Georgia law considers speeding an extremely serious traffic offense, with convictions leading to costly fines and increased insurance rates over time. Unlike other violations, like tailgating or changing lanes without consent, speeding convictions often incur expensive fines and skyrocketing premiums for years afterwards.
Experienced DUI lawyers are essential in uncovering any flaws in the prosecution’s case against you and can effectively defend you from these accusations. Furthermore, knowledgeable counsel may be able to reduce speeding charges to non-reporting violations that won’t appear on other states’ driving records.
1. You Were Not Driving Under the Influence
Georgia law considers speeding of 14 miles per hour or less over the limit a minor offense and does not incur points against your driving record. However, any traffic ticket accompanied by DUI/drug charges significantly raises the stakes and could potentially impact future employment prospects.
Police need probable cause that you were driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs in order to arrest you for DUI. They rely on observations such as erratic driving, slurred speech and the smell of alcohol as indicators that you were impaired behind the wheel. Arguing that these observations do not support an accusation against you is one way you can successfully defend against this accusation from prosecution.
DUI cases involve field sobriety tests administered by officers to evaluate drivers’ physical and cognitive abilities. If stopped for DUI and requested to submit to breath or blood testing, Georgia law mandates that an Implied Consent Notice be read that matches your age or driving status before providing you with breath/blood samples for testing; failure to read such notice could invalidate any chemical results in your DUI case and bring charges crashing down against you. By successfully contesting your traffic stop and invalidating evidence gathered during it, any charges brought against you could likely come down drastically
2. You Were Driving Within the Speed Limit
Georgia law stipulates that you should drive at a speed “reasonable and prudent under the circumstances, considering actual and potential hazards then existing.” As there is some room for interpretation as to what constitutes reasonable driving speeds, your defense could include showing that your speeds were within an acceptable range.
Speeding violations in Georgia are typically treated as misdemeanors and do not lead to jail time, but you could still incur financial penalties such as fines and points accumulation on your record. If you accumulate 15 points within one year, however, your license could be automatically suspended by the Department of Driver Services.
An Atlanta traffic ticket attorney can also challenge the officer’s reasons for stopping your vehicle, such as showing there was no reasonable suspicion that you were engaging in any illegal activity like DUI. Sometimes officers stop drivers on anonymous tips or vague reports of suspicious driving behavior – these types of stops have often been successfully challenged when one can demonstrate either that these tips were inaccurate or that no pretext existed for their stop.
3. You Were Driving in the Right Lane
Drivers traveling too fast for conditions are endangering themselves, their passengers, and other motorists by traveling at too fast a speed for conditions. Driving at high speeds reduces a driver’s ability to maneuver or curve around obstacles more easily and decreases reaction time to changes in road conditions – like sudden stops or turns – which reduces their safety and the safety of others on the road.
Georgia law holds speeding violations accountable with fines, surcharges, driver responsibility assessments and points on your driving record. Accumulating too many points within 24 months could see your license suspended or even revoked; an experienced criminal defense attorney can expose flaws in laser and radar evidence used by officers to help avoid this penalty.
DUI accusations carry serious repercussions that go far beyond courtroom proceedings, including higher insurance premiums and potential employment challenges. Your Atlanta DUI lawyer can advise on whether diversion programs that offer rehabilitation and treatment instead of harsh punishments may be an option that increases your odds for a more positive outcome in your case.
4. You Were Driving on a Public Road
An automobile traffic violation can have severe repercussions for years after, including financial penalties and license suspension or even cancellation. A skilled Georgia traffic ticket lawyer may help turn the tables in your favor.
Speeding is punishable with fines and points on your driver’s license, with fines increasing depending on how far above the speed limit you went. Furthermore, exceeding 85 miles per hour on Georgia highways or roads or 75 mph on two-lane roads could even incur a special Super Speeder penalty from Driver Services.
An officer must observe either traffic infraction or suspicious driving behavior for them to pull you over for speeding. There may also be instances in which police can stop your vehicle based on an anonymous tip, and corroborate it through legal channels if this proves unreliable; your attorney could then show how he measured your speed using laser or radar guns as evidence against it.
5. You Were Driving on a County Road
Though many may assume that obeying the speed limit is a wise idea, Georgia highways and county roads can still present risks of accidents or collisions. Driving just a few miles over can dramatically increase your odds of an incident in high-speed zones.
As such, Georgia requires drivers to abide by speed limit at all times and imposes financial penalties against drivers who exceed it through traffic demerit points – these points reflect how far above it you went and may lead to license suspension or revocation if too many are earned in too short a time period.
However, police officers may only stop your vehicle if they have reasonable cause to believe you are engaging in unlawful conduct such as racing or DUI. Without the assistance of legal representation to challenge their reason for stopping you, significant fines and jail time could ensue as a result of these allegations.
