Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...It is equally clear that driving without illuminated headlights at nighttime is a noncriminal traffic infraction in Florida. Every motor vehicle is required to have two front headlights. Fla. Stat. Ann. § 316.220(1). Vehicles “shall display lighted lamps . . . from sunset to sunrise.” Id. § 316.217(1)(a). Failure to comply with the illuminated lights statute is “a noncriminal traffic infraction.” Id. § 316.217(5). And we have held repeatedly that a law enforcement officer may stop a vehicle for violating traffic laws or applicable equipment regulations....

...appellant's vehicle lights were on but the tag light was not operational. Subsequent to the stop, probable cause for a search of the vehicle arose. The search resulted in the seizure of cocaine. Appellant moved to suppress the cocaine claiming that section 316.217, Florida Statutes (1987) did not require the lights to be on prior to sunset....

...rements for motorcycles and mopeds, Chapter 316 has numerous provisions related to the safety requirements of motor vehicles. See, e.g., § 316.156 (signal lamps), § 316.215 (vehicles in unsafe condition), § 316.216 (approval of lighting devices), § 316.217 (when lighted lamps are required), § 316.220 (headlamps), § 316.221 (tail-lamps), § 316.222 (stop lamps and turn signals), § 316.2395 (headlamps), § 316.2396 (driving lamps), § 316.241 (sale or use of approved lamps or equipment), §...

...Instead, an objective test is used to determine the reasonableness of a stop. Holland, 696 So.2d at 760 . 2 Utilizing the objective test outlined in both Holland and Whren , we conclude that Officer Lovett had probable cause to stop *412 Proctor for driving without his headlights activated, in violation of section 316.217(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2010)....

...4th DCA 1999) (weaving several times sufficient to justify stop); State v. DeShong, 603 So.2d 1349 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992) (using lane as "marker” to position vehicle and slowing to 30 miles per hour sufficient to justify stop based on suspicion of impairment or defects in vehicle). . Section 316.217(l)(a), Florida Statutes (2010) entitled, "When lighted lamps are required,” provides: (1) Every vehicle operated upon a highway within this state shall display lighted lamps and illuminating devices as herein respectively required f...

...Twilight hours shall mean the time between sunset and full night or between full night and sunrise. . Proctor insists the trial court determined that, because Proctor was driving on a deserted street, he could safely drive the short distance before turning on his headlights as acknowledged by section 316.217(4), Florida Statutes (2010), which allows law enforcement vehicles to be operated without lights in certain circumstances. To the extent the trial court relied on this argument, we find it wholly without merit. The exception for law enforcement does not apply to Proctor. The statute is clear that a violation of section 316.217(l)(a) is a "noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a moving traffic violation 316.217(5), Fla....

equipped with at least two headlamps, and section 316.-217(l)(a), Florida Statutes (1991), requires that

...vehicle the defendant was operating on a public road without headlights was pretextual and citing Kehoe v. State, 521 So.2d 1094 (Fla.1988), Monroe v. State, 543 So.2d 298 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989) and State v. Gibson, 560 So.2d 1370 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990). Section 316.217, Florida Statutes, provides that every vehicle operated upon highways within this state shall display lighted lamps and illuminating devices from sunset to sunrise and at certain other times....