Little Known Traffic Laws You Need to Learn

Did you know that police officers stop roughly 50,000 people per day in the United States?

While everyone's familiar with speeding tickets and fines for disobeying the speeding limits, there are many traffic laws that people aren't aware of. Tampa, Florida is home to an especially large number of strange traffic laws.

For example, did you know that Florida has a law against tying your elephant or alligator to a parking meter? If you violate this law, you can expect to have to pay the same fine as a parking ticket.

Read on for some more traffic laws you may not know about.

Don't Eat and Drive

It's very common for us to eat fast food as we drive. Drive-through windows lend themselves to this, and once you have your bag of food, it's difficult not to dig in on your way home. The most troublesome thought for many drivers is whether their clothes will stay clean or keep fry oil off of their steering wheel.

But did you know that this is actually illegal? Eating anything while driving in Florida can lead to you being pulled over. And while it isn't necessarily a guarantee that a police officer will give you a ticket for eating while you drive, they have every legal right to do so.

The main reason for this is that eating while you drive consists of distracted driving. It's important to make sure that your focus is staying on the road and the road alone. Still, while illegal, it's not likely that a cop is going to pull you over for eating fries - you should probably keep the food in the bag if a cop pulls up next to you, though!

Both Hands on the Wheel

Speaking of distracted driving, did you know that taking a hand off the wheel can lead to a ticket as well?

New drivers are taught the proper way to keep their hands on the steering wheel. One hand at ten o'clock and another at two o'clock gives you a steady grip and full control over your wheel.

It doesn't matter where your hands are, but going by Florida law, a Tampa police officer can fine you for not having both hands on the wheel. If you drive with only one hand on the wheel or leave a hand outside of your window, a police officer very well may accuse you of breaking the law.

It's one of the many strange laws in Florida, and you may wonder what someone does if they don't have two hands. Still, while technically illegal, this is another law that an officer likely won't pull you over for. Nobody expects you to pull over and park to let go of your wheel so you can scratch your nose, after all.

Clean Your Plate

One important law - and one that absolutely can end with you getting pulled over - is license plate visibility. It's important that you have a well-lit, easy-to-read license plate. 

The main reason for this is that your vehicle may need to be identified. There might be reason to suspect a vehicle of your make and model of something, or an officer may run your plates for routine checks. Any of these reasons will require that they're able to read your plate.

So if your plate is dirty, you might have a police officer pull you over and tell you to clean it. A bit of dust or sand from the nearby beaches isn't going to get you pulled over, thankfully. But if your license plate is obstructed by mud or some other substance, it can cause a safety hazard.

Road safety is more than just obeying traffic laws. Someone may report your vehicle's plate number if you've gone missing or are in trouble. Imagine if the authorities couldn't find your car because your license plate was unreadable!

Check Your Lights!

Speaking of visibility, there's more that you need to have visible than your license plate. Most vehicles have a small light over the license plate to make it easier to see, especially in low light. Make sure that this light is changed, clean, and working properly.

But that's far from the only light you need to worry about. One of the laws you didn't know is likely that dirty headlights can often earn a ticket.

The safety hazard here is visibility. Severely dirty headlights can fail to put the right amount of light out. In dark or rainy conditions, this can lead to other drivers not seeing you - or you not seeing other drivers.

The same is true for your brake lights. If a police officer feels that yours isn't bright enough - or have too much dirt on them - they may pull you over. It's common for a police officer to give a ticket when visibility is in question, especially during foggy or rainy conditions.

Not Too Fast, Not Too Slow

We're all familiar with speeding tickets, but did you know that it's a ticketable offense to not go fast enough? It's likely that you've experienced being stuck behind a slow driver on I4, especially during rush hour. But the good news is that if they're really going too slow, a police officer can punish them for it.

Many highways will show a minimum speed limit as well as a maximum. For example, some sections of I4 will show a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 70.

That's because going too slow is often just as dangerous as going too fast. It can disrupt the flow of traffic or end up getting you rear-ended by a distracted driver that's expecting everyone to be going the speed limit. So make sure that you're staying in the proper speed range!

Be Familiar With Strange Traffic Laws

Florida has many strange traffic laws, and Tampa has more than a few that stay around. While you might not intend to tie off an alligator at the nearest parking sign, there are many other laws that you should familiarize yourself with.

Pablo G. Martinez Law Firm specializes in Florida traffic laws. For more information on traffic laws in Tampa or strange laws that you should know about, feel free to contact us.