Citations for Three-Foot Law
Question
Jack asked: I would like to know how many tickets have been given to motorists that have violated the 3 foot law? Is there a web site that shows all the tickets that have been given and counties in Florida where they were written?
Answer
I don’t know the answer. I suggest starting with the Florida Highway Patrol, which maintains statistics for statewide vehicle crashes and other data, at this link:
You may also want to ask your local police department or Sheriff’s Office this same question.
If any of our readers have an answer, please comment below.
That’s a question that I have as well. I can search Volusia County’s web site for driver’s names but not specifically for a statute number, which would be far more useful. I’m going to put this thread on notification, so if someone does post an answer, I’ll be sure to see it.
My answer to the OP’s question…
You could probably count on one hand how many MOTORISTS have gotten ticketed…
It’s the sad truth. A good way to facilitate more interest by local law enforcement, is to video record your ride daily and if you encounter any issue on the road, you can surely show that video record to your local law enforcement.
In a Sun Sentinel article written by Angel Streeter in May 2011, she wrote: “Between 2006 and 2010, 337 tickets were issued statewide for failing to give a cyclist 3 feet of clearance, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Four tickets were issued in Palm Beach County in those four years, 55 in Broward County and 15 in Miami-Dade County.”
I saw that article…
I’m pretty sure, the ONLY time those tickets were issued was AFTER an accident had occurred.
🙁
Francis, you said, “You could probably count on one hand how many MOTORISTS have gotten ticketed…” Now, you’re saying the question isn’t about how many tickets were written, but when they were written. Cerrtainly, we know that more than handful of tickets have been written. Now, you are “pretty sure the ONLY time those tickets were issued was “AFTER” an accident.
Francis, it’s not about the tickets…it’s about using the law to educate motorists on how they can and are required to pass cyclists safely from the rear—by giving the cyclist at least 3 feet clearance. Here’s the problem, we pass laws and expect people to know they exist and think violators should get tickets for something they didn’t even know about. That’s not smart. And if the state drops the ball and fails to put its resources to work in educating motorists about the law, then it is in our best interest as cyclists to pick up the ball and run with it…and many of us have done exactly that…but, to really have an impact, all cyclists need to roll up their sleeves and do something to help build awareness of the law…and once we do that, then we can start holding motorists accountable and expect greater participation from law enforcement.
Considering that I live in Palm Beach county, on my one hand I CAN count all the tickets in 4 years, a total of FOUR. One per year, and thats not good.. That means one per year, in my particular county.. Considering it’s the largest county of those three, it has the least amount of ticket written..
I had stated before (on a related thread), that in my opinion, the best way to facilitate having law enforcement getting involved more, is to have some kind of (video) recording of daily rides and to use such evidence, of less than 3′ passing, when bringing it to the attention of the local authorities..
Given that 4 were in one county and 55 in another, goes to show you that there is an obvious disconnect when it comes to enforcement of a statewide law.
Good points Joe. In my experience, the cycling community in general is sadly lacking in initiative to get out and do things to improve their own cycling environment. One way to start is to encourage them to join FBA and get involved.