Article

Tell them you learned about their business on RiderFriendly.Com

 

Home
Article
Biker Friendly Businesses
Bike Nites
Calendar
Florida MC Laws
Governor's Proclamation
Links
Meet a Biker
Missed Event
Recipes
Time Fun
Pig Hunting
American Suicide

Please Pay Attention While Driving!
Watch For Motorcycles!

AMA - Search State Motorcycle Laws


CRIME TIME
By: Jerry S. Theophilopoulos, Attorney at Law “Jerry T.”

FIGHT THE TICKET, DON’T PAY IT. I recently had a good friend receive a ticket for failing to have motorcycle insurance. He was enjoying a Sunday ride when he was pulled over for, eh, uh, uh, supposedly going a little bit fast. It just happens that it was real hot out and he forgot to have his helmet on. It also just happens that he cannot afford to purchase $10,000.00 worth of medical insurance on a motorcycle insurance policy and he did not have $10,000.00 worth of medical health insurance. He was ticketed for failing to have the proper insurance, and the officer said he gave him a break for not ticketing him for speeding. Did the officer really give him a break? No, because the officer just set the biker up for a suspension of his drivers license if he doesn’t fight the ticket. More importantly, the ticket that was written is improper under our law.

As soon as I received his call I told him get over to my office because you cannot pay this ticket or you will cause yourself a great deal of misery. If he would not have called me and rather chose to go to the clerks office and paid the ticket, his license would have been suspended within due time by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV). Under Florida Law §627.733 insurance is not required to register motorcycles as it is with your four-wheel motor vehicle. But, if a biker is CHARGED in a crash with injuries, the biker or owner of the bike is financially responsible for bodily injuries and property damage to others. If at the time of the crash the biker had no liability insurance coverage in effect, then bodily injury/property damage liability insurance must be purchased and kept for three years to avoid Financial Responsibility (license and tag/registration) suspension or to reinstate license, tag/registration after the suspension.

But, the law is clear that if there is no crash then the biker should not be given a ticket for failing to have insurance, but rather he/she should be ticketed for no motorcycle helmet. The difference between the two is that a ticket for not having your helmet on will not cause your drivers license to become suspended. That saves you a great deal of heartache and money. The big distinction here is when an accident occurs, every law enforcement officer who handles the investigation is required to forward a written report of the crash to DHSMV within 10 days of the completion of the crash investigation. This will then trigger the suspension of your driver’s license for not carrying the proper insurance coverage. You can save yourself time, money and grief if you educate yourself and others on the law. Everybody should carry the proper insurance on their bike and body just in case someone else decides not to pay attention to you on the road.

Be smart, educated and Trust No One when it comes to your rights,

Jerry T.

If you have any questions or would like Jerry T. to discuss a certain topic in criminal law, either e-mail him at theolaw@yahoo.com or call him at 727-945-1112.

Article

Top


Some people spend their entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference, MARINES don't have that problem.
-- President Ronald Reagan, 1985 --

Citrus County Yellow Pages on the Internet


Operation Yellow Bow
Help Support Our Troops

Jessica Marie Lunsford Foundation
Helping children in crisis

Southeastern Guide Dogs
Paws For Patriots
Make A Difference


American Legion Riders - truly "Riding For America's Future"


Patriot Guard Riders - Standing For Those Who Stood For Us.
(If you would like to learn more about the Patriot Guard Riders, click here to see an ABC News video or click on Patriot Guard Riders to go to their site.)

Looking for someplace to ride to in Florida, check out this site - MotorcycleRoads.US

To Live A Dream. See what Gwen & Don Wilson do when they are not on their bike.

Get your ad seen here on every page. Very low rates.

If you need the the free Adobe Reader, click on the icon to download and install it.

 

Home Article Biker Friendly Businesses Bike Nites Calendar Florida MC Laws Governor's Proclamation Links Meet a Biker Missed Event Recipes Time Fun Pig Hunting American Suicide

Site Created & Maintained by
4M Enterprises.Com
Citrus County Yellow Pages.Com

RiderFriendly.Com

For comments about this site, please contact
webmaster@riderfriendly.com

Since the 15th of January, 2008 this site has averaged
117 visitors per day

Last updated: Monday, 12 May, 2008 02:01
Privacy: This site does not insert any cookies or gather any information from anybody who visits this site.