In Florida, the term "aggressive careless" was simply a phrase and nothing more. You could not receive a ticket for this offense, but an officer could check the aggressive careless box on the body of the citation. The checkbox was placed on the citation to keep track of the number of Florida drivers who were driving in an aggressive and careless manner (road rage).
In 2012, the Florida Senate introduced Sentate Bill 1122 (2012), which appears to be ready for the Governor's signature. Under this new bill, there will be a new Florida Statute that makes "aggressive careless" a traffic offense, punishable as a moving violation, which means that points will be assessed if you are convicted and your license may be suspended if a crash is involved.
The text of the proposed statute is included below:
316.1923 Aggressive careless driving.—
(1) “Aggressive careless driving” means committing three two or more of the following acts simultaneously or in succession:
(a)(1) Exceeding the posted speed as defined in s. 322.27(3)(d)5.b.
(b)(2) Unsafely or improperly changing lanes as defined in s. 316.085.
(c)(3) Following another vehicle too closely as defined in s. 316.0895(1).
(d)(4) Failing to yield the right-of-way as defined in s.316.079, s. 316.0815, or s. 316.123.
(e)(5) Improperly passing or failing to yield to overtaking vehicles as defined in s. 316.083, s. 316.084, or s. 316.085.
(f)(6) Violating traffic control and signal devices as defined in ss. 316.074 and 316.075.
(2) Any person convicted of aggressive careless driving shall be cited for a moving violation and punished as provided in chapter 318, and by the accumulation of points as provided in s. 322.27, for each act of aggressive careless driving.
Under this new law, the offense carries a fine of $100 for the first offense and a fine of $250-500 for a second offense. In addition, the Second offense requires a mandatory court appearance. This law does not go into effect until January 1, 2013.
If you have been charged with Aggressive Careless driving in the Tampa Bay area, please contact my office for a free consultation.
