Am I bound by Florida's curfew laws?

January 30, 2006 9:00 PM

I am turning 17 Friday and I am wondering about driving curfews. I have a Louisiana driver's license which lifts the curfew completely at 17, but I do 95% of my driving in Florida where 17 year olds have a 1 a.m. curfew. Am I bound by Florida law or Louisiana law?
posted by SuperCoolZane to law & government (17 comments total)

Sorry, pal - when in Florida, you do as the Floridians do.
posted by DandyRandy at 9:05 PM on January 30, 2006

IANAL, but I'm pretty sure you're bound by the laws of whatever state you're in. Having an LA driver's license really only says "the state of Louisiana vouches that I've passed all their required tests to drive." It doesn't (AFAIK) carry LA jurisdiction into FL.
posted by sbutler at 9:06 PM on January 30, 2006

The customer service number for the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles is [phone].

More information may be found here.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 9:07 PM on January 30, 2006

Sorry, pal - when in Florida, you do as the Floridians do.

What about full faith and credit? I agree that curfew isn't in any way related to the driver's license, but isn't this too broad a generalization?

For instance, if Louisiana allowed people to drive at 16 and Florida at 18, you'd still be able to drive in Florida with a Louisiana license, right?
posted by Jeff Howard at 9:18 PM on January 30, 2006

If your driving passed curfew is work related, get a letter from your employeer that states your hours of work and their contact information for conformation. You can be driving passed curfew if it is to/from work.
posted by caffinatedandcurious at 9:21 PM on January 30, 2006

"Full faith and credit" only applies to documents, not laws. Plus, even this is challanged... IE, states with harder driving tests will sometimes make you retake a test if you're applying for a new license and you've had a license from a state thats known to have a very easy test.
posted by devilsbrigade at 9:25 PM on January 30, 2006

I believe Kansas and Missouri have a similar situation. I am licensed (and live) in suburban Kansas, Missouri has a much earlier curfew, something like 10:30. There were exceptions, which could easily be bullshitted (medicine, sick friend, etc).

Once again, different states, but point-to-point driving is seemed to be highly tolerated at the time (from one friend's house to another). The laws basically wanted to be able to somehow punish the kids who were hanging around the bars and clubs they couldn't get into. Cops have enough trouble keeping drunks in line, they didn't need several hundred underage kids hanging around, possibly trying to get in.

The question was more directly answered above, but try to find out how the law is actually enforced in your area. I'm guessing it won't be a problem if you want to come home from a party at 2AM. How can cops ascertain someone's age going 65MPH?
posted by geoff. at 9:32 PM on January 30, 2006

IANAL (yet, taking the bar in 3 weeks), but the Full Faith and Credit clause applies to judgments of the courts of one state being recognized and upheld by the courts of another state. However, a person is bound by the laws of the place they are in at the time. So basically, the OP should be careful when driving in FL. That's not legal advice, that's just good sound common sense.
posted by LilBucner at 9:35 PM on January 30, 2006

"Full faith and credit" only applies to documents, not laws...
Got it. That was an unwarranted extrapolation from marriage licenses to drivers licenses.
posted by Jeff Howard at 10:15 PM on January 30, 2006

It probably depends on how the law is written.
posted by delmoi at 10:17 PM on January 30, 2006

Woah! Driving curfews?? Is this a new thing? I've never heard of something like that before. (being in the UK).

Is this something that's seriously enforced? *intrigued*
posted by lemonpillows at 1:22 AM on January 31, 2006

I'd say this is pretty darn simple. Don't drive like a typical 17 year old male kid, and you shouldn't have any issues at all. There is a reason why young males have a huge insurance rate, it's because they are often more interested in impressing their friends or some girl by driving fast and crazy then following the rules of the road.

So, follow the laws, don't speed, use your blinkers, and come to a full and complete stop at the stop signs. You won't get pulled over, thus the driving curfew issue will not be a problem.

Also, if you do get pulled over, tell your teenage passengers to shut the heck up and be respectful or they will never ride in your car again. Then be completely respectful to the officer. Explain why you are out late, where you are going, and apologize for speeding or whatever it is that you did wrong. Keep your hands on the wheel until told otherwise.

If you are respectful and don't give him reason to be nervous, he'll most likely let you go with a warning and a short blurb about not staying out so late.
posted by Phynix at 1:57 AM on January 31, 2006

being in the UK

Land of the free dude. This is *exactly* why the US fought a war against the UK, so that it could be free to impose its own curfews!
posted by meehawl at 6:08 AM on January 31, 2006

Is this something that's seriously enforced? *intrigued*

Lemonpillow: Not sure how it is in the UK, and not sure about this law in particular, but there are traffic laws in some states that are not, for lack of a better term, high priority. For instance, in Montana where I did most of my growing up, riding in a car without a seat belt is illegal, but its not an offense for which the police may stop a car. If, however, one is caught speeding and it also happens that one is not wearing a seat belt, one is likely to be charged both for speeding (the offense which warranted the stop) and for not wearing a seat belt. I believe this bit with the seat belt has been recently changed, however.

My impression was that my city's curfew was a similar sort of regulation. Not enough to get you stopped, but if you get stopped after midnight for having a busted taillight, you'd likely wind up with a fine for breaking the curfew.
posted by msbrauer at 6:16 AM on January 31, 2006

The driving curfews are a relatively new thing over the past five to seven years, that have spread across the country, state by state. The main reason cited is for driver safety, under the belief that teens out driving late at night are more likely to get into a car accident. ... oh, and it keeps them from causing trouble. Curse them Troublesome kids.
posted by Atreides at 8:06 AM on January 31, 2006

What Phynix said. I broke the curfew in Maryland (between midnight and 5am for drivers under 18, I believe) all the time and never had any problems. No one is going to pull you over for looking young, you'll only get in trouble for breaking curfew if you get stopped for something else. I wouldn't worry about it, especially if you are just going to be making short drives around areas that you know well that late at night.
posted by puffin at 12:21 PM on January 31, 2006

Adding my .02 late, but my Mexican immigrant students here in LA tell me they get pulled over for curfew checks all the time. At which point the police ask whether they're illegals.
posted by Uccellina at 8:27 PM on January 31, 2006