STUART, Fla. — Florida drivers may now face jail time for excessive speeding under a state law that took effect Tuesday. The legislation aims to curb dangerous driving behavior by imposing harsher penalties on those caught driving at extremely high speeds.
WATCH BELOW: 'Higher speeds equal worse crashes,' Sgt. Jacob Blaszyck tells WPTV
Under the new law, drivers who are caught going 50 mph over the posted speed limit or traveling at least 100 miles per hour face significant consequences.
“I mean, wow, that should put a slow on people speeding,” said Nigel Ledford of Fort Pierce.
The law classifies “dangerous excessive speeding” as a criminal offense in the state of Florida. First-time offenders could be fined $500 and sentenced to up to 30 days in jail, while second-time offenders may face a $1,000 fine and up to 90 days in jail.
Martin County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jacob Blaszyck said the punishment sends a strong message that matches the dangers of speeding.
“Higher speeds equal worse crashes," said Sgt. Blaszyck, who serves in the traffic unit. "A lot of our fatalities are due to these excessive speeds, so we need to really be mindful of everybody on the roads and do the speed limit.”
Tragically, the Martin County Sheriff’s office has seen 13 fatal crashes since the start of the year. It’s one of the reasons they say they’ve cracked down on speeding.
“Sheriff's office is addressing it as a whole. Martin County is getting busier, more people are moving here and we’re just trying to enforce those laws,” Blaszyck added.
So far this year, Martin County deputies have issued approximately 3,200 speeding citations, compared to 2,168 in all of 2024.
The sheriff's office believes the new measure could help them keep the roads safer.
“It seems to me that it’s just getting worse and worse, you know, people are weaving in and out of traffic, they’re in a hurry to get almost nowhere,” said James Meyer, a former Floridian.
Martin County residents had mixed reactions to the new penalties.
“There’s no excuse for going that fast,” said Palm City resident Danny Smith. “At least it’d be on their mind that if they get caught, they’re going to jail.”
Others raised concerns about the severity of the punishment.
“I do think it could be effective. I just think it could be a little less than 30 days,” said Liana Felice, who plans to move to Florida.
“First offense should be probably a fee with some community service,” said Roy Moxan of Port St. Lucie. “If it happens a second time then maybe that does warrant jail time.”
However, most agree the new penalties will make an impact.
“It’ll slow people down, hopefully, let’s hope,” said Ledford. “I feel like people will listen to that, maybe they’ll finally understand the law is the law. Maybe you should follow the law, it’s for everybody’s safety.”
