Florida DUI Traffic Ticket Lawyer Blog

St. Petersburg is considering extending closing times at its bars from 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. to help the city compete with Tampa’s thriving nightlife. One concern voiced at yesterday’s City Council meeting was the threat of more incidents of drunk driving if Pinellas bars stay open later. The sheriff’s department has already eliminated the DUI unit due to budget cuts.

Police chief Chuck Harmon was concerned about drunk drivers and expressed that at a committee meeting according to My Fox Tampa Bay. Harmon felt that if St Pete acted alone it would create problems that wouldn’t occur if all the bars in Pinellas and surrounding hours extended their closing times. Under the current proposal the number of people leaving a bar that closes at 2:00 to get to one that closes at 3:00 can dramatically increase the number of drunk drivers on St Petersburg roads.

Just before the trial of Matthew Scott Hall was set to get underway Wednesday in a community outside of Orlando, Florida, the 25-year-old pled guilty to DUI manslaughter for a drunk driving accident that took the life of his best friend. Unlike most DUI trials that involve a death, this plea agreement was met with open arms by the victim’s family who hugged the defendant following the announcement of the plea.

Hall had a blood-alcohol level of 0.15 following a night out at an Orlando bar near the UCF campus. He was driving with his best friend Christopher Avery of Altamonte Springs who was 19-years-old. Hall was said to have been speeding at 85 MPH in a 30 MPH zone when he crashed his Dodge Charger killing his best friend. Hall has remained close with Avery’s family since the fatal accident.

Continue reading " Man Pleads To DUI Manslaughter And Gets Seven Years In Jail, Hugs From Victim’s Family " »

The red-light camera debate just won’t seem to go away in Hillsborough, Tampa and Bradenton. Thanks to a ruling in Aventura that called the red-light cameras illegal, the debate is raging once again on whether these devices are legal, constitutional, money makers, safety devices or a combination of all of the above. Now comes this story from Dayton, Ohio where the city has installed cameras to catch people who run red lights and is getting ready to use those same cameras to issue speeding tickets as well.

According to the Dayton Daily News nearly 50% of the city’s red light camera tickets are unpaid. Not only that but the city, according to Dayton’s finance director, has no incentive to make the people pay the citations. The police are considering booting or towing vehicles that have not paid the tickets but is that the best way to allocate the time of a law enforcement department ready facing tight budgets? If police are spending their days booting cars that were caught on tape rolling through a red light, the cameras will cost cities more than they are generating.

Continue reading " Should You Pay Traffic Tickets Issued By Red Light Or Speeding Ticket Cameras? " »

Parrish resident April Canfield was fired from her job as a teacher’s aide at Lincoln Middle School in Manatee County Monday night. School board members approved her dismissal for not reporting a drunk driving arrest that also included a charge of prescription drug fraud. The 30-year-old’s case is ongoing in Sarasota County.

According to the HeraldTribune.com Canfield was arrested driving on I-75 in Sarasota County for DUI. During the traffic stop police discovered she was in possession of a prescription drug that did not belong to her. School employees are required to report arrests. Had she reported the arrest and went on to be convicted, she would have served just a five-day suspension.

Continue reading " DUI And Prescription Fraud End The Career Of Manatee County Teacher’s Aide " »

The North Port deputy fire chief who was arrested for driving drunk on I-75 Friday has resigned his position with the fire department. David Quaderer was arrested for DUI early Friday morning in a department issued vehicle. According to the Sarasota Herald Tribune Quaderer refused a breath test and also refused to perform field sobriety tests.

The newspaper is reporting that Quaderer resigned in a two-sentence letter that referred to recent events. The resignation letter was turned in to Chief William Taaffe. The former deputy fire chief had worked for the department since 2006. According to arrest reports he repeatedly asked police officers for professional courtesy at the time of his DUI stop.

Continue reading " DUI Arrest Causes North Port Deputy Fire Chief To Resign " »

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting a Seminole County sheriff’s deputy crashed his police cruiser into a wall while chasing a man wanted for driving with a suspended license and violation of probation. Randy Grinstead is now also facing charges of resisting arrest without violence and fleeing and eluding a law enforcement officer.

Grinstead had a warrant for his arrest issued for violating his probation on a child abuse and neglect charge. The 34-year-old is being held at the John Polk Correctional Facility in Seminole County and he is being held without bond. The deputy who was forced off the road and into a brick wall, was uninjured.

Continue reading " Driver With A Suspended License Causes Seminole County Sheriff’s Deputy Into Car Crash " »

GMAC Insurance recently conducted a survey of a driver’s basic knowledge of the laws of the road. The company quizzed more than 5,000 drivers in all 50 states and the results are in. While New York has what GMAC Insurance deems as the worst drivers, Florida finished ninth overall. Many law firm clients think that the lack of knowledge of traffic laws is a valid defense against their Florida traffic ticket but unfortunately that is not the case.

According to the survey about 41 million Americans would fail their written driver’s test if they had to take it today. While most drivers are aware of the laws surrounding speeding, running a red light and driving with a suspended license there are many laws out there that Florida driver’s aren’t as familiar with. Some are newer laws like Florida’s Move Over Law or some are just misunderstood like what is careless driving or reckless driving. If you want to take the test yourself, visit www.nationaldriverstest.com. See how you fare!

Continue reading " Florida Makes It Into The Top 10 For America’s Worst Drivers " »

The 51-year-old driver of a box truck has been charged with careless driving and driving a commercial vehicle without the correct license after he crashed into a Manatee County school bus. One student was taken to the hospital as was the driver of the box truck who caused the traffic accident, John E. Morgan. The accident took place as the school bus was on its way to Haile Middle School.

According to the story on the Sarasota Herald Tribune website, the bus was stopped picking up a girl when the truck rammed into the rear of the bus. The 12-year-old boarding the bus was struck by the door as the bus was pushed 45 feet forward due to the impact. Morgan claimed his brakes failed but the Florida Highway Patrol determined the brakes were fine following an investigation.

Continue reading " Careless Driving Leads To Truck Hitting Manatee School Bus And Injuring A Student " »

Ashley East was sentenced to 25-years in jail for a DUI crash that killed a 23-year-old soldier and almost took the life of his wife as well. East, who is just 26-years-old, pled no contest to charges of DUI manslaughter, driving without a license and causing serious injury or death, leaving the scene of an accident with death, leaving the scene of an accident with injury and multiple other charges surrounding the North Fort Myers hit-and-run accident that took place in December of 2007.

East was given credit for two years already served and when she leaves jail she will have to pay $70,000 in restitution, spend five years on probation and she will never be allowed to have a driver’s license again. The tragic collision took place after East shared a 123-pack of beer with her friends. Her blood-alcohol level measured 0.089, just above the legal limit of 0.08. According to toxicology reports she also had marijuana and other drugs in her system as reported by the News-Press.com.

Continue reading " Florida Woman Sentenced To 25 Years For Killing Soldier In DUI Crash " »

Denise Rutledge of Flagler Beach was arrested for DUI outside of the Flagler County jail. The 45-year-old had a visitation scheduled but showed up at the jail late and demanded a conjugal visit, which is not allowed at this particular facility. Guards at the jail felt the woman may be driving drunk and alerted sheriff’s deputies.

When deputies arrived at the jail in Bunnell, Florida they found Rutledge in her car and asked her to perform field sobriety tests. She also took a breath test and reportedly had a blood-alcohol level of 0.256, which is more than three times the legal limit. She was charged and later released on $500 bail.

Continue reading " Florida Woman Visits Jail, Demands Conjugal Visit And Is Then Arrested For A DUI " »

Robert Marlon Walker was arrested outside of Orlando, Florida following a four-month investigation into a traffic accident that took the life of a bicyclist. The Umatilla man volunteered to have his blood tested at the scene of the September accident and his blood-alcohol level was reported to be more than twice the legal limit. He was charged with DUI manslaughter for killing 49-year-old Laura Ann Ugolini.

Walker claimed that the accident was caused by a morning sun that was so bright it had him holding up his hand to block out the glare. It was at that point he ran over the bicyclist. He also allegedly had drank 5-6 beers the night before the accident and toxicology reports show there was marijuana in his system according to the Orlando Sentinel. A witness to the accident said Walker made a U-turn to go back to the scene of the accident and asked the woman to call 911. She also did tell the Troopers that the sun was very bright that morning. Walker faces up to 15 years in prison on the second-degree felony charge.

Continue reading " Florida Man Charged With DUI Manslaughter After Five Or Six Beers The Night Before A Deadly Crash " »

An 86-year-old woman was arrested in Fort Meyers, Florida for missing a court date stemming from a charge of leaving the scene of an accident with property damage. Jeanne Marie Owens-Libby had a warrant for her arrest issued after missing her court date for the alleged hit and run. She was booked into Lee County Jail and released on bond.

According to a story on 10 Connects, the woman told deputies she missed her court date because she wasn’t feeling well. When she tried to call she was swamped in the automated phone system that makes most everyone’s life miserable when trying to actually speak to a live person in the county government. She said after a while she didn’t want to bother anymore.

In just over a month, the red light cameras in Hillsborough County have been responsible for 1,100 citations for running red lights. Those citations have meant over $100,000 to the city’s coffers. As the money rolls in the debate continues on as to whether the cameras make Tampa’s streets safer or just make money.

Cpl. Darrin Barlow told My Fox Tampa Bay’s April Kellogg that the people who run red lights are endangering motorists but some of those very motorists disagree. Kellogg spoke to Tampa citizens who have witnessed increased danger on the roads due to the way people drive because of the red light cameras. That was a major concern for many when the cameras were first being discussed.

Continue reading " After 1,100 Tickets For Running Red Lights, Hillsborough’s Red Light Cameras Still A Hot Topic " »