One of the most common citations issued by Florida law enforcement officers is Statute 316.074 known as violation of a traffic control device. On a daily basis people call the office and tell us that they were speeding but the officer wrote this weird ticket for violation of a traffic control device. In many instances, that means the officer cut you a break and instead of citing you for the "full boat" or the higher fine ticket they instead exercised their discretion by issuing you a traffic control device citation. Because moving violation ticket prices are rising fast in Florida, some officers feel compassion for the motorists and will actually do their part to cut them a break on the citation. With this statute the motorist will have lower fines and a maximum of three points, in non-accident scenarios.
This section may be used in situations other than speeding violations. According to Florida Staute 316.003, the definition of an official traffic control device is:
OFFICIAL TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES.--All signs, signals, markings, and devices, not inconsistent with this chapter, placed or erected by authority of a public body or official having jurisdiction for the purpose of regulating, warning, or guiding traffic.
Therefore, in some jurisdictions law enforcement uses this section to issue red light, stop sign, no u-turn, and other "traffic control device" violations. There are often more appropriate statutes to use in some of those situations and certain Judges will entertain a motion to dismiss because the statute is vague.
In most instances, violation of a traffic control device is a 3 point citation. The exception would be if the citation involved an accident or if the citation involved a red light. In those limited scenarios you would be looking at the possibility of 4 points on your certified driving record.
Call our office at 1-800-FIGHT-IT(344-4848) so we can discuss the particular facts of your case.