A woman in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, was pulled over on February 11 and cited for using a wireless communication device while driving. A Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputy observed the device “in his right hand” while driving north on North Dixie Highway, according to the citation.
There’s one problem: He doesn’t have a right hand.
The woman, who uses the @slightlyoff.balance account on TikTok, recorded the traffic stop and posted it online, where it quickly went viral. In the video, the deputy can be heard saying he sees the phone in his right hand. It pushes it back in place.
The charge of “Wireless Communication Device/Handheld While Driving – First Offense” under Florida Statutes 316.305(3)(a) carries a $116 fine.
He has since requested body camera footage from PBSO and said he plans to fight the citation in court.
But the detail on the right side is almost irrelevant: Even if he had two hands, the ticket probably wouldn’t be valid, lawyers say.
Under current Florida law, it is not illegal to simply hold a phone while driving outside of school zones and active work zones. The statute specifically targets manually typing or entering letters, numbers or symbols into a device. Attorney Ted Hollander of the Ticket Clinic told CBS12 (1) that neither the school district nor construction zone box was checked in the citation.
“Whether he’s holding it in his right hand or his left hand, it doesn’t really matter,” Hollander told CBS12. “Unless you’re in a school zone or a construction zone, you’re allowed to have a cell phone.”
Attorney Donahue also called the law “really clear,” noting that texting while driving is rare in Palm Beach County, in part because it’s so difficult for officers to prove it.
Hollander then made a broader point: most people just pay.
“A lot of times people pay tickets that shouldn’t be paid, and this could be one of those examples,” he said. “But luckily this lady seems to be able to stand on her own two feet.”
The instinct to just pay it forward and move on is understandable. The punishment seems small. But the damage from a distracted driving ticket doesn’t end when you pay; has been increasing for years.
An analysis by Zebra, which examined millions of insurance rates, found that a distracted driving violation increases premiums by an average of 23%, or about $357 per year. (2) Because insurers typically keep the fine for about three years, a single ticket can cost more than $1,071 in additional insurance alone on top of the original fine.
Insurance.com’s data tells a similar story, showing the average increase was 28%. Their analysis found, for example, that Nationwide policyholders saw their annual premiums rise 37% from about $1,548 to $2,119 after a messaging breach. (3) For drivers currently looking for new routes lower car insurance costsA single distracted driving ticket can wipe out years of savings in one fell swoop.
The range by state is wide. California drivers face an average premium increase of 51% following a distracted driving ticket; $1,235 annual. New York drivers? Only 11%.
The math is worth considering for anyone deciding whether to appeal a citation. Traffic ticket lawyers typically charge $200 to $500 for a standard case. This is a tiny fraction of the three-year insurance loss that follows a conviction. An attorney may attempt to negotiate a moving violation down to a non-moving violation or have it dismissed outright, keeping both the points and the premium increase off your records. Make sure you have a case before doing this.
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This case comes at a strange time for Florida. Distracted driving is a serious and growing problem in the state, but the law on the books is narrower than most people (including, apparently, some civil servants) realize.
A crash occurs every 44 seconds in Florida, and one in seven accidents is caused by a distracted driver. Preliminary data for 2024 shows nearly 300 people died and more than 2,200 suffered serious bodily injuries due to distracted driving in the state. (4) Nationwide, the death toll is even higher: 3,275 people died and an estimated 324,819 people were injured in distracted accidents in 2023. (5) NHTSA estimated in 2019 that the economic cost of these crashes would be $98 billion annually. When quality of life losses are taken into account, this figure increases to 395 billion dollars. (6)
Florida’s current distracted driving framework is one of the most permissive in the country. A first texting offense is subject to a $30 base fine; This is an inactivity violation with no license points. A second violation within five years carries three points to $60. Court costs and fees push the actual total higher (the woman was charged $116 in this case), but Florida’s penalties are light compared to states like Oregon, where first offenses can reach $1,000.
This may be changing. In the 2025 legislative session, SB 1318 (“Florida Hands-Free Driving Act”) passed unanimously from multiple Senate committees. The use of all handheld devices while driving would be banned statewide, not just in school and work zones. However, the bill died due to its Housemate’s failure to advance it. (7) More than 30 states already have similar legislation on the books, and advocates expect Florida lawmakers to revive the effort.
The attorneys in the CBS12 story offered a consistent message: Understand what the law in your state actually says, and don’t assume a ticket is airtight just because it was issued.
The current law in Florida is narrower than many drivers think, and apparently narrower than some officers think, too. But Donahue cautioned against taking this as a green light.
“You don’t want to be in a position where you have to prove your innocence,” he said. “Even though the laws aren’t that strict, you really have to treat them almost as they are.”
For anyone who gets a citation, the fine on the ticket is almost always the cheapest part. Among insurance premium increasespotential license points and downstream impacts on employment and driving records, a single distracted driving ticket can quietly reach thousands and undo the progress you’ve made Trying to keep your car insurance costs low.
Woman on Lake Worth Beach He says he will fight his own. It’s hard to argue with that, considering what lawyers have said about this particular quote and how much a conviction could cost him over the next three years.
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We rely only on vetted sources and reliable third-party reports. For details, see editorial ethics and rules.
CBS12/WPEC (1); Zebra (2); Sigorta.com (3); FLHSMV (4); NHTSA (5); NHTSA Research Note (6); Florida Senate (7)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without any warranty.
