driving

Simulator Offers Crash Course On Dangers Of Texting

Christine DiMattei — Wed, 08 May 2013 19:40:28 +0000

Sixteen-year-old Webster Jean is driving around on city streets, left hand on the wheel, right hand holding a smartphone. As he reads and responds to his text messages, he repeatedly veers across the double-yellow lines.

And then -- wham.

"I crashed," says Jean with a chuckle.

Jean tee-bones another car – but he’s fine. The teenager is just taking a spin in a texting-while-driving simulator brought to Park Vista High School by wireless carrier AT&T.

Pursuing Reckless Cops Wins Sun-Sentinel Its First Pulitzer

Christine DiMattei — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:00:00 +0000

It was a humdinger of a story.

A Miami police officer in a marked squad car is pursued, pulled over and handcuffed by a Florida state trooper after speeding down the turnpike like race car driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

A dash-cam video of that pre-dawn October chase in 2011 went viral and sparked a three-month investigation by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper into how local police officers routinely endangered the general public through reckless driving.

Technically, There's Nothing Stopping You From Texting And Driving In Florida – Yet

Allison Goodman — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:00:00 +0000

After several failed bills and a decade’s worth of debate, texting and driving remains legal in Florida – and the most recently proposed bill wouldn’t change that. But drivers could be charged with vehicular homicide in the case of an accident.

According to the News Service of Florida,

This Bill Could Mean Tickets From School Buses

Allison Goodman — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 17:30:00 +0000

A familiar yellow school bus slows to pick up a group of giddy children at the corner. Florida drivers, perhaps caught in the morning rush to work, know they’re supposed to stop. After all, the bus’s retractable red stop sign and flashing lights serve as glaring reminders. But are motorists actually following the law?

Texting While Driving And Other Sins Of Florida's Drivers

Elaine Chen — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000

Florida is one of only 11 states that does not prohibit texting while driving. Though state legislators have already introduced 3 texting ban bills for the upcoming session, similar bills have failed in the past several years.

Is Florida Driving Us Crazy?

Elaine Chen — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:00:00 +0000

On the Florida Roundup: From immigration reform to gay rights, we’ll discuss how the president’s inauguration speech resonated here.

Fast, Slow And Distracted Motorists Are Focus Of Two Proposed Bills

Arianna Prothero — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 11:30:00 +0000

Safe driving is the focus of two proposed bills being filed in Tallahassee this session. One bill addresses texting while driving. The other bill deals with slow people in the fast lane.

According to the News Service of Florida, Senator Nancy Detert, a Venice Republican, believes this year will be the year her texting-while-driving ban passes.

This will be her fourth attempt.

Although the bill has passed the Senate twice before, Detert says it has never been heard in the House.

Red Light Cameras Make Us Safer, State Says, As Campbell Files Bill To Bar Them

David Royse — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 12:30:00 +0000

A South Florida lawmaker filed legislation Friday to repeal the law allowing the use of red light cameras, following a report earlier this week that says intersections where they're used have seen drops in crashes in most places.

Rep. Daphne Campbell, D-Miami, seeks to end the use of the cameras, saying they unfairly dole out tickets to people who can't defend themselves, noting that malfunctioning cameras can't be cross-examined.

Headlight Speed Trap Warnings Now Legal

Rick Stone — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 11:30:00 +0000

Motorists who notice radar-equipped police cars hiding behind bushes and under overpasses, and then flash their high-beams to warn other drivers, haven’t always been rewarded for their concern.

On the contrary. A lot of them have gotten tickets for those little acts of kindness and roadway solidarity. But, just maybe, no more.