Fla. Stat. § 316.159
civil infractionverifiedCertain vehicles to stop or slow at all railroad grade crossings
How Florida classifies this section
Noncriminal traffic infraction (civil)
“Except as provided in ss. 318.17 and 320.07(3)(c), any person cited for a violation of chapter 316, s. 320.0605, s. 320.07(3)(a) or (b), s. 322.065, s. 322.15(1), s. 322.16(2) or (3), s. 322.1615, s. 322.19, or s. 1006.66(3) is charged with a noncriminal infraction”
— § 318.14(1), Fla. Stat., verbatim
The statute, verbatim
316.159 Certain vehicles to stop or slow at all railroad grade crossings. — (1) The driver of any motor vehicle carrying passengers for hire, excluding taxicabs, of any school bus carrying any school child, or of any vehicle carrying explosive substances or flammable liquids as a cargo or part of a cargo, before crossing at grade any track or tracks of a railroad, shall stop such vehicle within 50 feet but not less than 15 feet from the nearest rail of the railroad and, while so stopped, shall listen and look in both directions along the track for any approaching train, and for signals indicating the approach of a train, except as hereinafter provided, and shall not proceed until he or she can do so safely. After stopping as required herein and upon proceeding when it is safe to do so, the driver of any such vehicle shall cross only in a gear of the vehicle so that there will be no necessity for changing gears while traversing the crossing, and the driver shall not shift gears while crossing the track or tracks. (2) No stop need be made at any such crossing where a police officer, a traffic control signal, or a sign directs traffic to proceed. However, any school bus carrying any school child shall be required to stop unless directed to proceed by a police officer. (3) The driver of any commercial motor vehicle that is not required to stop under subsection (1) or subsection (2) shall slow the motor vehicle before crossing the tracks of any railroad grade crossing and check that the tracks are clear of an approaching train. (4) A violation of this section is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a moving violation as provided in chapter 318. History. — s. 1, ch. 71-135; s. 1, ch. 78-52; s. 311, ch. 95-148; s. 133, ch. 99-248; s. 4, ch. 2010-223.
sha256 5191ec99246ddf272b6bedffe79f3afc… · 2025 Fla. Stat., dual fetch-path pipeline · permanent corpus page →
Which text, as of when
2025 Florida Statuteslast amended 2010Decoded against the 2025 Florida Statutes as ingested — dual fetch-path verified, hash-pinned. Session laws amend sections on their own effective dates; the 2026 Laws of Florida are indexed as the corpus's overlay.
History. — s. 1, ch. 71-135; s. 1, ch. 78-52; s. 311, ch. 95-148; s. 133, ch. 99-248; s. 4, ch. 2010-223.
License points — the scale, shown
Point values attach on conviction, under § 322.27(3)(d)'s graduated scale. Which row a case lands on can turn on facts the citation and the disposition determine — the rows that could reach this section are shown with their own words and conditions. The scale is shown, not applied.
“All other moving violations (including parking on a highway outside the limits of a municipality)—3 points.”
“Any moving violation covered in this paragraph, excluding unlawful speed and unlawful use of a wireless communications device, resulting in a crash—4 points.”
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The War Room reads the statute box off your citation (typed, or photographed in your browser — the image never uploads), computes your 30-day window with the arithmetic shown, and lays out every option with its consequences quoted. Free with a verified account; no payment, no card.
Open the War Room — free accountQuestions drivers ask
Is a section 316.159 ticket criminal or a civil infraction in Florida?
Section 316.159 sits in the noncriminal traffic infraction framework: Except as provided in ss. 318.17 and 320.07(3)(c), any person cited for a violation of chapter 316, s. 320.0605, s. 320.07(3)(a) or (b), s. 322.065, s. 322.15(1), s. 322.16(2) or (3), s. 322.1615, s. 322.19, or s. 1006.6… (§ 318.14(1), Fla. Stat.). The § 318.17 criminal exceptions do not name this section.
What is the deadline after a section 316.159 citation?
Under § 318.14(4)(a), a person charged with a noncriminal infraction who does not elect to appear generally has 30 days after the date of issuance to pay or enter the clerk's payment plan. The War Room computes the exact window from your citation's issuance date, arithmetic shown, and § 318.15 states what follows a missed window. Verify any date with the clerk of the county on the citation.
What are the options after a section 316.159 ticket?
The § 318.14 menu, where it applies: pay the penalty (an admission by statute), enter a payment plan, elect the basic driver improvement course where eligible (adjudication withheld, no points, once per 12 months and eight times lifetime), or request the infraction hearing where the state must prove the infraction beyond a reasonable doubt (§ 318.14(6)). Any option can be walked with a licensed attorney — choosing is yours, or one to make with counsel.
How many license points can section 316.159 carry?
Points attach on conviction under § 322.27(3)(d)'s graduated scale. The rows that could reach this section carry 3, 4 points, with conditions the statute itself states (crash involvement, speed over the limit, school-zone factors). The scale is shown, not applied — which row fits a case depends on facts the citation and the disposition determine.
Can this page tell me what to do about my ticket?
No — and that line is the product. It shows the statute verbatim, the classification, the point rows, and the options with their stated consequences. What to do about a specific ticket is a decision for you, or for a licensed attorney; the free War Room decodes your citation, and the attorney connection is free to request with the firm billing directly.
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