Florida’s New ‘Super Speeder’ Law Takes Effect
If you plan on hitting the road in Florida this summer, watch your speed. The controversial House Bill 351 took effect on July 1, 2025.
Crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson explained that making a habit of driving at those speeds makes a crash inevitable.
“It only takes a couple of seconds for somebody to go out in front of you, and if you’re going at that highway speed, it is basically a death wish. What the intent of the legislators is to strengthen that law,” he said.
Earlier drafts of the bill included vehicle impoundment and stiffer penalties. Lawmakers ultimately deleted those provisions. “When the aggressive driver is stopped by law enforcement and cited for that, hopefully that will get their attention to slow it down and not weave in and out of traffic,” he added.
Most people support the new law. “I believe it is smart for Florida to have traffic laws. They need to start teaching more laws like this, they need to start taking the speed limit seriously,” one man said.
Many Floridians are not great drivers, he added. “They just don’t know how to drive, like, they just do whatever they feel like doing on the road. They don’t turn on no blinker. They just cut over or stop in the middle of the road and turn.”
Direct and Collateral Consequences
The law applies if a driver speeds at least 50mph over the speed limit or, regardless of the posted limit, the driver is traveling at least 100mph and threatens people or property. That “people or property” line is basically a throwaway line. Prosecutors will inevitably argue that such an excessive speed is inherently dangerous.
The maximum penalty for a first offense is thirty days in jail and/or a $500 fine or both. Repeat offenders could get up to ninety days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine. Additionally, a subsequent offense within five years could mean a twelve-month drivers’ license suspension.
Other super speeder laws in other states include multiple points assessment and mandatory drivers’ license suspension, even for a first offense.
Higher auto insurance rates are the worst collateral consequence of a super speeder conviction. In many cases, premiums could double, or more. The higher premiums usually remain in effect for at least three years.
Possible Defenses
Usually depending on the type of enforcement methods, a Tampa criminal defense lawyer can often at least get super speeder charges reduced to regular speeding, a regular traffic offense with fewer direct and collateral consequences.
- Pacing: The most common speeding enforcement mechanism is pacing, which is basically guessing another vehicle’s speed. This method is somewhat effective if the defendant passes the officer and no one else is around. But in other cases, it’s very unreliable.
- RADAR: A RADAR gun projects a cone of radio waves. The bounceback rate determines the speed of an object. At close range, RADAR guns are effective. At long range, RADAR gun results prove a car was speeding, but they don’t prove which car was speeding.
- LIDAR: These guns, which project laser beams at specific vehicles, are very reliable, if the gun was working properly at the time.
The defense need not be strong enough to “beat” the charges. It must only be strong enough to create a reasonable doubt as to the defendant’s guilt.
Count on a Detail-Oriented Hillsborough County Attorney
A criminal charge is not the same thing as a criminal conviction. For a confidential consultation with an experienced criminal defense lawyer in Tampa, contact the OA Law Firm. We routinely handle matters throughout the Sunshine State.
Source:
flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/351/?Tab=Analyses
