Pinellas County is home of beautiful beaches, museums, and downtown St. Petersburg and Clearwater. St. Petersburg, encompassing the Southern half of the county, and Clearwater, making up the Northern portion of the county, take up most of the land mass in Pinellas County. The county also has smaller towns known as Palm Harbor, Safety Harbor, Tarpon Springs, Largo, Seminole, Gulfport, and Tierra Verde just to name a few.
With a population of 917, 398 people and two large interstates running through it, the County has a lot of traffic issues. I-275 and Highway US 19 run through the county from North to South and are the spots where a lot of traffic violations occur. With traffic violations over 100,000 per year, the area is prone to violations and there are several police departments issuing the citations. The policing agencies in the county include: Pinellas County Sherriff, Clearwater Police Department, St. Petersburg Police Department, Pinellas Park Police Department, Gulfport Police Department, Bellair Police Department, Indian Shores Beach Police Department, Kenneth City Police Department, Largo Police Department, and Highway patrol officers among other smaller agencies. These agencies collaborate to have DUI checkpoints, which are published in the city’s local newspaper, Tampa Bay Times. The checkpoints include 35-40 officers with special skills to detect DUIs during specified weekends at specified locations.
The most common violations in Pinellas County are speeding, reckless driving, failing to stop at a stop sign or traffic signal, and/or improper equipment, proof of insurance or proof of registration. The best advice would come from a Pinellas County Traffic Attorney. They will advise you as to how to proceed and what legal actions can be taken on your behalf.
After getting a traffic citation, what happens? The next thing that will likely happen is you will have a hearing date. At this hearing date, your Pinellas County Speeding Ticket Lawyer will be there to help you defend your case along with the officer that gave you the citation, any other witnesses and of course a judge. There are violations that require a hearing. These violations tend to be criminal in nature. They include: DUI, Driving with a Suspended License, Driving without a License, and Speeding over the Speed Limit by 30 miles per hour or more.
Where do you go and who will be hearing your case? In civil court, Pinellas County is part of the 16th Judicial Circuit Court. The judges in this circuit will hear all misdemeanor and traffic cases. The courthouses for these violations is: 1800 66th Street North, St. Petersburg, FL 33710 and 29582 US Highway 19, Clearwater, FL 33761. Any criminal hearings will be heard at the Criminal Justice Center, 14250 49th Street North, Clearwater, FL 33762. If you are unsure of which location to attend, please contact the 24 hour traffic hotline at (727) 464-4846. They can give you the details about your citation and which courthouse to attend.
A St. Petersburg Traffic Attorney or Clearwater Traffic Attorney can assist you in a variety of ways—by attending your hearing, discussing the possibilities with you, and possibly getting tickets from being placed on your license. The points could end up being detrimental because if you get a total of 12 in 12 months, you will end up with a license suspension of a year. There are ways to avoid getting the points, which include traffic school or asking your attorney to plead with the court. These St. Petersburg Speeding Ticket Lawyers or Clearwater Speeding Ticket Lawyers can assist you in getting the points not assessed and possibly getting a lower penalty for the violation you were cited for. It is best to contact one of them immediately to insure that you are meeting the proper deadlines, since if you are requesting a hearing you need to do so within 30 days of the date of the citation. Contact your local Pinellas County Traffic Lawyer today!
