By: Cory Yager, Ex-Cop and Award-Winning Criminal Lawyer Near Me

Georgia speeding laws are both complex and potentially punitive. While some states have made a traffic citation an infraction, the State of Georgia never has. All speeding tickets and other moving violations in any type of highway vehicle create points on your driving record and are misdemeanor crimes.

This article addresses how a traffic attorney who is well-versed on Georgia traffic laws can eliminate or reduce Georgia speeding points, possibly avoid a super speeder GA added tax penalty for high-speed motorists and find a more palatable case resolutions for the out of state driver as well as Georgia license holders. Get your answers for “how much is a speeding ticket in Georgia” from the information posted below.

How Many Points Is a Speeding Ticket in GA?

Georgia speeding points is a major concern for some drivers. Teen drivers and those under age 21 are impacted more quickly with points accumulation.

Speeding (under OCGA 40-6-181) by being 15 to 18 m.p.h. over the speed limit – 2 Points

19 to 23 m.p.h. over speed limit – 3 Points

24 to 33 m.p.h. over speed limit – 4 Points

34 m.p.h. or more over speed limit – 6 Points

By comparison, here are some other traffic violations and their associated GA DDS demerit points:

Aggressive Driving under OCGA 40-6-397 – 6 points

Reckless Driving (under GA Code 40-6-390) – 4 points

Passing a Stopped School Bus with “stop” arm and lights activated – 6 points

Notice that if you traffic ticket can be modified to a speed that is less than 15 MPH over the posted limit, you avoid all points. This is one of dozens of possible techniques used by out traffic attorneys on our client’s behalf.

How Much Is a Speeding Ticket in GA?

Almost every potential client who calls our law firm for a traffic ticket for speeding is curious about the Georgia speeding ticket cost. Some will also ask about Georgia speeding ticket points, but the overwhelming concern is paying Georgia speeding ticket fines.

Every speeding conviction is a misdemeanor in Georgia. These misdemeanor offenses are punishable by up to $1000 in fines and/or a maximum 12 months in jail. However, speeding convictions typically don’t result in any jail time and Georgia legislators give first time offenders a break by “capping” the possible fines for those drivers. Those with any prior speeding convictions are not covered by any “low fines” rule when they pay the ticket.

Generally, the maximum fines for a person’s very first speeding in Georgia violation are:

• $0 for exceeding the limit by five miles per hour or less;
• $25 for exceeding the limit by more than five but not more than ten miles per hour$100 for exceeding the limit by more than ten but not more than 14 miles per hour;
• $125 for exceeding the limit by more than 14 but less than 19 miles per hour;
• $150 for exceeding the limit by at least 19 but less than 24 miles per hour, and; and
• $500 for exceeding the limit by at least 24 but less than 34 miles per hour.

Speeding violations in highway work zones—which are misdemeanors of a “high and aggravated nature”—carry $100 to $2000 in fines and/or up to 12 months in jail. This high and aggravated moniker indicates that for every 30 days of jail time, your jailer can only give 4 days of good time credit.

For all speeding violations, the judge will impose various fees that are Georgia and local surcharges. These are “add-ons” which were enacted to generate more tax money for the State, since our red state legislators don’t like to tax income, and shift the burden to other places, like this. Such surcharges do substantially boost your final cost of the citation.

After paying a Georgia speeding ticket out of state licensees think that “it is OVER!” It isn’t, when high speed tickets are involved.

A super speeder GA “tax” of $200 is assessed AFTER conviction at your traffic court, on top of your fines, surcharges and other punishments. Ignoring it has caused thousands to learn that their license will be suspended in Georgia. Don’t just pay the fine!

Reckless Driving GA Charges

Depending on how fast someone is driving over the speed limit, high speed driving can rise to the level of being reckless driving GA. A reckless driving GA conviction takes away all driving privileges for a motorist under the age of 21. This is a four-point driving offense on their record. a 6-hour defensive driving course may be used to remove up to 7 points on your GA DDS traffic offense record.

But for someone over 21, he or she will typically not suffer a license suspension but can have the 4 demerit points added to the person’s driving record. Such young drivers (and their families) should expect higher car insurance rates, or even have a cancellation of the standard policy so that the family will be paying more for substandard coverage.

Special Situations: Georgia Speeding Laws and Penalties

Interestingly, Georgia ticket fines are more punitive and may also carry jail time when a driver is speeding in a road construction zone. Knowing the spots where GA speeding fines are boosted can help you avoid a traffic ticket and the related insurance rate hike.

Below are other situations and locations for which maximum speed limits are strictly imposed. This means that an officer can cite you if you exceed the special safety zone limit for single mile-per-hour.

The absolute speed limit locations are as follow (unless other signage reduces that limit due to hazardous conditions):

• 20 MPH in school zones, public or private;
• 30 miles per hour in urban areas and residential districts that will be marked by signs;
• 35 M.P.H. on unpaved roads;
• 65 miles-per-hour on sections of divided highways (those with a grass, concrete or other separator) without full access control on the state of GA highway system;
• 70 mph of federal interstate highways; and
• 55 miles per hour on other roadways.

Speeding Laws in Georgia Follow Common Sense Rules

Basic speeding law in GA calls for motorists to not drive at a speed greater than is “reasonable and prudent under the prevailing visibility and weather conditions and having regard for the actual and potential hazards then existing.” In other words, a driver must always drive at a safe speed using common sense for each situation presented. The ice and snow weather anomaly that sidelined all traffic in Atlanta GA from the 2014 storm is the worse-case scenario for this commonsense rule.

The Georgia Department of Driver Services oversees licensing of drivers in GA, and determines how many points are assessed by certain traffic violations, including speeding in GA. This DMV-DPS-BMV agency is also the overseer of our traffic school operators, which are privatized businesses.

Attorneys Near Me to Fight Georgia Speeding Tickets

Our Atlanta attorneys handle traffic court cases the metro counties near the Georgia State Capitol. Additionally, our attorneys in Atlanta have created a statewide network of GA speeding ticket attorneys for handling cases that are too far out of metro Atlanta for our legal advocates to be affordable for handling your speeding ticket.

Get a free lawyer consultation with our award-winning speeding ticket lawyers, ex-cop Cory Yager, Larry Kohn and Bubba Head. 404-567-5515. Our law office can help locate a proven traffic lawyer near me, for any probate court, municipal court, recorder’s court or state court in Georgia.

Other Helpful Links to other Website Pages:

Georgia Speeding Points, and how many points on your driving record in your home state

TADRA – Teen driving rules for graduated driver’s license

How to pay the DDS GA costs and ticket online. In most GA courts, your citation will have an online method

Georgia Department of Driver Services (the Georgia DMV) website license suspension information