Hillsborough County. Marcone had a blood-alcohol level of .207 that fateful night but Stone and her attorney don’t expect to receive any money from the man. They do also have a wrongful death suit pending against Kia Motors Corp. and a Tampa auto dealer claiming that the restraints in the car her daughter was in contributed to her death. Stone’s lawyer is expecting they will see more than this award from Kia Motors and the company will be able to pay.

If you have been charged with a DUI in Tampa or Hillsborough County, please do not hesitate to contact Tampa DUI Attorney Darren Finebloom at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) or online at FightYourTampaDUI.com to discuss the matter. Also you can contact Darren via email or visit him in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.