Driver’s License Points

Question

Tonya asked: At age 14,15 my son received 4 tickets for riding his bicycle without a helmet. To get his license at 18 he had to pay his fines for these tickets. He will be 19 next month, and just applied for a merchandising job for Coca Cola, which requires a background check and a clean driving record, which he has. When the results came back he was told he could not be hired because he had 16 points against his drivers license. We received a copy of the driving record that Coke received. All it had on it was the 4 bicycle helmet tickets from 2008 and 2009 totaling 16 points so I’m guessing 4 points per helmet ticket. Is this legal?  If not how do we get this removed?

Answer

The statute that requires a helmet for persons under 16 is the Bicycle Regulations.

s. 316.2065 – Bicycle Regulations

(d) A bicycle rider or passenger who is under 16 years of age must wear a bicycle helmet that is properly fitted and is fastened securely upon the passenger’s head by a strap, and that meets the standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI Z 90.4 Bicycle Helmet Standards), the standards of the Snell Memorial Foundation (1984 Standard for Protective Headgear for Use in Bicycling), or any other nationally recognized standards for bicycle helmets adopted by the department. As used in this subsection, the term “passenger” includes a child who is riding in a trailer or semitrailer attached to a bicycle.

The point system is established for violations of motor vehicle laws which require a driver’s license.  Bicycles are not motor vehicles and their drivers are not required to have a license.  Violations of the Bicycle Regulations are specifically excluded from the points system, as are other violations of traffic laws while riding a bicycle.  Points cannot be awarded for helmet violations.

s. 322.27 – Authority of Department to Suspend or Revoke License

(1)  Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary in chapter 120, the department is hereby authorized to suspend the license ….

(3)  There is established a point system for evaluation of convictions of violations of motor vehicle laws or ordinances ….

7.  … However, no points shall be imposed for violation of … s. 316.2065.

(i)  This subsection shall not apply to persons operating a non-motorized vehicle for which a driver’s license is not required.

It should also be noted that violations of the Bicycle Regulations are punishable as pedestrian violations and not as vehicle driver violations.  That is not the case for violations of other traffic laws such as running a red light, which is punishable under vehicle laws but also not subject to the point system.

(20) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a violation of this section is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a pedestrian violation as provided in chapter 318.

You should contact the traffic court to find out how to correct the situation.  An attorney may be able to assist using this information.

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