How the Criminal Law Affects You is a recurring series that translates Florida’s criminal statutes into everyday terms — what the law says, and what it means when you drive to work, rent a car, or hand the keys to your teenager. This first edition answers one question: when did speeding stop being a ticket and become a crime?
For as long as most Florida drivers can remember, a speeding stop ended the same way. You signed the citation, you paid the fine or took a class, and you moved on. On July 1, 2025, that changed. The Legislature created a new crime called dangerous excessive speeding, and it carries something no ordinary speeding ticket ever carried: jail time.
When does speeding become a crime in Florida?
In its 2025 session, the Legislature passed House Bill 351. The Governor approved it on May 22, 2025, and it took effect on July 1, 2025, as Fla. Stat. § 316.1922. News coverage called it the “super speeder” law. The statute says:
(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.
Read those two paragraphs carefully, because they work differently. Paragraph (a) is a math problem. Take the posted limit, add 50, and any speed at or above that number completes the offense. Note what paragraph (a) does not say. It says nothing about how you drove, how heavy traffic was, or whether anyone was in danger. The number alone does the work.
Paragraph (b) is different. Driving 100 mph, standing alone, is not the crime. The State must also prove the manner — that you drove in a way that “threatens the safety of other persons or property or interferes with the operation of any vehicle.” This is so because the Legislature tied the 100-mph prong to conduct, not just a number. On a stretch of I-4 posted at 70, a driver clocked at 100 is only 30 over, so paragraph (a) does not reach him. To make that stop a crime, the State has to prove the threatening manner under paragraph (b).
What are the penalties?
A first conviction is punishable by up to 30 days in the county jail, a $500 fine, or both. A second or subsequent conviction is punishable by up to 90 days, a $1,000 fine, or both.
The license consequence is the part most drivers miss. A driver convicted of a second or subsequent violation — one committed within 5 years after the date of a prior conviction under this statute — “shall have his or her driving privilege revoked for at least 180 days but no more than 1 year.” Note how the 5-year clock runs: from the prior conviction to the new violation, not from ticket to ticket. The word is “shall,” not “may.” The revocation is mandatory; the only question is how long it lasts.
Do you have to go to court?
The answer is “yes.” Dangerous excessive speeding is a criminal traffic violation, and under Fla. Stat. § 318.14(2) a person cited for a criminal traffic violation “must sign and accept a citation indicating a promise to appear.” There is no website where you pay it, and no option to mail a check and make it go away. You appear in criminal court.
Also, the same 2025 law tightened the paperwork just below the criminal thresholds. Driving 30 mph or more over the limit is still a civil infraction, and it already required a mandatory hearing under Fla. Stat. § 318.19. What the 2025 law changed is the citation itself: the officer no longer has to write a penalty amount on it. You learn what it costs when you stand in front of the judge.
How would this come up in real life?
The commute. The 50-over trigger arrives much faster on the roads you drive every day than on the interstate. On I-4, posted at 70, paragraph (a) starts at 120. On US 27 where the limit is 65, it starts at 115. On a 45-mph stretch of SR 60, it starts at 95 — a speed an ordinary sedan reaches without drama. This is important because the same pedal that means a ticket on the interstate can mean a criminal charge two exits later on a state road.
The rental car. A visitor cited under this statute cannot treat it like a toll violation that follows the rental agreement home. The promise to appear points to a Florida courtroom, and skipping a criminal court date creates a far bigger problem than the stop itself.
The teenager. You might run into the scenario where a 19-year-old borrows the family car, opens it up on an empty US 27 at 2 a.m. where the limit is 65, and the laser reads 116. That is 51 over. Before July 1, 2025, that stop produced an expensive ticket and a mandatory hearing. Today it produces a criminal charge, a court date, and the real possibility of a jail sentence and a criminal record at the very start of adult life.
What can you do about a dangerous excessive speeding charge?
Treat it like what it is: a criminal case. The State must prove the speed itself, which puts the measurement on the table — how the officer clocked the vehicle, whether the device was calibrated, and whether the operator was qualified to use it. Under paragraph (b), the State must also prove the threatening manner, with evidence rather than assumption. And these stops rarely stay small. A high-speed stop at 2 a.m. invites questions about where the driver came from and whether he was impaired, which is how a speeding case becomes a DUI investigation.
Speeding in Florida used to cost money. Since July 1, 2025, it can cost your liberty and your license. If you were cited under this statute, take it as seriously as the Legislature did.
Statute featured in this edition
Fla. Stat. § 316.1922 — Dangerous excessive speeding. Created by Ch. 2025-77, Laws of Florida; effective July 1, 2025.
High-speed stops often turn into impaired-driving investigations. If your stop went that direction, read our guide to defending a DUI charge in Florida.
Legally reviewed by Tonmiel Rodriguez — last reviewed July 6, 2026.
Tonmiel Rodriguez is a criminal defense attorney in Bartow and is Board Certified in Criminal Trial Law by The Florida Bar. He defends criminal traffic, DUI, and felony cases across Polk, Highlands, Hardee, Osceola, and Hillsborough Counties. If you or someone in your family was charged with dangerous excessive speeding, call The Rodriguez Law Office at (863) 774-4556.