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Florida Statute 316.085 - Full Text and Legal Analysis
Florida Statute 316.085 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research
Link to State of Florida Official Statute
F.S. 316.085 Case Law from Google Scholar Google Search for Amendments to 316.085

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XXIII
MOTOR VEHICLES
Chapter 316
STATE UNIFORM TRAFFIC CONTROL
View Entire Chapter
316.085 Limitations on overtaking, passing, changing lanes and changing course.
(1) No vehicle shall be driven to the left side of the center of the roadway in overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction unless authorized by the provisions of this chapter and unless such left side is clearly visible and is free of oncoming traffic for a sufficient distance ahead to permit such overtaking and passing to be completely made without interfering with the operation of any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction of any vehicle overtaken. In every event the overtaking vehicle must return to an authorized lane of travel as soon as practicable and, in the event the passing movement involves the use of a lane authorized for vehicles approaching from the opposite direction, before coming within 200 feet of any approaching vehicle.
(2) No vehicle shall be driven from a direct course in any lane on any highway until the driver has determined that the vehicle is not being approached or passed by any other vehicle in the lane or on the side to which the driver desires to move and that the move can be completely made with safety and without interfering with the safe operation of any vehicle approaching from the same direction.
(3) 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. 109, ch. 99-248.

F.S. 316.085 on Google Scholar

F.S. 316.085 on CourtListener

Amendments to 316.085


Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Civil Citations / Citable Offenses under S316.085
R or S next to points is Mandatory Revocation or Suspension

S316.085 (1) IMPROPER-CHANGE-OF-LANE, passing when meeting oncoming vehicle - Points on Drivers License: 3
S316.085 (2) IMPROPER-CHANGE-OF-LANE, pulling out in front of vehicle going in same direction - Points on Drivers License: 3

Cases Citing Statute 316.085

Total Results: 11  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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United States v. Dwayne Berman Cooper, 133 F.3d 1394 (11th Cir. 1998).

Cited 67 times | Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

...Strickland, 902 F.2d 937, 940 (11th Cir.1990) (internal quotation marks, citations and ellipses omitted). In Florida, a driver may change lanes only “with safety and without interfering with the safe operation of any vehicle approaching from the same direction.” Fla. Stat. § 316.085 (2) (1995). Upon due consideration of the record, we conclude that the district court did not clearly err in finding that King had probable cause to believe that Cooper violated section 316.085(2)....
...by any oilier vehicle in the lane or on the side to which the driver desires to move and that the move can be completely made with safety and without interfering with the safe operation of any vehicle approaching from the same direction. Fla. Stat. § 316.085 (2) (1995)....
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Fleetwood Homes of Florida, Inc. v. Reeves, 833 So. 2d 857 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002).

Cited 10 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2002 WL 31875183

mock emergencies to train emergency personnel); § 316.0085, Fla. Stat. (2001) (when government provides
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Hunter v. Ward, 812 So. 2d 601 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002).

Cited 6 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2002 WL 518537

...d a truck in the right lane; that the truck obscured his vision so that he was unable to see the traffic ahead in the left lane; that before he moved from the right to the left lane he checked for approaching traffic behind him in the left lane, see section 316.085(2), Florida Statutes (2000); that before he changed lanes he did not ascertain the status of traffic in front of *605 him in the left lane; and that upon moving into the left lane he suddenly came upon Putnam's car as it was making a sudden stop....
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Eden v. Food Fair Stores, Inc., 330 So. 2d 540 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal

...1959, 113 So.2d 402. It was not a reversible error, however, under the circumstances presented for the judge to include the word "rebuttable" in his instruction. Appellant's point 7 urges error upon the court's refusal of a requested instruction on Fla. Stat. § 316.085(2), which imposes restrictions upon a driver changing his lane of travel on a multi-lane highway....
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John Casserly v. The City of Delray Beach, 228 So. 3d 135 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2017 WL 4280599

which prohibits skaters on public roads, and section 316.0085, Florida Statutes (2014), which limits a governmental
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United States v. Smith, 772 F.3d 680 (11th Cir. 2014).

Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | 2014 WL 6725819

be made available for playing paintball. Id. § 316.0085(1). The panel acknowledges that the title and
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Lindsey v. Johnson, 415 So. 2d 778 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1982).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1982 Fla. App. LEXIS 20152

...e jury the following relevant instructions: (1) that Section 316.030(1) provides that any person operating a vehicle upon the streets or highways within the state shall drive in a careful and prudent manner under the circumstances existing; (2) that Section 316.085(2) provides that a vehicle shall not be driven from one lane on a highway across the other lane until the driver has determined that he is not being approached or passed by any other vehicle in the lane toward which he is moving; (3)...
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Emma Griffin v. Palm Beach Cnty. Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners (Fla. 4th DCA 2020).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal

summary judgment based upon the application of section 316.0085(4), Florida Statutes (2017), and Casserly
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United States v. Cooper (11th Cir. 1998).

Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

...on the side to which the driver desires to move and that the move can be completely made with safety and without interfering with the safe operation of any vehicle approaching from the same direction. Fla. Stat. § 316.085(2) (1995). 4 Consent is one of many factual issues that the district court did not resolve....
...Strickland, 902 F.2d 937, 940 (11th Cir.1990) (internal quotation marks, citations and ellipses omitted). In Florida, a driver may change lanes only "with safety and without interfering with the safe operation of any vehicle approaching from the same direction." Fla. Stat. § 316.085(2) (1995). Upon due consideration of the record, we conclude that the district court did not clearly err in finding that King had probable cause to believe that Cooper violated section 316.085(2)....
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United States v. Cooper (11th Cir. 1998).

Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

...lane or on the side to which the driver desires to move and that the move can be completely made with safety and without interfering with the safe operation of any vehicle approaching from the same direction. Fla. Stat. § 316.085(2) (1995). 4 district court did not resolve, whether Cooper consented.4 In any event, King reached in through the passenger door, turned off the ignition, “swept” under the car seats and opened the glove compartment....
...Strickland, 902 F.2d 937, 940 (11th Cir. 1990) (internal quotation marks, citations and ellipses omitted). In Florida, a driver may change lanes only “with safety and without interfering with the safe operation of any vehicle approaching from the same direction.” Fla. Stat. § 316.085(2) (1995). Upon due consideration of the record, we conclude that the district court did not clearly err in finding that King had probable cause to believe that Cooper violated section 316.085(2)....
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Woodard v. Barkley, 523 So. 2d 777 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1988).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 13 Fla. L. Weekly 990, 1988 Fla. App. LEXIS 1663, 1988 WL 36053

...The jury awarded damages to Barkley in the amount of $1,100,000. It further found that he was seventy-five percent comparatively negligent. Thus, the court entered final judgment in favor of Barkley and against appellants in the amount of $275,000. The primary thrust of the appellants’ argument is that section 316.085(2) is not applicable to a situation in which a person has slowed down on a two lane residential road, put on his turn signal and turned left into his own driveway....
...y be distinguished on the ground that the driver in each instance made a wide turn. That distinction, however, does not persuade us to a different result. Based upon the foregoing, we affirm the judgment. SCHEB, A.C.J., and SCHOONOVER, J., concur. . Section 316.085(2) provides that: No vehicle shall be driven from a direct course in any lane on any highway until the driver has determined that the vehicle is not being approached or passed by any other vehicle in the lane or on the side to which t...

This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney. Attorney Syfert regularly works with Chapter 316 in the context of traffic and automobile accident law and represents clients throughout Northeast Florida. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.