Posted by duijim in on March 11, 2015
Did you know that having a traffic ticket go on your driving history can cause your insurance rates to increase by 40% over 5 years? Even good drivers usually do not pay less than $1,000 a year for car insurance. That means a 40% increase over 5 years will cost you at least $2,000 in INCREASED PREMIUMS.
How do you keep a traffic ticket off your driving history?
Assuming you have a Georgia Driver’s License, and this is not a commercial driver’s license, Here’s how you keep charges off of your driving history:
- Speeding Tickets: Ask the prosecutor to reduce your speed to 14 mph, or less, over the posted speed limit i.e. “Please reduce my 80 in a 55 mph zone to 69 in a 55 mph zone.” Speeds reduced to 14 mph, or less, over the posted speed limit, do not report to the Georgia Department of Driver Services and do not go on your driving history.
- Traffic Ticket / Moving Violation: Ask the prosecutor to reduce your traffic ticket to “O.C.G.A. 40-6-180 Too Fast for Conditions.” This charge will not go on your driving history.
- Super Speeder: Ask the prosecutor to reduce your speed below the Super Speeder threshold: 84 on a highway or 74 on a 2 lane road. This will save you the additional $200 Super Speeder penalty. If you get your speed reduced to 84 or 74 this will prevent you from being convicted of a Super Speeder violation, but the speeding charge will still go on your driving history. To keep the charge off of your driving history you must get the speed lowered to 14 mph, or less, over the speed limit. To learn more about the Super Speeder Law, and how to beat it, please watch my short video.
To learn which traffic ticket charges will go on your record, and which ones won’t, visit the Georgia Department of Driver Services web site, or consult their traffic court reference manual.
If you have a CDL, or an out of state license, you can ask the prosecutor to reduce your traffic ticket to a local ordinance violation. These charges do not go on your driving history.
Why Am I Telling You How To Handle A Traffic Ticket?
Simple. I don’t believe people always need to hire a lawyer for every traffic ticket they receive. Keep in mind prosecutors don’t always reduce tickets when defendants ask them to.
A bad driving history, high speed, or ornery prosecutor can prevent you from keeping the charge off of your driving history. That’s when you need a lawyer.
Wait! I Have A Good Defense To This Speeding Charge!
The truth is you probably don’t. The Georgia legislature has given such credibility to laser and radar devices that it is almost impossible to win a speeding case.
Excuses such as “The officer clocked someone else,” “I wasn’t going that fast,” or “My speedometer is broken” are not going to work.
They Don’t Even Need To Use A Speed Detection Device
In Georgia, an officer’s visual estimation of your speed is enough evidence to convict you of speeding.
“I visually estimated the defendant’s vehicle traveling 88 mph in a 55 mph zone” is enough to get you convicted of doing 88 mph in a 55 mph zone if you don’t know how to defend yourself.
If You Really Want To Fight There Is Hope
In Georgia, a speeding trial, based on laser or radar evidence, involves many elements. The prosecution and police have to prove 20 different elements including possession of proper permits, the area where the device was used was not a grade in excess of 7%, and the officer was visible for at least 500 feet.
Full-blown speeding trials are more complicated than DUI trials if you know what is required of the prosecution, and you make them prove it.
Do These Rules Apply To Everyone?
No. These rules do not apply to Georgia State Patrol Troopers. They only have to comply with 4 elements in a speeding case. Local police officers must comply with all 20.
How Do You Know All Of This?
I have attended radar and laser school at the police academy. I was also a DUI and traffic prosecutor for 3 years.
Remember, clean driving history is one of the most important things you can have. A clean history keeps your insurance premiums low, saves you money, and makes it easier to find employment. Make sure you keep that traffic ticket off your driving history