The state of Florida is attempting to crack down on the problem of drivers substantially exceeding the speed limit and performing stunts behind the wheel. House Bill 351, “Dangerous Excessive Speeding,” became law at midnight on July 1. The law, which imposes higher penalties for drivers exceeding the speed limit by 50 mph or hitting at least 100 mph, was put to the test only two minutes after it went live when a driver was clocked running 104 mph in a 70 mph zone, classifying him as a “super speeder.”
Florida regulators say the state has long had a problem with its drivers participating in street racing, street takeovers, stunt driving, and excessive speeding. Street takeovers, which have been a problem all over America, have sometimes plagued cities like Tampa, Orlando, and Miami. One of the most recent street takeovers, WKMG News reports, happened only on July 4, when drivers shut down an intersection in Orlando to perform donuts in a crowd. Of course, these folks got into that Independence Day spirit by shooting fireworks out of their vehicles..
In 2024, as NBC 6 South Florida reports, one Pompano Beach street takeover ended in tragedy when a driver fleeing from police allegedly struck and killed a cyclist. This isn’t unique to Florida, either. There are countless tragic news reports from all over the nation detailing the gruesome events that happen when street takeovers, street races, and excessive speeding go wrong.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reports that nearly 10 percent of the traffic deaths in the state between 2019 and 2023 had excessive speed as a contributing factor. The state’s data further says that 84 percent of speeding-involved traffic fatalities involved male drivers, usually aged between 16 and 25.
According to a statistic quoted by a recent report by Hemmings, speed was noted as a contributing factor in 11,775 traffic deaths in America in just 2023 alone. That was 29 percent of all traffic fatalities that year. So, there are understandably a lot of people who want to curb reckless driving to save lives.
Florida’s New Speeding Law
According to Florida Politics, one of the inspirations behind the new law, nicknamed the “Super Speeder Law,” was the death of a child, from Florida Politics:
The legislation follows a measure [Sen. Jason Pizzo] successfully carried in 2024 to help law enforcement address dangerous drag racers, stunt drivers and street takeovers that in recent years have led to thousands of arrests and several deaths across Florida.
Pizzo, who lives in South Florida, said this year’s measure was inspired by a tragedy close to home. He recounted the story of 11-year-old Anthony Reznick, who on the morning of Feb. 10, 2022, was struck and killed on a Sunny Isles Beach crosswalk by a driver who had been issued more than two dozen traffic citations and had her license suspended multiple times.
The woman who killed Reznick, Samentha Toussaint, was driving without insurance. Her headlights weren’t on, Pizzo said, and she was driving at roughly 85 mph in a residential area. A judge suspended her license for eight years, ordered her to pay a $1,000 fine and court costs, and required her to perform 120 hours of community service. She was never criminally charged.
Florida’s efforts to curb reckless driving include, among other legislation, House Bill 351 and Senate Bill 1782. House Bill 351 was filed in February 2025 by Republican representatives Danny Alvarez of Hillsborough County and Susan Plasencia of Orlando, and signed into law. Democratic senator Jason Pizzo of Miami-Dade introduced his own version of the proposal, Senate Bill 1782, in February as well. House Bill 351 stated:
Section 1. Section 316.1922, Florida Statutes, is created to read:
16 316.1922 Dangerous excessive speeding.—
(1) A person commits dangerous excessive speeding if he or she operates a motor vehicle:
(a) In excess of the speed limit by 50 mph or more.
(b) At 100 mph or more in a manner that threatens the safety of other persons or property or interferes with the operation of any vehicle.(2) A person convicted of dangerous excessive speeding shall be punished:
(a) Upon a first conviction, by imprisonment for up to 30 days or by a fine of $500, or by both a fine and imprisonment.
(b) Upon a second or subsequent conviction, by imprisonment for up to 90 days or by a fine of $1,000, or by both such fine and imprisonment. A person convicted of a second or subsequent violation of this section that occurs within 5 years after the date of a prior conviction for a violation of this section shall have his or her driving privilege revoked for at least 180 days but no more than 1 year.
Senate Bill 1782 had harsher penalties. Per that bill, a first offense for reckless driving would have resulted in a $1,000 fine, revoked the driver’s driving privileges for six months, and impounded their car for 30 days. Someone offending for a second time would have seen the fine jack up to at least $2,500, plus a one-year license suspension, and a 30-day car impoundment.
House Bill 351 ended up replacing Senate Bill 1782. It passed the House 75 to 40 and won a unanimous vote in the Senate before being signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis. One of those who pushed back in the House was Orlando Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani, who said, via Hemmings: “There continues to be a trend in the Florida Legislature of enhancing criminal penalties and/or creating new criminal penalties… statistically speaking, there is no clear data to demonstrate that enhanced penalties reduce crime.”
A Buick Envision Hits Triple Digits
Rep. Eskamani’s point might have been demonstrated only two or three minutes after the law went live on July 1. According to a body cam video (above) released by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, an unnamed driver in Orange County was caught going 104 mph in a 70 mph zone. GM Authority clocks the vehicle in the video to be a newer Buick Envision, perhaps a 2024 or 2025 model. My eyes concur.
The driver was informed of the new law and was then arrested. Based on the provisions of the new law, the driver could face up to 30 days in jail, a fine of $500, or a fine plus imprisonment. Further details about this traffic stop have not been released at this time.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office says that, since the beginning of the year, it has stopped at least 100 cars per month after clocking them at speeds above 100 mph.
Top graphic image: Buick
100 on the highway here in Florida is honestly not uncommon at all. I usually do about 80 on 95 or the turnpike where the limit is 70. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t passed by somebody doing 20-30 faster. 80 is the slow lane.
New Fast and Furry movies with 15 speed Buicks: the Born to be Mild series!
I smell box office!
A good start but take the vehicle away take their license away
Excellent way to increase high speed pursuits.
Nine your fine, ten your mine. I go by that rule of thumb, providing it’s not a 25-mph zone.
Repeat offenders who drive like arseholes, such as Samentha Toussaint, are the ones who should be populating Alligator Alcatraz.
Having a powerful vehicle doesn’t mean you always have to use all of it, ferchrissakes.
Power corrupts feeble minds.
I don’t have a solution to prevent this kind of asshattery, but I also don’t think this Super Speeder law is it.
Mustang rallies show owners are not capable of driving the vehicle
Depends.
I met a mustang pro racer living on the same street as a guy I had turned in.
He had called in the guy too.
Same reason- idiocy, not speed.
My fox body, not a mustang, has a 408, track suspension, and AC.
It’s never been taken to top speed yet.
I’ve never had it past 150 or so.
There’s more there, there.
I think it’s telling we both thought this same guy was dangerous at 50 mph.
Teenage girls used to cruise giant Caddys at 100 mph without incident.
Hitting Houston used to make me feel like I had ended up on a road course by a wrong turn.
Perhaps that is why I don’t attend them in mine.
That new law is a joke and I can’t believe that woman got a slap on the wrist for killing that kid. No wonder no one is deterred from doing such dumb stuff in that state.
In my state (not USA), dangerous driving, which amongst other things includes going more that 45km/h over the speed limit, can result in up to roughly US$30,000 in fines and/or 2 years in prison. If your dangerous driving kills someone it’s up to 10 years in prison. That’s proper deterrence, which unfortunately still isn’t enough for some people.
A better approach is teaching people how to drive.
I don’t see how teaching people to drive better will stop them from speeding. It’s not really an issue of skill – more of idiocy.
Most new drivers now don’t know what driver skill is, and are completely clueless that emergency driving techniques even exist.
If people are offered skills, they may embrace them for their own rewards, or simply for their own safety.
Teach them the car should be considered sacrificial when it’s a matter of survival.
Students leave high schools now thinking cars are just little buses.
We have to share the roads with them!
You shouldn’t have to teach someone to not do 85MPH in a residential area. Parenting and/or common sense should handle that. Samentha should be in prison.
I have to drive around FL north of Tampa a few times a year. Jebus! I hate it. The drivers do not even have tread on their tires.
“Don’t Tread on Me,” says the Florida pavement.
As a younger lad, maybe 24 right out of the Navy, I was (trying) to follow my roommate and his passenger out of downtown New Orleans back to our apartment. When he crested 100mph I gave up. He ended up getting pulled over shortly after this.
He told me later that the cop told him if I had to chase you another 500′ you would be going to jail tonight. I’m assuming the 100+ was a factor? (ironic part – my roommate was a cop who opted not to show his ID this time. He got out of a smaller speeding ticket with his ID earlier.)
Multiple offender? 100+? Kill someone? Should be auto jail time, crush the car.
Killing someone automatic jail time? Kill someone automatic life sentence. Remember the victim and screw the criminals who had a bad upbringing or made a temporary bad judgement call. If dui is a crime murdering sober is a crime even worse
I have to be that guy today.
“The woman who killed Reznick, Samentha Toussaint, was driving without insurance. Her headlights weren’t on, Pizzo said, and she was driving at roughly 85 mph in a residential area. A judge suspended her license for eight years, ordered her to pay a $1,000 fine and court costs, and required her to perform 120 hours of community service. She was never criminally charged.”
How in hell was this person not criminally charged for killing someone with her car with all of the other attendant violations she also had?
In this separate case, it took multiple stops for literally anything to happen to this guy too, and he was openly being a spoiled, entitled ass about the whole thing:
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/belltown-hellcat-driver-to-serve-30-days-in-jail/
To be clear, I acknowledge that people make mistakes and should get second chances. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve also paid for them. I don’t think you need to ruin someone’s life over a couple of traffic violations, even “bad” ones. But if you can’t learn your lesson with endless citations, suspensions and fines, jail can be an awfully good teacher. The absolutely ludicrous level of shit that repeat (and repeat, and repeat) offenders get away with is infuriating.
I’m really surprised that speeding THAT much over wasn’t already a serious crime. IIRC, in Maine 30 over is “criminal speed” and will get you cuffed and stuffed in short order.
I keep it to 90 on the Floridabahn anyway.
Yeah, in ME the magic number is 30. Many many years ago I was doing well over 85 over on that flat wide stretch of Rt 26 in Paris. State Trooper going the opposite direction did an immediate 180 and chased after me. I ended up being pulled over across the road from Snow Falls. I figured I was going straight to jail, but I did the play nice, play dumb, be polite routine. First thing he says to me is “do you have any idea how fast you were going?!” “Honestly, sir, I wasn’t paying attention, but judging by the way you turned around and came after me it must have been pretty damn fast.” I have never in my life been so happy to get a ticket for going 15 over.
They definitely have some discretion. My worst was my very first ticket – 62 in a 35 in Cumberland on Middle Rd. Then I got a 70 in a 55 on the Turnpike the very next day. I was very young and very, very dumb.
Only one ticket this century though, in Montana in the middle of nowhere for 88 in a 70. Paid ($40!) on the spot, never reported to Maine.
A lot of law enforcement in the big open states leave people alone if they feel they are being careful.
In Montana they never were happy about the 55mph limit so they didn’t exactly cite you for speeding and instead said the fine was for wasting resources or something like that. They also kept the fines low and payable on the spot, so you definitely made sure you had cash in your pocket when traveling through there at that time. Once the federal gov’t completely eliminated the speed limit mandate MT went to Reasonable and Prudent on interstates and highways during the day time. I crossed it several times in that era, usually at 90-95mph. Some times pacing cops and other times passing the slower ones.
My first ticket was 69 in a 55 (NIce!). I was going north of 80 when my fuzz buster went off. But anything over 15 over was a court appearance, so the cop wrote me up for 69, knowing I would pay the same and he wouldn’t have to come to court.
Same thing happened to my wife. 82 in a 65. There it was anything over 85. Cop said he put 82 because if he did too many 85s, his boss asked questions .
I have no idea why I typed “over” twice there–anyhow probably clear from context I was going over 85, not 85 over. Speed limit there is 50.
My auto correct has gone bonkers lately.
Maybe yours too?
That dude must be old af LOL
I mean, Buick and Florida? Yeah he was late for bingo!!!!!!!
Having seen the video, it was a younger guy. 20s?
Samentha Toussaint got off way light. Should be in prison for killing a kid. But I guess Florida doesn’t care about them as much after they’re born.
I mean didn’t they pass a law that it’s OK to drive through protests if they blocking the road?
This “super speeder” law is about $$ not saving lives
It always has been.
Comes under illegal detention/ kidnapping when rioters detain citizens.
Legal protests don’t block roads, by literal definition.
Too common for thugs to block cars as a prelude to assault, carjacking and murder.
Very much agreed. A couple years in a cell and a lifetime ban, minimum.
Slap on the wrist. **EYEROLL**