Florida's Seat Belt Law - Click it or Lose Your Auto Accident Case

Beginning   July 1, 2009, police officers in Florida may now stop the driver of   a car based upon a simple suspicion that the driver is not wearing a   seat belt.  If the police officer’s suspicion is right, you can   receive a citation that will cost you $100.00 under the new Florida   law.  Before, motorists could not be stopped for just the seat   belt violation.  A police officer would have to see some other   type of traffic violation, and then could cite a person for failing   to wear a seat belt once that person is pulled over.   <br />
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<p align="justify">      Putting   aside the financial reasons for wearing your seat belt, there are also   safety and legal issues to consider.  Wearing a seat belt has been   proven to save lives.  The Florida Department of Highway Safety   and Motor Vehicles estimates that Florida’s seat belt law will prevent   approximately 1,700 serious car accident injuries, and approximately   140 car accident deaths on an annual basis.  In 2007 alone, of   the 1,972 that were killed in car accident crashes, 61% of them were   not wearing a seat belt.  You do not have to look far to find an auto accident in Florida where a person’s life was saved simply because   they were wearing their seatbelt. <br />
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<p align="justify">      There   are also legal reasons to wear a seat belt in Florida.  If you   suffer an injury in a Florida car accident, and you pursue a car accident   claim against the person responsible for causing the accident, the at-fault   party can raise Florida’s “seat belt defense” in an effort to   minimize any car accident injuries you may have suffered.  In order   for Florida’s “seat belt defense” to be raised in a <a onClick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/article_exit_link');" href="http://www.jmmlawyers.com/florida-auto-accident-lawyer.html">Florida auto accident case</a> injury claim, that party must prove there was “an available   and fully operational seat belt” that the injured person failed to   wear.  Sometimes this is more difficult to show than it seems,   particularly in serious car accidents where a car sustains a very large   amount of property damage.   If a party can show that there   is an available and fully operational seat belt available to the person   that was injured in the car accident, Florida Law allows for a jury   to reduce a damage award.   <br />
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<p align="justify">      There   are ways to counter the seat belt defense.  These include showing   that the seat belt was not “available and fully operational”, arguing   that the injury would have occurred even if the person had been wearing   the seat belt, or attack the basis for the assertion that the injured   person was not wearing their seat belt. <br />
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<p align="justify">      A   motorist in Florida has many reasons to wear their seat belt.    It is obviously in their financial best interest to wear their seat   belt or otherwise be subject to a $100.00 citation from a police officer.    If the driver is involved in a serious car accident or suffers a serious   car accident injury, a seat belt is certainly going to give the person   a better chance of walking away from the accident versus suffering a   serious injury or death.  And finally, if you are injured in a   serious car accident, any experienced <a onClick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/article_exit_link');" href="http://www.jmmlawyers.com/florida-auto-accident-lawyer.html">Florida auto accident case </a>lawyer will   advise you that you will have difficulty overcoming Florida’s seat   belt defense.   <br />
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<p align="justify">     Joseph Maus has been specializing in representing those people who have a <strong>Florida auto accident case</strong> for   over 15 years.  To determine whether you may have a  claim, the lawyers at Joseph M. Maus, P.A. offer a free, no   obligation consultation to answer your questions, and help evaluate   your claim.  For more information about the seat belt law or a <strong>Florida auto accident case,</strong> contact  Joseph M. Maus, P.A.at 1-866-556-5529, visit his website at www.jmmlawyers.com, or <a onClick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/article_exit_link');" href="http://www.jmmlawyers.com/contact-south-florida-attorney.html">email</a> him today.