Florida Traffic Laws & Highway Safety: What St. Petersburg Drivers Should Know
St. Petersburg, located on the Pinellas Peninsula, has several major highways. The largest highway is Interstate 275, which connects St. Petersburg to Tampa and runs south toward the Skyway Bridge. Other important routes include U.S. 19, a major north-south highway, and State Road 682, also known as the Pinellas Bayway, which connects the city to the southern tip of the peninsula.
Smaller highways include U.S. Route 19 and 682. If you intend to drive on these stretches of the road — or any other nearby highways in the area — you should be familiar with applicable Florida traffic laws.
Florida laws aren’t hard to understand, but they are constantly changing as legislators work to keep Floridians safe. Knowledge of the current regulations will help you avoid getting into car accidents or being ticketed by police.
Pedestrians
While pedestrians aren’t allowed to walk along or cross interstate highways, they may be found near state or local highways. It is the responsibility of all motorists to take every possible precaution to avoid colliding with pedestrians. Skaters, skateboarders, and bicyclists (except when riding on roadways)count as pedestrians for this rule.
While marked crosswalks are less common sights on most highways, they aren’t unheard of. If a pedestrian is crossing at a marked crosswalk, you are required to give them the right of way. If you fail to do that and get into an accident, you will be at fault.
School Buses
Most drivers are aware that they are required to stop when a school bus is picking up or dropping off children. The flashing red lights on the school bus are the way the bus driver signals that you must stop.
If you are driving in the opposite direction of the bus or in a second lane running parallel to the lane the bus has stopped in, you are still required to stop. This is true even if multiple lanes are on each side of the highway.
However, there is one exception to this general rule. If the highway has a divided barrier or an unpaved median that is at least five feet wide, you are not required to stop if you are driving in the lanes going in the opposite direction of the bus.
Emergency Vehicles And Pulled Over Vehicles
This rule represents a relatively recent change to Florida law. According to a piece of legislation that went into effect in early 2024, Florida drivers are now required to move over a lane or slow down when any emergency or disabled vehicle is parked on the side of the road.
Typically, emergency vehicles will have flashing lights on, and disabled vehicles will have hazard lights on. However, even when these lights are not active, drivers are still required to move over or slow down.
Previously, drivers were only required to slow down and move over for emergency vehicles parked on the side of the road. This regulation is still true but now applies to any disabled vehicle.
If you encounter a parked emergency or disabled vehicle, you must move over a lane when on a multi-lane road. On a single-lane road, you need to slow down to at least 20 mph below the posted speed limit.
Phone Calls
For the most part, you are permitted to make phone calls while driving in Florida. However, there is a partial exception to this rule. If you are operating a vehicle in a school zone or an active construction zone, you may not hold a cell phone in your hand (except to make or answer calls). You are, however, still permitted to use a cell phone in hands-free mode.
The application of this rule is quite simple. If a police officer witnesses you holding a cell phone while in a school zone or active construction zone, you can be ticketed, even if the phone wasn’t turned on.
This rule isn’t difficult to follow. School zones are not common along highways. However, construction zones are fairly frequent occurrences. Thankfully, you should get about a mile’s warning before entering one, which gives you plenty of time to put your phone away.
Texting And Driving
It is strictly illegal to text and drive in Florida. The first infraction only results in a $30 fine, but additional offenses will result in points being assigned to your record. If your texting leads to a crash, you will also have six more points added to your license. Unless you have a perfect record, that could easily result in your license being suspended.
If you need to read or respond to a text while driving, you should find a place to pull over. You won’t receive a ticket for texting if your car is stopped and turned off. It is important to wait. Even looking at a text while driving counts as texting and can result in a ticket.
Right Lane Driving
One of the more unusual regulations in Florida involves multi-lane highways. According to the law, drivers are encouraged to drive in the right-hand lane and primarily use the left lane for passing.
However, this regulation isn’t enforced with penalties. Legislators attempted to add penalties to this regulation in 2024, and both the state senate and house passed updated rules. However, the governor vetoed the new suggestions, and that veto wasn’t overturned.
In practice, this means that you are required to reserve the left lane for passing but can’t be ticketed if you fail to do so. Remember, however, that police officers are still more likely to ticket people driving in the left-hand lane for other offenses, and that is legal.
Traffic Safety On St. Petersburg Highways
Traffic laws in Florida are designed to protect drivers and pedestrians from serious injuries in accidents. By obeying traffic laws, you are more likely to avoid unfavorable outcomes like ticketing and accidents.
There are, of course, significantly more laws than those listed above. But the rules mentioned here are some of the most likely to affect you while you are driving on St. Petersburg highways. If you are careful to respect them, you can improve your safety and the safety of those you drive with.