Between-2022, Florida passed One law that said if an officer can hear music in someone’s car 25 feet away, it’s too loud, and that person will be selling tickets for it. It has the potential to turn into a mess. Currently, almost a year later, a report from Gainesville Sun shows how bad things have turned out: It’s has allows police to disproportionately fine black drivers.
In case you lost it:
The law was a mess from the start. State officials claimed that it was passed because loud music prevented motorists from hearing the ambulance sirens.ut it allows weird exemptions as commercial or political audio devices. But with the state of Florida late in the game, the law seems to be working as intended.
The study was conducted by the University of Florida Department of Journalism and Communication. Using Florida’s Traffic Citation Accounting Transmission System, they looked at 850 tickets from May through December 2022. They found that despite making up just 16% of the state’s driver population, those who do Black cars received 37% of tickets to major concerts. The percentage of Black drivers getting fined is even more staggering, especially when compared to white drivers:
Law enforcement cited Black drivers at a rate of just over 11 tickets per 100,000 Black drivers and cited white drivers with a rate of 3.9 tickets per 100,000 white drivers. .
Angry driver Of course. a driver Gainesville Sun spoke to Tickets have been sold five times since the law came into force. Two of those times were on the same day, just over two hours apart. He called the law racist and asked state to reverse it.
“Stop being racist, simple as that. Something is disproportionately affecting a group and it’s designed that way.” he say.
Two other men, both business partners who own the Crew Trolley Service Ltd., which provides road-legal golf cart pickup and drop-off, say ticketing has become more of an issue. bad enough to affect their operability. It also seems like if the law is subject to the officer’s decision; Both men said they had never seen an officer use any kind of sound measuring device to give orders. ticket.
Polelice supports the law, saying it helps reduce noise, but Florida drivers of color disagree.
