Speeding Ticket Attorney

Millions of drivers travel on Georgia roadways every year and thousands of speeding citations are issued to these drivers. While your percentage of receiving a speeding citation is fairly low over-all, there are certain jurisdictions in the state that are more likely to issue speeding citations.

While jurisdictions around the many interstates converging around Atlanta issue the most speeding citations, it is not uncommon for small and rural areas along the interstate to engage in heavy speed enforcement as well. Traveling through these rural areas on the interstate is often boring with little traffic and some drivers tend to push their speeds. This can lead to being issued a Georgia speeding ticket in a jurisdiction that is remore.

Our speeding ticket attorney will first look at your citation to learn where you received the speeding citation and to see how fast and in what speed limit the officer cited you. These simple facts can determine what actually our speeding ticket lawyer can do for you.

But in general, we will always attempt to have your speeding ticket amended to a charge that will not report on your driver’s license – whether you are a Georgia driver or out-of-state. This can be achieved in a handful of ways, but almost always involves negotiating with the prosecutor or the traffic court handling your speeding case.

Another benefit our speeding ticket attorney can provide is we can often appear on your behalf in a Georgia traffic court without you having to appear yourself. This allows you to get the benefit of negotiating a reducing to your speeding ticket without taking the time to return to the jurisdiction that is handling your citation.

Out-Of-State drivers need to have their cases handled carefully so as not to violate stricter laws in their home state. In particular, North Carolina drivers can find their license suspended for 30 days when their Georgia speeding ticket is reported back to North Carolina. While we can not give advice in regards to other state’s traffic laws, we can typically avoid speeding convictions reporting back to your home state.

The speeding statute in Georgia is found at OCGA 40-6-181. The points that are accessed are related to how fast you were cited above the speed limit – with more points being accessed the higher you were speeding over the speed limit. With zero points being accessed for traveling 14 mph over the speed limit.

For most Georgia driver’s a reduction to 14 mph over the speed limit will keep the speeding ticket from reporting on their license. But in cases involving out-of-state drivers, CDL drivers, and other situations, a 14 mph over will still report on a driver’s license.

A charge to OCGA 40-6-180 is known as a Basic Rules Violation and a Too Fast for Conditions. For normal Georgia drivers a Basic Rules charge will not report on their driver’s license. But once again, out-of-state drivers and CDL drivers follow different rules. Any CDL driver in a commercial vehicle will have a 40-6-180 reported on their driving history. In the cases of out-of-state drivers, a 40-6-180 may report to their home state and be reported as a Too Fast for Conditions – which is a point violation in some states.

OCGA 40-6-1 is also known as a Basic Rules Violation, but is actually a legal fiction. The code section cited is actually the introduction to the entire chapter of moving violations in Georgia. This means you are vaguely cited for violating a traffic law without a specific law being mentioned. This means the OCGA 40-6-1 will never be reported to DDS or to your home state or cause problems for a CDL. Unfortunately, not every traffic court in Georgia allows the use of OCGA 40-6-1 as case law exists saying it is an illegal charge.

Things begin to become tricky for drivers cited with speeding ticket in Georgia that enter the super speeder range (over 85mph) and especially with speeds approaching or exceeding 100mph.

Georgia’s Super Speeder law will access drivers convicted of speeds over 85mph with an additional $200 fine above and beyond the court fines. This must be paid or the driver’s license will be suspended – even out-of-state drivers.

The Super Speeder law is the least of a driver’s concern when cited for a high speed in many jurisdictions. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the number of drivers has decreased overall, but the number of fatal car accidents has increased. A large part of this is due to the high rate of speed many drivers have become comfortable driving during the pandemic.

In response, Georgia traffic courts have become to take a harsh approach in sentencing regarding high-speed tickets (90mph and above). This includes suspensions of licenses and jail sentences in some traffic courts. In almost every case involving a high-speed Georgia speeding ticket, it is prudent to consult a speeding ticket attorney.

Another common charge added to these speeding tickets is a charge of Reckless Driving. This is an additional 4-point traffic violation that can add additional fines and consequences for drivers. But this charge also requires additional elements be present in your case – for example, you were speeding AND weaving in and out of traffic. In most cases, the state cannot prove the reckless charge and we can negotiate a merger of the two charges.

Under-21-year-old drivers in Georgia face stricter consequences when convicted of a Georgia speeding ticket. This can lead to a suspension of their driver’s license. For instance, any 4-point traffic violation will suspend their license. So, a 24mph over the speed limit case (that is 4-points) will suspend their license if the under-21 driver is convicted at this speed.

To avoid these consequences, we have often been able to negotiate sentences that avoid the license suspension by having the young driver attend driving courses, do community service, write essays, and other driver education activities. In exchange, the traffic court will amend the speeding ticket to a non-reporting charge or at least reduce the speed to avoid the license suspension.

Any under-21 driver upon receiving a speeding citation for 24-mph or over should immediately contact an attorney and begin to look at Defensive Driving School options. They should also be conscious of their driving and avoid receiving any other traffic violations.

Speeding citations in Georgia are difficult to beat. We can typically negotiate the speeding ticket away but fighting the case at trial is difficult. The appellate courts have made it extremely easy to convict someone of speeding.

For instance, they do not actually have to prove you were going as fast as they say, only that you were traveling above the speed limit. So if you were charged with going 100mph, and you take your case to trial, the State’s burden is merely to prove you were going 1mph above the speed limit to convict you for going 100mph. This make it extremely easy to find yourself convicted of a Georgia speeding ticket when you would have been better off negotiating a reduction instead.

There are some positive case law in regards to the foundation the state needs to lay when introducing evidence related to speed detection devices. The police officer must jump through some extra hoops to introduce the results of his speed detection device. These laws do not apply to state troopers. In over a decade of being a practicing Georgia speeding ticket attorney, we have seen only one instance of this being a successful defense.

Pacing cases are when the officer follows you for a period and concludes your speed by how fast he must travel to keep up with you. These cases are always problematic for the State because in most cases the officer has to go faster to catch up with you and will use that higher speed instead of the pacing speed. It is still better to raise these concerns while negotiating with the traffic court prosecutor rather than try your luck at trial. Especially, since the officer merely has to testify that you were speeding and not the exact speed due to the previously mentioned case law.

Many defendants charged with a Georgia speeding ticket feel they can beat the charge under the assumption police officers will never show up for a speeding ticket case. This is flawed thinking. In many traffic courts in Georgia, the courtroom is actually located in the police station. The prosecutor merely has to summon the police officer from next door to be a witness against you. Police departments increasingly include appearance in court (including traffic court) as a professionalism requirement of their officers. This means the officer can be reprimanded for not appearing in court.

Furthermore, if you demand a trial on your speeding ticket in Georgia, the court may simply reset your case for another date – so you will have to appear again for your trial.

So, while getting out of your speeding ticket because the officer fails to show for the trial has worked on occasion, this is rarely a successful strategy