316.072
Obedience to and effect of traffic laws.
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316.072 Obedience to and effect of traffic laws.—
(1) PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER REFERRING TO VEHICLES UPON THE HIGHWAYS.—The provisions of this chapter shall apply to the operation of vehicles and bicycles and the movement of pedestrians upon all state-maintained highways, county-maintained highways, and municipal streets and alleys and wherever vehicles have the right to travel.
(2) REQUIRED OBEDIENCE TO TRAFFIC LAWS.—It is unlawful for any person to do any act forbidden, or to fail to perform any act required, in this chapter. It is unlawful for the owner, or any other person employing or otherwise directing the driver of any vehicle, to require or knowingly permit the operation of such vehicle upon a highway in any manner contrary to law. A violation of this subsection is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a moving violation as provided in chapter 318.
(3) OBEDIENCE TO POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS.—It is unlawful and a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, for any person willfully to fail or refuse to comply with any lawful order or direction of any law enforcement officer, traffic crash investigation officer as described in s. 316.640, traffic infraction enforcement officer as described in s. 316.640, or member of the fire department at the scene of a fire, rescue operation, or other emergency. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, certified emergency medical technicians or paramedics may respond to the scene of emergencies and may provide emergency medical treatment on the scene and provide transport of patients in the performance of their duties for an emergency medical services provider licensed under chapter 401 and in accordance with any local emergency medical response protocols.
(4) PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES TO OBEY CHAPTER; EXCEPTIONS.—
(a) The provisions of this chapter applicable to the drivers of vehicles upon the highways shall apply to the drivers of all vehicles owned or operated by the United States, this state, or any county, city, town, district, or any other political subdivision of the state, subject to such specific exceptions as are set forth in this chapter.
(b) Unless specifically made applicable, the provisions of this chapter, except those contained in ss. 316.192, 316.1925, and 316.193, shall not apply to persons, teams, or motor vehicles and other equipment while actually engaged in work upon the surface of a highway, but shall apply to such persons and vehicles when traveling to or from such work.
(5) AUTHORIZED EMERGENCY VEHICLES.—
(a)1. The driver of an authorized emergency vehicle, when responding to an emergency call; when transporting organs or surgical teams for organ donation or transplant while en route to a hospital, an airport, or other designated location; when in the pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law; or when responding to a fire alarm, but not upon returning from a fire;
2. A medical staff physician or technician of a medical facility licensed by the state or of a volunteer ambulance service when responding to an emergency in the line of duty in his or her privately owned vehicle, using red lights as authorized in s. 316.2398; or
3. The driver of an authorized law enforcement vehicle, when conducting a nonemergency escort, to warn the public of an approaching motorcade;
may exercise the privileges set forth in this section, but subject to the conditions herein stated.
(b) The driver of a vehicle specified in paragraph (a), except when otherwise directed by a police officer, may:
1. Park or stand, irrespective of the provisions of this chapter;
2. Proceed past a red or stop signal or stop sign, but only after slowing down as may be necessary for safe operation;
3. Exceed the maximum speed limits so long as the driver does not endanger life or property;
4. Disregard regulations governing direction or movement or turning in specified directions, so long as the driver does not endanger life or property.
(c) The foregoing provisions shall not relieve the driver of a vehicle specified in paragraph (a) from the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons, nor shall such provisions protect the driver from the consequences of his or her reckless disregard for the safety of others.
History.—s. 1, ch. 71-135; ss. 1, 7, ch. 76-31; s. 2, ch. 77-456; s. 1, ch. 80-176; s. 1, ch. 88-74; s. 301, ch. 95-148; s. 14, ch. 97-256; s. 15, ch. 97-300; s. 87, ch. 99-13; s. 93, ch. 99-248; s. 2, ch. 2021-90; s. 2, ch. 2024-34.
Note.—Former s. 316.051.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 26
cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1983–2023 · leading case: Albert Darruthy v. City of Miami
Albert Darruthy v. City of Miami (2003)
“130 , 2 Fla. Stat. § 316.072 , 3 and § 54-2 of the Miami City Code.”
Koch v. State (2010)
“Section 316.072, “Obedience to and effect of traffic laws,” states in part: (3) OBEDIENCE TO POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS.”
Blackshear v. City of Miami Beach (2011)
“” However, Plaintiff alleges that he was stopped by Wyatt, ordered not to move his car, and then arrested for failure to obey a lawful order of a police officer. Plaintiff avers that at no time did he indicate that he was going to move his car or fail to obey Wyatt’s orders.”
Brown v. City of Pinellas Park (1990)
“While section 316.072(5)(a)1 excepts "[t]he driver of an authorized emergency vehicle .”
In Re STANDARD JURY INSTRUCTIONS IN CRIMINAL CASES-REPORT NO. 2013-04 (2015)
“(Defendant) was [operating a [vehicle] [bicycle]] [walking] upon [a state-maintained highway] [county-maintained highway] [municipal street or alley] [place where vehicles have the right to travel].”
In Re Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases—Report No. 2016-08 (2017)
“18 FAILURE TO OBEY THE LAWFUL ORDER OF A [POLICE] [FIRE] [TRAFFIC] OFFICIAL § 316.072(3), Fla. Stat. To prove the crime of Failure to Obey the Lawful Order of a (insert type of official from the list in § 316.”
In Re: Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases-Report 2018-09. (2019)
“To prove the crime of Failure to Obey the Lawful Order of a ( insert type of official from the list in § 316.072(3), Fla. Stat. ) , the State must prove the following five elements beyond a reasonable doubt: 1.”
Durruthy v. City of Miami (2002)
“First, § 316.072, Fla. Stat. and § 54-2 of *1298 the Miami City Code specify that a person is in violation when he fails or refuses to comply with an order or direction of a law enforcement officer.”
Bryant v. Beary (2000)
“Bryant attempts to find a duty in section 316.072(5), Florida Statutes (1997), which allows emergency vehicles to disregard certain traffic laws with the following proviso: (c) The foregoing provisions shall not relieve the driver of a vehicle specified in paragraph (a) from the…”
Lucas v. State (2016)
“Lucas asked the trial court to also instruct the jury on the category-two permissive lesser included offense of disobeying a law enforcement officer, a violation of section 316.072(3). The trial court declined the request.”
State v. Holland (1996)
“[2] See §§ 316.072(2) & 316.123(2)(a), Fla.Stat. (1993) (requiring drivers to stop at intersections marked with a stop sign, and rendering the failure to do so unlawful); see also State v.”
State v. Mahoy (1991)
“It also appears that the officers had probable cause to charge Mahoy with a violation of section 316.072(3) which provides that it is unlawful and a misdemeanor of the second degree for any person to willfully fail or refuse to comply with any lawful order or direction of any…”
— 316.072(2) — 1 case
State v. Holland (1996)
“[2] See §§ 316.072(2) & 316.123(2)(a), Fla.Stat. (1993) (requiring drivers to stop at intersections marked with a stop sign, and rendering the failure to do so unlawful); see also State v.”
— 316.072(3) — 14 cases
Koch v. State (2010)
“Section 316.072, “Obedience to and effect of traffic laws,” states in part: (3) OBEDIENCE TO POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS.”
In Re STANDARD JURY INSTRUCTIONS IN CRIMINAL CASES-REPORT NO. 2013-04 (2015)
“(Defendant) was [operating a [vehicle] [bicycle]] [walking] upon [a state-maintained highway] [county-maintained highway] [municipal street or alley] [place where vehicles have the right to travel].”
In Re: Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases-Report 2018-09. (2019)
“To prove the crime of Failure to Obey the Lawful Order of a ( insert type of official from the list in § 316.072(3), Fla. Stat. ) , the State must prove the following five elements beyond a reasonable doubt: 1.”
In Re Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases—Report No. 2016-08 (2017)
“18 FAILURE TO OBEY THE LAWFUL ORDER OF A [POLICE] [FIRE] [TRAFFIC] OFFICIAL § 316.072(3), Fla. Stat. To prove the crime of Failure to Obey the Lawful Order of a (insert type of official from the list in § 316.”
Blackshear v. City of Miami Beach (2011)
“” However, Plaintiff alleges that he was stopped by Wyatt, ordered not to move his car, and then arrested for failure to obey a lawful order of a police officer. Plaintiff avers that at no time did he indicate that he was going to move his car or fail to obey Wyatt’s orders.”
— 316.072(5) — 2 cases
Bryant v. Beary (2000)
“Bryant attempts to find a duty in section 316.072(5), Florida Statutes (1997), which allows emergency vehicles to disregard certain traffic laws with the following proviso: (c) The foregoing provisions shall not relieve the driver of a vehicle specified in paragraph (a) from the…”
Hutt v. Nichols (1995)
— 316.072(5)(a) — 1 case
Brown v. City of Pinellas Park (1990)
“While section 316.072(5)(a)1 excepts "[t]he driver of an authorized emergency vehicle .”
— 316.072(5)(c) — 2 cases
Brown v. City of Pinellas Park (1990)
“While section 316.072(5)(a)1 excepts "[t]he driver of an authorized emergency vehicle .”
— 316.072(8) — 1 case
In Re Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases—Report No. 2016-08 (2017)
“18 FAILURE TO OBEY THE LAWFUL ORDER OF A [POLICE] [FIRE] [TRAFFIC] OFFICIAL § 316.072(3), Fla. Stat. To prove the crime of Failure to Obey the Lawful Order of a (insert type of official from the list in § 316.”
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