The “Super Speeder” Law (HB 351): Why 50 MPH Over Is Now a Crime, Not a Ticket

For years in Florida, the deal was simple:

Drive too fast → get a ticket → pay it → complain about the insurance → move on.

As of July 1, 2025, that deal is gone.

With House Bill 351, Florida created a brand-new crime called “Dangerous Excessive Speeding” in Fla. Stat. § 316.1922. If you’re caught going 50 mph over the limit or hitting 100+ mph under the wrong conditions, you’re no longer just looking at a traffic ticket — you’re looking at a criminal charge, a permanent record, and real jail exposure, even if you’ve never been in trouble before.

If you drive I-10 across the Panhandle, run a fast bike on 98, or just have a heavy right foot, you need to understand exactly how this works before those blue lights hit your mirror.

What Did HB 351 Actually Change?

HB 351 did three big things:

1. Created a new crime – Dangerous Excessive Speeding – at § 316.1922.

2. Criminalized certain speeds that used to be handled mostly as civil infractions.

3. Tightened up mandatory court-appearance rules for extreme speeding, including 50+ mph over under the traffic-infraction statute § 316.1926(2).

This isn’t just “bigger tickets.” The Legislature deliberately moved the worst speeding behavior into the criminal world.

The New Crime: “Dangerous Excessive Speeding” (Fla. Stat. § 316.1922)

Under § 316.1922, a person commits Dangerous Excessive Speeding if they operate a motor vehicle:

1. 50 MPH or more above the posted speed limit, or

2. At 100 MPH or more in a manner that threatens the safety of other people or property, or interferes with the operation of any vehicle.

A couple of quick examples:

• 85 mph in a 35 mph neighborhood street → 50+ over → qualifies.

• 120 mph in a 70 mph zone on I-10 → 50+ over → qualifies.

• 100 mph on an otherwise empty highway → the State still has to prove you were doing it “in a manner that threatens safety or interferes with other traffic” to use the 100 mph prong.

Before this statute existed, 50+ mph over lived primarily in § 316.1926(2) as a serious civil infraction with huge fines and mandatory hearing, but not its own standalone crime. HB 351 kept the civil scheme but added this new criminal charge on top of it.

In practice, that means you can now see combinations like:

• A criminal charge under § 316.1922, and

• A separate high-speed civil citation under § 316.1926(2), and/or

• A reckless driving charge under § 316.192, depending on how the officer and prosecutor want to stack it.

Penalties: Why This Is So Different From a “Normal” Speeding Ticket

Because Dangerous Excessive Speeding is a crime, you’re suddenly in misdemeanor court — not traffic court. You’re dealing with a judge, prosecutor, and all the collateral fallout of a criminal record.

First Conviction – “I’ve Never Been in Trouble Before”

• Jail: Up to 30 days in county jail.

• Fine: Up to $500 (plus court costs that often double the number you see in the statute).

• Record: A conviction gives you a misdemeanor criminal record for Dangerous Excessive Speeding. That lives on background checks for:

  
  

  • Jobs

  • Apartments

  • Professional licenses

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Second or Later Conviction (Within 5 Years)

• Jail: Up to 90 days in county jail.

• Fine: Up to $1,000 (again, plus costs).

• License Revocation: If the new conviction is within 5 years of the prior one, DHSMV must revoke your license for at least 180 days and up to 1 year.

That’s on top of whatever your insurance company decides to do with your rates.

Mandatory Court Appearances: No More “Pay It Online and Forget It”

There are two overlapping pieces here:

1. Criminal charge under § 316.1922

   
   

   • If you’re arrested or given a Notice to Appear for Dangerous Excessive Speeding, you must go through the criminal process.

   • This is a misdemeanor case, not a payable traffic ticket. You cannot just log on, pay something with a card, and move on.

2. 
   

3. Civil “50+ over” infraction under § 316.1926(2)

   
   

   • HB 351 also changed the traffic-infraction rules so that anyone written under § 316.1926(2) for exceeding the speed limit by 50 mph or more has to appear for a mandatory hearing. The Legislature specifically flagged those 50-over cases and pulled them out of the normal “pay by mail” system.

4. 
   

Bottom line:

If you get tagged for 50+ over or 100+ mph in Florida, you should assume you’re going to court one way or another, and ignoring it will likely lead to a warrant and a license suspension.

Why This Law Is Especially Dangerous for “Car People”

Florida has a huge car and bike culture — late-night runs, weekend meets, testing what your car can do on “that one stretch” you think is safe.

The mindset used to be:

“Worst case, I get a big ticket and some points. Expensive, but whatever.”

HB 351 completely changes that calculation:

• Your “pull” can now end with handcuffs, a tow truck, and a booking photo.

• News reports show dozens of drivers already jailed in places like Orange County and right here in Escambia County under the new law — many of them truly shocked to find out they were going to jail instead of home.

If you’re running 120 mph on I-10 at 1 a.m., you’re now in the same courtroom as people charged with DUI, domestic battery, and other criminal offenses. That’s a big shift.

How We Defend Dangerous Excessive Speeding Cases

Just because the officer wrote “Dangerous Excessive Speeding” on the citation doesn’t mean the State can prove it.

This is a criminal case. The State has to prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt. At Pensacola.lawyer, we treat these like any other misdemeanor we’re prepared to take to trial.

Here are some of the angles we look at:

1. Speed Measurement & Calibration

At 100+ mph, small errors matter.

We dig into:

• What device was used? Radar, laser (LIDAR), pacing?

• Was it properly calibrated and tested according to Chapter 15B-2, F.A.C., and FDLE rules?

• Where was the officer positioned? Curve, hill, heavy traffic, or clean line of sight?

• Was the reading actually your car or bike, or could it have been another vehicle in a pack?

If we can undermine the reliability of the speed reading, the case may fall apart or become negotiable.

2. Identification of the Driver

This is a big issue in:

• Motorcycle cases

• High-speed “packs”

• Situations where the officer never actually came up to the vehicle at the time of the alleged speed

If the State can’t confidently prove you were the one behind the wheel or on the bike, that’s a defense.

3. The “Endangerment” Requirement at 100+ MPH

Remember, for the 100 mph prong, the statute requires that you were going 100 or more “in a manner that threatens the safety of other persons or property or interferes with the operation of any vehicle.”

That gives us room to argue:

• Time of day

• Traffic volume

• Weather and visibility

• Whether you were weaving, tailgating, or just cruising at a (stupidly) high speed on an otherwise empty road

If the State can’t show speed plus dangerous manner, they may not be able to use that 100+ mph theory at all and may be forced back into a lesser civil infraction.

4. Negotiation: Pushing It Back to a Civil Ticket

In many cases, our goal is to avoid:

• A criminal conviction, and

• A suspension or revocation on your record.

Depending on the facts, your record, and the county, we may be able to negotiate:

• A reduction to a civil speeding infraction

• Withheld adjudication where possible

• Reduced fines and more manageable conditions (e.g., advanced driver improvement school instead of jail)

Every case is fact-specific, but the key point is: you have options if you get a lawyer involved early.

The Bottom Line

Florida’s “Super Speeder” law is not a scare tactic — it’s real, it’s on the books, and people are already serving time in county jails because of it.

A few seconds of adrenaline, or trying to “make up time” on the highway, can now:

• Get you arrested

• Put you in front of a criminal judge

• Leave you with a permanent misdemeanor record

• Cost you your license for up to a year on a second case

If you or a family member has been charged with Dangerous Excessive Speeding under HB 351 / § 316.1922, or cited for 50+ mph over under § 316.1926(2), do not walk into court alone and hope for mercy.

The prosecutor’s job is to enforce this new law, not to protect your record, your job, or your license.

Reach out to our office at Pensacola.lawyer so we can:

• Review the citation, reports, and any video

• Explain your real exposure in plain English

• Build a defense strategy focused on protecting your license, your freedom, and your future

Disclaimer: This blog post is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney–client relationship. Laws change, and how they apply to your situation depends on your specific facts. If you are facing a charge or citation, consult directly with a qualified Florida criminal defense attorney about your case.