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Fla. Stat. § 316.6135

Leaving children unattended or unsupervised in motor vehicles; penalty; authority of law enforcement officer

Known as the Florida Uniform Traffic Control Law

The act spans §§ 316–316 (280 sections).

Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case In re Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases-Report No. 2012-05 (2013)

Most recently applied in In Re: Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases-Report 2018-09. (January 2019)

History.--s. 1, ch. 85-229; s. 4, ch. 87-225; s. 330, ch. 95-148; s. 57, ch. 99-8; s. 241, ch. 99-248; s. 1, ch. 2007-205; s. 14, ch. 2012-181; s. 56, ch. 2014-19.

How often courts cite this section

2013201910
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(1) A parent, legal guardian, or other person responsible for a child younger than 6 years of age may not leave the child unattended or unsupervised in a motor vehicle:

(a) For a period in excess of 15 minutes;

(b) For any period of time if the motor of the vehicle is running, the health of the child is in danger, or the child appears to be in distress.

(2) Any person who violates the provisions of paragraph (1)(a) commits a misdemeanor of the second degree punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

(3) Any person who violates the provisions of paragraph (1)(b) is guilty of a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable by a fine not less than $50 and not more than $500.

(4) Any person who violates subsection (1) and in so doing causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to a child commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

(5) Any law enforcement officer who observes a child left unattended or unsupervised in a motor vehicle in violation of subsection (1) may use whatever means are reasonably necessary to protect the minor child and to remove the child from the vehicle.

(6) If the child is removed from the immediate area, notification should be placed on the vehicle.

(7) The child shall be remanded to the custody of the Department of Children and Families pursuant to chapter 39, unless the law enforcement officer is able to locate the parents or legal guardian or other person responsible for the child.

Official source: Online Sunshine (Florida Legislature). Reproduced from public-domain Florida statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.