Never pay a Stop Sign ticket. Paying a Stop Sign ticket will put 4 points on your driving record. It may even cause you to be forced to take a defensive driving class in additon to the assessment of points.
Never pay a Stop Sign ticket. Paying a Stop Sign ticket will put 4 points on your driving record. Contact us to defend your stop sign ticket immediately to have the best chance at avoiding both defensive driving school and points on your license.
Florida Statute section 316.123 governs stop signs and yield signs and violations thereof:
316.123 Vehicle entering stop or yield intersection.—
(1) The right-of-way at an intersection may be indicated by stop signs or yield signs as authorized in s. 316.006.
(2)(a) Except when directed to proceed by a police officer or traffic control signal, every driver of a vehicle approaching a stop intersection indicated by a stop sign shall stop at a clearly marked stop line, but if none, before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection or, if none, then at the point nearest the intersecting roadway where the driver has a view of approaching traffic on the intersecting roadway before entering the intersection. After having stopped, the driver shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle which has entered the intersection from another highway or which is approaching so closely on said highway as to constitute an immediate hazard during the time when the driver is moving across or within the intersection.
(b) At a four-way stop intersection, the driver of the first vehicle to stop at the intersection shall be the first to proceed. If two or more vehicles reach the four-way stop intersection at the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on the right.
(3) The driver of a vehicle approaching a yield sign shall, in obedience to such sign, slow down to a speed reasonable for the existing conditions and, if required for safety to stop, shall stop before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection, or, if none, then at the point nearest the intersecting roadway where the driver has a view of approaching traffic on the intersecting roadway. After slowing or stopping, the driver shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle in the intersection or approaching on another highway so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard during the time the driver is moving across or within the intersection. If such a driver is involved in a collision with a pedestrian in a crosswalk or a vehicle in the intersection, after driving past a yield sign without stopping, the collision shall be deemed prima facie evidence of the driver’s failure to yield the right-of-way.
(4) A violation of this section is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a moving violation as provided in chapter 318.
History.—s. 1, ch. 71-135; s. 1, ch. 77-229; s. 305, ch. 95-148; s. 119, ch. 99-248.
While Florida law requires an actual complete stop at any stop sign, the reality of it is that most of us do not come to a complete stop at stop signs we encounter. While driving we have all experienced the sensation of brake application, the car reacting to the brakes being applied, and the sensation that the car was approaching a stop and stopping. Well, sort of stopping that is. Unless there is cross traffic at the intersection governed by the stop sign, most of us come close to stopping but never actually reach the point where there is absolutely no motion forward. From the exterior of the vehicle, a police officer will be looking at your wheels to see that they do, in fact, come to a complete stop (stop moving entirely). The fact is that since most people never come to a complete stop at a stop sign, a police officer can camp out by any stop sign in Dade, Broward or Palm Beach Counties and give stop sign violation ticket after stop sign violation ticket. In order to avoid this, the driver should come to a complete stop at the stop sign and wait a two second count before moving forward again. And, if you ever receive a stop sign ticket, always consult an experienced traffic ticket lawyer before paying that stop sign ticket. Avoid points on your record. Your driver’s license record depends on it.