| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to traffic safety; amending s. 316.2015, |
| 3 | F.S.; removing an exception to prohibition of persons |
| 4 | riding on the exterior of a passenger vehicle; revising |
| 5 | exceptions to prohibition of persons riding on any area of |
| 6 | a vehicle not designed or intended for the use of |
| 7 | passengers; prohibiting operator from allowing certain |
| 8 | minors to ride within the open body of a pickup truck or |
| 9 | flatbed truck while traveling on certain facilities; |
| 10 | providing exceptions; providing penalties; amending s. |
| 11 | 316.614, F.S.; revising provisions relating to safety belt |
| 12 | usage; requiring the Department of Highway Safety and |
| 13 | Motor Vehicles to develop a policy to prohibit the |
| 14 | practice of racial profiling; providing an effective date. |
| 15 |
|
| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
|
| 18 | Section 1. Section 316.2015, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 19 | to read: |
| 20 | 316.2015 Unlawful for person to ride on exterior of |
| 21 | vehicle.-- |
| 22 | (1) It is unlawful for any operator of a passenger vehicle |
| 23 | to permit any person to ride on the bumper, radiator, fender, |
| 24 | hood, top, trunk, or running board of such vehicle when operated |
| 25 | upon any street or highway which is maintained by the state, a |
| 26 | county, or a municipality. However, the operator of any vehicle |
| 27 | shall not be in violation of this section when such operator |
| 28 | permits any person to occupy seats securely affixed to the |
| 29 | exterior of such vehicle. Any person who violates the provisions |
| 30 | of this subsection shall be cited for a moving violation, |
| 31 | punishable as provided in chapter 318. |
| 32 | (2)(a) No person shall ride on any vehicle upon any |
| 33 | portion thereof not designed or intended for the use of |
| 34 | passengers. This paragraph shall not apply to: |
| 35 | 1. An employee of a fire department or a volunteer |
| 36 | firefighter when the firefighter is engaged in the necessary |
| 37 | discharge of a duty; |
| 38 | 2. A person who is being transported in response to an |
| 39 | emergency by a public agency or pursuant to the direction or |
| 40 | authority of a public agency; |
| 41 | 3. An employee of a solid waste or recyclable collection |
| 42 | service while in the course of employment collecting solid waste |
| 43 | or recyclables on designated routes; or This provision shall not |
| 44 | apply to an employee engaged in the necessary discharge of a |
| 45 | duty or to |
| 46 | 4. A person or persons riding within truck bodies in space |
| 47 | intended for merchandise. |
| 48 | (b) It is unlawful for any operator of a pickup truck or |
| 49 | flatbed truck to permit a minor child who has not attained 18 |
| 50 | years of age to ride upon limited access facilities of the state |
| 51 | within the open body of the pickup truck or flatbed truck unless |
| 52 | the minor is restrained within the open body in the back of a |
| 53 | truck which has been modified to include secure seating and |
| 54 | safety restraints that would prevent the minor from being |
| 55 | thrown, falling, or jumping from the truck. This paragraph does |
| 56 | not apply in a medical emergency if the child is accompanied |
| 57 | within the truck by an adult. A county is exempt from this |
| 58 | paragraph if the governing body of the county, by majority vote, |
| 59 | following a duly noticed public hearing, votes to exempt the |
| 60 | county from this paragraph. |
| 61 | (c) Any person who violates the provisions of this |
| 62 | subsection shall be cited for a nonmoving violation, punishable |
| 63 | as provided in chapter 318. |
| 64 | (3) This section shall not apply to a performer engaged in |
| 65 | a professional exhibition or person participating in an |
| 66 | exhibition or parade, or any such person preparing to |
| 67 | participate in such exhibitions or parades. |
| 68 | Section 2. Subsections (4) and (8) of section 316.614, |
| 69 | Florida Statutes, are amended, present subsection (9) of that |
| 70 | section is redesignated as subsection (10), and a new subsection |
| 71 | (9) is added to that section, to read: |
| 72 | 316.614 Safety belt usage.-- |
| 73 | (4) It is unlawful for any person: |
| 74 | (a) To operate a motor vehicle in this state unless each |
| 75 | passenger and the operator of the vehicle under the age of 18 |
| 76 | years is restrained by a safety belt or by a child restraint |
| 77 | device pursuant to s. 316.613, if applicable; or |
| 78 | (b) To operate a motor vehicle in this state unless the |
| 79 | person is restrained by a safety belt. |
| 80 | (8) Any person who violates the provisions of this section |
| 81 | commits a nonmoving violation, punishable as provided in chapter |
| 82 | 318. However, except for violations of s. 316.613 and paragraph |
| 83 | (4)(a), enforcement of this section by state or local law |
| 84 | enforcement agencies must be accomplished only as a secondary |
| 85 | action when a driver of a motor vehicle has been detained for a |
| 86 | suspected violation of another section of this chapter, chapter |
| 87 | 320, or chapter 322. |
| 88 | (9) By January 1, 2006, each law enforcement agency in |
| 89 | this state shall adopt departmental policies to prohibit the |
| 90 | practice of racial profiling. When a law enforcement officer |
| 91 | issues a citation for a violation of this section, the law |
| 92 | enforcement officer must record the race and ethnicity of the |
| 93 | violator. All law enforcement agencies must maintain such |
| 94 | information and forward the information to the department in a |
| 95 | form and manner determined by the department. The department |
| 96 | shall collect this information by jurisdiction and annually |
| 97 | report the data to the Governor, the President of the Senate, |
| 98 | and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The report must |
| 99 | show separate statewide totals for the state's county sheriffs |
| 100 | and municipal law enforcement agencies, state law enforcement |
| 101 | agencies, and state university law enforcement agencies. |
| 102 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005. |