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New Speeding Fines Exceed $1,000

MIAMI (CBS4) ― If you think a couple of hundred dollars are a lot of money for a traffic ticket, new speeding ticket laws going in effect in Florida will shock you.

"Because of the way vehicles are built nowadays and the speeds they can go… we had to just allow the law," said Lt. Pat Santangelo, with the Florida Highway patrol.

New laws going into effect Wednesday may leave you with sticker shock. Starting October 1st, people driving 50 miles over the speed limit will rack up a ticket worth $1,000.

"A thousand dollars," Joaquin Santo exclaimed. "Half of the people are not going to be able to afford to pay a $1,000 ticket."

"That's insane," said driver Juan Salas. "It's too much money, especially with how everything is right now with the economy."

"We'd have to create more people in jail because no one would be able to pay that," said Driver Leslie Vohwinkel. "You can't get a loan for that."

"Don't be put back by these fines," said Santangelo. "This is for the person who is going 120 miles an hour."

The thousand dollars is just a starting place. A second offense will run you $2500. And if you're caught a third time, it's five grand and a 10 year drivers license suspension.

While the high priced tickets will likely put the brakes on some, Byron Stewart actually thinks it will force motorcyclists to speed up.

"Why stop if you're going to get a thousand dollar ticket," said Stewart. "You might as well keep going."

For those of us not planning to floor it past the law, these are the changes at the DMV you should be aware of, especially for renewing your license: From now on every other renewal will have to be done in person rather than online. For those over 80, your license will have to now be renewed every 6 years instead of 8. This is an effort to ensure your driving skills are as sharp as ever. And finally you will need your social security card when getting your new license.

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