Radar speed-measuring devices; speed detection systems; evidence, admissibility.

(1) DEFINITIONS.—

(a) “Audio Doppler” means a backup audible signal that translates the radar’s Doppler shift into a tone which can be heard by the radar operator.

(b) “Audio warning tone” refers to an auxiliary radar device which alerts the operator, by means of an audible tone, to the presence of a speed registration above a preset level.

(c) “Automatic speed lock” refers to an auxiliary radar device which immediately holds any speed reading obtained above a preset level.

(d) “Officer” means any:

1. “Law enforcement officer” who is elected, appointed, or employed full time by any municipality or the state or any political subdivision thereof; who is vested with the authority to bear arms and make arrests; and whose primary responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime or the enforcement of the penal, criminal, traffic, or highway laws of the state;

2. “Part-time law enforcement officer” who is employed or appointed less than full time, as defined by an employing agency, with or without compensation; who is vested with authority to bear arms and make arrests; and whose primary responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime or the enforcement of the penal, criminal, traffic, or highway laws of the state;

3. “Auxiliary law enforcement officer” who is employed or appointed, with or without compensation; who aids or assists a full-time or part-time law enforcement officer; and who, while under the direct supervision of a full-time or part-time law enforcement officer, has the authority to arrest and perform law enforcement functions; or

4. “Traffic infraction enforcement officer” who is employed or appointed, with or without compensation, and satisfies the requirements of s. 316.640(5) and is vested with authority to enforce violations of ss. 316.1895 and 316.183 pursuant to s. 316.1896.

(e) “Radar” means law enforcement speed radar, any laser-based or microwave-based speed-measurement system employed by a law enforcement agency to detect the speed of motorists.

(2) Evidence of the speed of a vehicle measured by any radar speed-measuring device shall be inadmissible in any proceeding with respect to an alleged violation of provisions of law regulating the lawful speed of vehicles, unless such evidence of speed is obtained by an officer who:

(a) Has satisfactorily completed the radar training course established by the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission pursuant to s. 943.17(1)(b).

(b) Has made an independent visual determination that the vehicle is operating in excess of the applicable speed limit.

(c) Has written a citation based on evidence obtained from radar when conditions permit the clear assignment of speed to a single vehicle.

(d) Is using radar which has no automatic speed locks and no audio alarms, unless disconnected or deactivated.

(e) Is operating radar with audio Doppler engaged.

(f) Is using a radar unit which meets the minimum design criteria for such units established by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

(3) A speed detection system is exempt from the design requirements for radar or LiDAR units established by the department. A speed detection system must have the ability to perform self-tests as to its detection accuracy. The system must perform a self-test at least once every 30 days. The law enforcement agency, or an agent acting on behalf of the law enforcement agency, operating a speed detection system must maintain a log of the results of the system’s self-tests. The law enforcement agency, or an agent acting on behalf of the law enforcement agency, operating a speed detection system must also perform an independent calibration test on the speed detection system at least once every 12 months. The self-test logs, as well as the results of the annual calibration test, are admissible in any court proceeding for a uniform traffic citation issued for a violation of s. 316.1895 or s. 316.183 enforced pursuant to s. 316.1896. Notwithstanding subsection (2), evidence of the speed of a motor vehicle detected by a speed detection system compliant with this subsection and the determination by a traffic enforcement officer that a motor vehicle is operating in excess of the applicable speed limit is admissible in any proceeding with respect to an alleged violation of law regulating the speed of motor vehicles in school zones.