florida tag law....can it be sideways???? input please

[busagreg]

ok so i know a couple of years ago when florida made all the anti motorcyle laws for crazy expensive tickets for wheelies,reving,speeding, ect...that they had passed the law where it was a $1000 ticket if your tag was mounted anyway but horizontal.. for example if u had ur tag mounted verical from pegs or from the swingarm tag brackets..

i have googled it and found answers that say it is both changed and still the same...some say that it can be vertical as long as its not curved and hard to read like on the curved brackets that hang off the back of your swingarm...a guy i work with is a part time cop and i asked him and he said as long as you can read it then its good...but today when i went to register the busa the lady said she was pretty sure it had to be horizontal...

usually i just put my tags on the undertail horizontally where they cant really be seen anyway but since the busa is stretched and lowered i have no room to do that..so i bought the ball z passenger peg bracket and it looks alot cleaner and less bulky with it mounted sideways, but im not trying to get a ticket that costs a grand

if anyone knows the exact law or even the statue that would be great

 

[K.I.N.G.]

Section 2 of Chapter 08-117, supra, amended section 316.2085(2) and created section 316.2085(3), which respectively provide:

"(2) A person shall ride upon a motorcycle or moped only while sitting astride the seat, with both wheels on the ground at all times, facing forward, and with one leg on each side of the motorcycle or moped. However, it is not a violation of this subsection if the wheels of a motorcycle or moped lose contact with the ground briefly due to the condition of the road surface or other circumstances beyond the control of the operator.

(3) The license tag of a motorcycle or moped must be permanently affixed horizontally to the ground and may not be adjusted or capable of being flipped up."

Section 3 of the 2008 legislation added subsection (13) to section 318.14, Florida Statutes, which provides:

"(13)(a) A person cited for a violation of s. 316.1926 shall, in addition to any other requirements provided in this section, pay a fine of $1,000. This fine is in lieu of the fine required under s. 318.18(3)(b), if the person was cited for violation of s. 316.1926(2).

(b) A person cited for a second violation of s. 316.1926 shall, in addition to any other requirements provided in this section, pay a fine of $2,500. This fine is in lieu of the fine required under s. 318.18(3)(b), if the person was cited for violation of s. 316.1926(2). In addition, the court shall revoke the person’s authorization and privilege to operate a motor vehicle for a period of 1 year and order the person to surrender his or her driver’s license.

(c) A person cited for a third violation of s. 316.1926 commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. Upon conviction, the court shall impose a fine of $5,000, revoke the person’s authorization and privilege to operate a motor vehicle for a period of 10 years, and order the person to surrender his or her driver’s license."

When the language of a statute is clear and unambiguous and conveys a clear and definite meaning, there is no occasion to resort to the rules of statutory construction as statute must be given its plain and obvious meaning.[2]

Section 318.14(13)(a), Florida Statutes, clearly provides that a person cited for a violation of s. 316.1926, Florida Statutes, shall, in addition to any other requirements provided in this section, pay a fine of $1,000. Section 316.1926(1) specifically incorporates the provisions of section 316.2085(2) and (3), Florida Statutes, which relate to sitting astride the seat, with both wheels on the ground at all times, facing forward, and with one leg on each side of the motorcycle or moped, and the placement of the motorcycle or moped license plate. While the second sentence of section 318.14(13)(a) states that this fine is in lieu of the fine required under section 318.18(3)(b), if the person was cited for violation of section 316.1926(2), i.e., exceeding the speed limit in excess of 50 miles per hour or more in violation of section 316.183(2), 316.187, or 316.189, it does not, in my opinion, alter or limit the application of the first sentence.

 

[Busa1166]

If you want to look up all those its The Florida Statutes - The Florida Senate

lets not also forget we get a tickect for removing/not having a yellow reflector on the front on each side and red ones on the side of the rear and red one at the back though it is reflectors are cheaper


on the up side you can take your tag make it disappear Ride without a tag and when they stop tell them it must have been stolen.

 

[K.I.N.G.]

seriously???

 

[Lucid]

Haha God Florida is done f***kin around, I moved right as these laws were going into place.

 

[GNBRETT]

I think ur misinterpreting that statute. the statute says it must be horizontal. meaning, the police are more concerned with those that bend their plate up on PURPOSE so it cannot be seen from behind. its no different then removing ur plate alltogether. its quite disrespectful and the police/courts now say u will be fined so heavily ur might want to think twice and get ur bike in order. that is why that fine is so steep.

its not really designed for the Harley guy or Busa rider who choses to mount his plate in a different location because it just doesnt fit in the rear due to modifications done to a bike. thats a whole different situation then making ur plate vertical vs. keeping it horizontal so it cannot be seen.

the only azzholes who have their plate bent upwards on PURPOSE are the ones with no license, no reg or a stolen plate are bike. its done for one reason so the police cant get their plate and radio it in for others to find them after a chase. its those few dicckheads that give all other riders a black eye.

im sure a cop could interpret that stautue many different ways if he wanted to bust ur stones. the statute is slightly vague but its not designed to deter people from mounting their plate where u want to mount it on ur Busa. ur part time cop friend is telling u how HE would interpret that statute and im sure many other cops would to as long as it was well lit and clearly visible. thats not how the statute reads tho. it doesnt say "If it can be read then its legal". if it dosent say it then thats not the law. thats an opinion.

I wish they had that law here is Connecticut.

in all fairness tho a plate is supposed to be mounted to the rear of a vehicle. for obvious reasons. so the plate can be observed from the greatest angle. if the plate is mounted to one side of the vehicle it is only visible from that one side. bike plates are difficut to see even up close. when they are mounted vertical they become even more difficult to read. so there is cause for a stop but if that particular cop can see and read clearly ur plate ur probably be fine. but probably is pretty expensive fine in FL.

 

[Busa1166]

Can't mount it vertical some states it's ok but not here, even if the tag is flat and visible it has to be horizontal, and dammed if I can't find it but there is a supposedly a minum and max height to where it's mounted. Reading these regs looking for it is giving me a headache.

And what started this war on bikers was the runners who place their tag in front of the rear wheel under the rearsubframe or use flip up tags. With this law they would hit the local bike night hangouts and pop them or in the gas stations when they are fueling up. Worked real good around here tags around hear are either not there at all or properly placed and lighted

 

[dadofthree]

Well the question pertained to Florida Law, but SC laws in regards to vehicle license changed a year or so ago to allow vertical. In SC vehicle license must be lighted, 12 to 36 inches off the road, visible ( only clear covers allowed, no tint, no rings that hide the state or month/year stickers ) Too many laws to go into here.

Man, you can commit a felony here and not pay a $1000.00 fine. From what I read above it must be horizontal or they will hurt your feelings and your mom's feelings

 

[ScottC]

I've seen it done both ways, Verticle on the side of a tire and I myself bend it up/down so at least cameras can't see it. I've been riding where the guy infront of me go pulled over however the cop came on my ass first and then went around to get my friend. He was doing 48 in a 40 and he didn't even have his bike 24 hours! Point is, it depends on the cop. I have dark tint on my car windows and a dark license plate cover on the tag of both my cars. My GF got pulled over and was harrased about the dark tag cover (No ticket) few months ago... The damn thing has been on there since 2007!4 years and I have had cops behind me, just driving and not give a ****. Same goes with my tag that was bent up a bit, maybe more then a bit ;-)

 

[busagreg]

yeh ill just leave it horizontal on the ball z mount...because i dont run a tag light so it would just be another reason for the cops to mess with me..

but thanks for the input..

because i had read from google that in 08 when the made all these laws that they came back around 2010 and changed them a bit and the tag could be vertical as long as it wasnt bent..

the ball z peg mount puts is at a bit of an angle but it doesnt bend the tag

 

[busagreg]

ok i just clicked on the florida statue link above and searched tag and this is what i found

(3) The license tag of a motorcycle or moped must be permanently affixed to the vehicle and may not be adjusted or capable of being flipped up. No device for or method of concealing or obscuring the legibility of the license tag of a motorcycle shall be installed or used. The license tag of a motorcycle or moped may be affixed horizontally to the ground so that the numbers and letters read from left to right. Alternatively, a license tag for a motorcycle or moped for which the numbers and letters read from top to bottom may be affixed perpendicularly to the ground, provided that the registered owner of the motorcycle or moped maintains a prepaid toll account in good standing and a transponder associated with the prepaid toll account is affixed to the motorcycle or moped.

 

[Warchild]

Me, if I were living in Florida, I would take a more tactical approach to the situation.

Consider you already ride a machine that looks like its speeding while still parked... so I would do everything I could to not draw additional attention to myself by trying to push the envelope with a license plate arrangement that does not conform to the statute as written.

One answer: by patronizing one of .oRg sponsors, you can stay legal and still have a clean, tidy undertail! :agree:

Linky-link:Tiger Racing - Busa Fender Plate

 

[busagreg]

316.2085 Riding on motorcycles or mopeds.—

so i guess im going to print this out and keep it on my bike and if i get pulled over for a sideways mounted tag ill tell them its not illegal and that here is the statue and what it states

because everything i read under #3 ..i take is it being legal now since the tag would be visable

thoughts?

 

[busagreg]

anybody else's thoughts on statue above