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DHSMV Community Update / Informe Comunitario - November 2013
November 2013 Information of Interest to Florida Drivers
Delete Teen Crashes
Forever: Florida continues to highlight the dangers of teen’s crashes. The week of October 20 – 26 was National Teen
Driver Safety Week. We took this
opportunity to talk to the teen drivers across Florida to encourage them to put
their phone down while driving and keep their eyes (and attention) on the
road. We encouraged them to speak up if
they are a passenger in a car and the driver uses an electronic device while driving,
reminding them to always wear their seat belt.
When
you take the seat behind the wheel of a vehicle, you take on a great
responsibility. Unfortunately, the significance of that responsibility can be
taken for granted. Often, a driver allows his or her focus to be impaired by
various distractions that confront us in today’s fast-paced and high tech world
in which we live. They are distractions that can and do turn deadly.
In
no age group is that more apparent than for teenagers. Teens have the highest crash rate of any age
group in our state. Over 22,000 teen drivers were involved in crashes last year
in Florida – 41 of them were killed.
Yet
cell phones and texting aren’t the only distractions for motorists. Whether
it’s trying to tune in a radio station, or eating a quick lunch while driving,
anything that takes your full attention off the road for even a second is a
distraction that could cost you your life, and possibly the lives of others.
Teens are particularly vulnerable to distracted driving crashes due to their
lack of experience behind the wheel.
Texting
while driving is one of biggest distractions on our roads, especially for young
people. Eleven teenagers are killed each day in the U.S. as the result of
texting while driving. Teens themselves report that texting is their number one
driving distraction. A quarter of teens respond to a text message once or more
every time they drive.
These
statistics are alarming, but they aren’t just statistics—they are real
people. We see the tragic results of
teen crashes every day. Let’s delete teen crashes forever.
New Online
Traffic Crash Reporting Now Available: The
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has a new online traffic crash
reporting form. A driver’s self-report of a Traffic Crash can
save time and postage. Under
Florida law, drivers involved in a crash that does not warrant a law
enforcement report are required to submit their own written report to the
Department within ten days of the crash. The online form is intended to make it
easier to submit the required form directly to the Department.
If the
crash meets the following criteria, the driver may complete the Driver Self
Report of Traffic Crash form, in lieu of having a crash report completed by
the appropriate law enforcement agency:
• No
injuries resulted from the crash (no report of pain or discomfort or visible
injuries)
• No
vehicle involved in the crash required a tow truck (wrecker)
• The
crash did not involve (an intoxicated driver)
• The
crash did not involve a "hit and run" vehicle (all vehicles involved
must have been occupied)
• The
crash did not involve a commercial motor vehicle.
A
simple-to-use online questionnaire will guide users through the completion of
the report. Once completed, the report will be automatically submitted to the
Department and can also be saved and printed if needed. The Driver Report of
Traffic Crash can be found at: http://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/misc/CrashReport/.
Put it Down – It’s
Official: On October 1st, the “Florida Ban on Texting While Driving Law” went
into effect, helping promote safe driving and addressing a critical issue
related to driving distracted in the state of Florida.
The
specific provisions of the law state that a person may not operate a motor
vehicle in motion while manually typing into a wireless communications device
known as texting, e-mailing, and instant messaging (non-voice). Law enforcement will have to observe a
primary offense such as careless driving, speeding, running a stop sign, etc.
and also observe the driver manually texting at the same time in order to cite
the texting violation.
With more than more than 6 billion text messages sent each day in the
United States, it is important to remind everyone, while you are behind the
wheel of a car, to Put it Down! Your life
or the life of someone you love depends on it.
Important Advice about Vehicle Cloning: Enterprising criminals
continue to invent new scams to defraud vehicle insurers, owners, and
prospective owners. One innovative vehicle theft scheme involves copying a
vehicle identification number (VIN) from a legally owned and titled vehicle
sitting in a public place such as a parking lot or vehicle dealership. The VIN
is then used as the basis to create a counterfeit VIN tag.
The
next step in the cloning process is to steal a vehicle similar to the one from
which the criminal lifted the legitimate VIN. The stolen vehicle's legitimate
VIN tag is replaced with counterfeit one. With this counterfeit tag, the stolen
vehicle is now a “clone” of the original vehicle that was legally owned and
innocently parked.
To
complete the scenario, criminals will create counterfeit ownership documents
for the cloned vehicle or obtain the ownership documentation under false
pretenses. They use this phony documentation to sell the stolen vehicle to an
innocent purchaser. With the counterfeit VIN tag, the stolen vehicle can easily
be sold without detection by government agencies.
If
you have a reason to believe that your car was cloned, contact your local law
enforcement or file a complaint with the local DMV Regional Office by using the
Complaint Affidavit located on the department’s
website. For a complete list of DMV Regional Offices around the state, click here.
For
more information concerning cloned vehicles and other insurance related, please
direct your inquiry to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB).
Register Your Emergency Contact Information: More than seven million Floridians
have registered their Emergency Contact Information with the Department. DHSMV
is proud of the success of the ECI Program and encourages Floridians to give
their loved ones the peace of mind that comes with registering their
information, especially during the hurricane season. The Emergency Contact
Information program allows licensed drivers and identification card holders to
submit two contacts to notify in the event of an emergency, such as a vehicle
crash. The information can then be accessed, only in the case of an emergency,
by law enforcement officers. To record your information,
please visit www.flhsmv.gov/eci.
Documentation Requirements
in Florida: We urge our
customers to visit www.GatherGoGet.com, a
website dedicated to assist Floridians and visitors with driver license and
identification card requirements. Floridians renewing or obtaining a new
license or ID are required to show proof of: 1) identification, 2) Social
Security number and 3) residential address (two items). The website and its tools are also available
in Spanish at www.ReunaVengaObtenga.com and in
Creole at www.RasanbleAlePran.com. The
Department is issuing driver licenses and identification cards that meet Real
ID federal standards.
An Appointment Helps Speed Up the Process: All customers who must visit one of our offices to
renew, replace, or file a change of address to their driver license or
identification card, are urged to secure an appointment prior to their
visit. Connect via Internet at https://services.flhsmv.gov/Oasis/ for an appointment to reduce the length of the visit. Driver license offices are open Monday through
Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please
check our website at www.flhsmv.gov/offices/ for the most up-to-date information on office
locations and schedules.
Fees for Driver Licenses and Identification Card
Class E (original and renewal) $48
Commercial Driver License (original and
renewal) $75
ID Card (original and renewal) $25
Replacement License or ID $25
Endorsements $
7
Driver License Services at Tax Collector Office Service
Fees $ 6.25
Office hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday (except
official holidays)
The Department uses a combination
of vehicle information to determine registration fees. This includes
registration use, license plate type and class code. The class code is
determined by the vehicle weight, body type, vehicle type and registration use.
To see a sample, click here.
Buckle Up Every Time, Everyone!
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