Investigation Shows Gators Players Have 251 Traffic Citations Team-Wide
Just before the holidays, the Orlando Sentinel undertook an investigation that amused our Fort Lauderdale traffic ticket defense attorneys. According to the Dec. 22 article, Florida Gators team members have racked up a total of 251 traffic tickets in Alachua County, where Gainesville is located, between 2006 and 2009. Thirty-two of those cases have not yet been resolved, meaning the ticket has not been paid or the charges were not resolved. This includes traffic citations of all types, including tickets that didn’t lead to an arrest as well as high-profile incidents like the DUI arrest of Carlos Dunlap on Dec. 1. The newspaper counted citations among 96 students who participated in Gators games or were listed as participants in the organization.
The traffic offenses were not evenly distributed throughout the team, the investigation found. Twelve Gators players have seven or more tickets. By contrast, 32 have no tickets at all. Among them is quarterback Tim Tebow, as well as 11 students who haven’t yet been on campus for a full year. Most of the traffic offenses counted were citations rather than criminal charges, for offenses like speeding and expired registration. Dunlap had the only drunk driving charge, but others on the team had been arrested for repeatedly driving with a suspended license. A state’s attorney told the newspaper that this is a common problem in Florida because too many unpaid traffic tickets of any kind can trigger a suspension. A driver caught with a suspended license will be issued yet another citation for that offense -- but failure to pay that ticket could lead to arrest.
As West Palm Beach traffic citation criminal defense lawyers, we see this process at work for all kinds of drivers, most of whom are not football stars. Younger people aren’t always the most responsible drivers, which is one reason why their auto insurance rates are higher. Getting traffic tickets, and failing to pay them, is not the best behavior, but they’re not unusual for young adults getting their first taste of freedom. As the article notes, Florida’s license-suspension process is almost notorious for leading to surprise arrests, for people who had no idea that failure to pay tickets could mean jail. And many of the Gators players are famous, which means they may be victims of officers’ eagerness to show that they don’t play favorites.
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