Published on Friday, July 6, 2007
in the Leesburg Daily Commercial

Don't let new laws catch you

What you don't know can hurt you. Or at least earn you a traffic ticket.

Motorists who aren't paying attention might get nailed for violating one of the several new laws that went into effect Sunday. And in some cases, what was just a violation is now a criminal offense.

One new law that has garnered a lot of attention one that prohibits is leaving a child unattended in a vehicle. The new statute states that a person cannot leave a child unattended for more than 15 minutes.

Leaving a child used to be a traffic offense but it is now a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by as many as 60 days in jail. If the child suffers permanent disability or disfigurement as a result, the violation becomes a third-degree felony.

Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Jorge Delahoz thinks that even 15 minutes in a hot car is too long.

"Obviously, for the safety of the child, you should never leave them unattended," he said. "Especially in Florida with the hot weather, it doesn't take long to turn a car into an oven. It's unfortunate that we have to tell people to have common sense."

And whether you are cited or not, you can still be reported to the Department of Children and Families.

Driving under the influence now carries a stricter punishment, too. Any person involved in a crash resulting in death or injury faces a minimum mandatory two-year-prison sentence. If you are convicted of DUI manslaughter, it ups the ante to four years behind bars.

"It's something the Legislature looked into and thought we needed at," Delahoz said.

Delahoz said the minimum mandatory sentence is a good thing because, "It is usually the drunk person that walks away from a crash."

County commissions now have the ability to allow all-terrain vehicle riders to use public roadways that carry a speed limit of less than 35 miles per hour. And for those who like to buy and sell vehicles for a profit, things have changed there too. A vehicle may be towed if it bears the same phone number that has been displayed on three or more vehicles in a one-year period.

For a complete list of the new laws, visit www.leg.state.fl.us.