ORLANDO, Fla. – News 6 traffic safety expert Trooper Steve Montiero answers viewer questions and shares tips about the rules of the road, helping Central Florida residents become better drivers by being better educated.
The question addressed is, “Has Florida’s hazard light law really changed?”
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“For years I have preached that you should never turn your hazard lights on unless something is truly wrong with your vehicle. Now, although I may still preach this, Florida law has changed,” he said.
Law enforcement does not change laws and most of the time law enforcement is not consulted before any type of traffic law is changed, Trooper Steve said. Starting Thursday, the new law goes into effect and people can operate their motor vehicles with its hazard lights on, but the law has some parameters around this.
“The law says that you must be on a highway where speed limits are at or above 55 mph. Keep in mind this is the posted speed limit, not what you choose to drive. It also states that weather conditions must be heavy rain or heavy fog,” he said. “The ideology behind this is probably so that you could be seen more and feel a little bit more comfortable in uncomfortable weather conditions.”
When this law was passed, Trooper Steve said he thinks it was not in mind that hazard lights still primarily indicate to other drivers that something is wrong with your car.
“I tell this so the people who feel so inclined that they can turn on their lights, if you are in an uncomfortable situation where you are motivated enough to turn on these lights, then you should probably not be driving out on the roadway to begin with,” Trooper Steve said.
During these times, he recommends taking a break from the conditions out on the roadway.
“Hazard lights are a distraction when a vehicle is moving and could causing some confusion when mixed with moving traffic. Just because something is legal doesn’t make it the smartest thing to do,” he said. “I feel like our highways are going to look like a Christmas tree very soon.”