Click here to fight your Georgia traffic ticket.
Georgia has some of the strictest speeding laws in the country and thousands of traffic tickets are issued every week to drivers on Georgian highways and country roads.
With over 600,000 citations, the state ranks sixth in the country for the number of speeding tickets issued.
Keep on reading to learn more about Georgia’s excessive-speed laws and the consequences of getting a speeding ticket.
What Is Defined as a Speeding Ticket in Georgia?
Georgia has two types of speeding laws: one prohibits driving over the absolute speed limit, while the other requires drivers to maintain a safe speed regardless of the imposed limit.
Absolute speed limits
Absolute speed limits are the ones that you see displayed on signposts along the road. You are required to observe these limits while driving under normal conditions. The absolute speeding limits are enforced statewide and failure to respect them is considered a violation of criminal law.
The absolute speed limits in Georgia are:
- 20 mph in school zones
- 30 mph in urban and residential districts
- 35 mph on unpaved country roads
- 65 mph on sections of physically divided highways without full access control on the state highway system
- 70 mph on interstate highways
- 55 mph on other roadways.
Georgia has five interstate highways that often have their own speed limits, typically ranging from 55 mph to 70 mph. On the roads where the Georgia speed limits are not well-defined, you should observe a 55 mph speed limit by default, as long as driving conditions are good.
Basic speeding law
In addition to the absolute speed limits law, the basic speeding law in Georgia prohibits driving at a speed greater than what is
“reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard for the actual and potential hazards then existing.”
In other words, you must drive at a safe speed in any given circumstance. For example, 55 miles per hour may be safe in good weather conditions, but on an icy road or at night, driving at this speed could be dangerous. Other conditions that might require lower speed than indicated by absolute speed limits include:
- Approaching and crossing an intersection or railroad grade crossing
- Approaching and going around a curve
- Approaching and crossing a hillcrest
- Traveling a narrow or winding roadway
- When there’s a special hazard with respect to pedestrians or other traffic due to weather or highway conditions.
Even if you have not exceeded the speed limit and have no other traffic violations, you could still receive a ticket for driving “too fast for conditions.” This is a subjective estimate and is decided on a case-to-case basis.
Read on for more details on penalties you will have to pay for speeding in Georgia.
Penalties for Speeding in Georgia
In Georgia, speeding violations are considered misdemeanors and carry penalties of up to $1,000 fine and 12 months in jail. Speeding violations in highway work zones are misdemeanors of a high and aggravated nature. They carry $100 to $2,000 in fines and up to 12 months in jail, although getting arrested for a speeding ticket is very unlikely.
Cost of a speeding ticket
Fines for traffic tickets depend on the exceeded speed limit, your driving record, and the court that has summoned you. In most cases, you will be fined somewhere between $150 and $350.
The maximum fines for a first speeding violation are:
| Exceeded speed limit | Fine |
| up to 5 mph | $0 |
| 5-10 mph | $25 |
| 10-14 mph | $100 |
| 14-19 mph | $125 |
| 19-24 mph | $150 |
| 24-34 mph | $500 |
Courts that process traffic offenses
Georgia has over one thousand traffic courts that process traffic violation cases. Traffic offenses are handled both in county probate courts, state courts, magistrate courts, municipal courts, and juvenile courts for drivers under the age of 16.
If you want to contest your case in the court where it originates, you can request a bench trial (where a judge hears your case). On the other hand, if you request a jury trial (where a jury hears your case), your case will be sent to the State or Superior Court of your county. These types of trials are less common for traffic citations.
The court will determine the fine for speeding offenses and may also require probation, defensive driving courses, drug and alcohol risk reduction programs, victim impact programs, as well as community service.
Extra fees
The fine amount isn’t necessarily all you’ll have to pay for a speeding ticket in Georgia. If you choose to contest your ticket in court, you may have to pay additional fees that will often substantially increase the final cost of the citation. The traffic court judge can impose the following fees:
- Court costs
- A fee for speeding in a work zone or school zone
- A surcharge between $300 and $5,000 if you were additionally convicted of DUI. The exact amount depends on your blood alcohol level and whether or not this is your first offense.
If you’re convicted, the judge can also request completing a defensive driving course in addition to or instead of fines.
How many points is a speeding ticket?
As a result of getting a speeding ticket in Georgia, you’ll receive points on your driver’s license. The Georgia point system ranges from 2 to 6 points and they are assigned as follows:
| Exceeded speed limit | Points |
| 15-18 mph | 2 |
| 19-23 mph | 3 |
| 24-33 mph | 4 |
| 34 mph or more | 6 |
Georgia doesn’t assign demerit points for speeding violations of less than 15 mph over the speeding limit. In addition, there are no points for convictions of driving too fast for conditions.
Driver’s license suspension
If you accumulate more than 15 points within 24 months, you’ll have your driver’s license suspended. This means that your driving privileges will be temporarily revoked. You will have to wait until the suspension is completed and take a defensive driving course before applying for the reinstatement of your driver’s license. In addition, you’ll need to pay a $200 reinstatement fee.
Although your Georgia driver’s license will not be suspended over a single violation of the speeding law, just one speeding ticket may increase your auto insurance policy rates.
If you are under 21, your license will be suspended if you are convicted of speeding (or another traffic violation) of more than 4 points. If you are under 18, your license will be suspended when you accumulate 4 points in a 12-month period.
In some cases, driving over speed limits may entail additional fines, such as the Super Speeder.
Super Speeder Law in Georgia
The Super Speeder Law in Georgia fines drivers who are convicted of speeding 75 mph or more on a two-lane road or 85 mph and above on any road or highway. Regardless of the fines and other penalties imposed by a local court, the driver who violates the Super Speeder Law has to pay an additional $200 tax that goes to the State of Georgia.
You will receive the notification to pay the Super Speeder by regular mail from the Department of Driver Services (DDS) and you’ll be given 120 days to pay the fee. Failure to pay on time will result in the suspension of your driver’s license or suspension of driving privileges in Georgia if you are licensed in another state. If you’re a Non-Georgia driver, you should keep in mind that most states will suspend your driver’s license when notified that Georgia has suspended your privileges. To lift the suspension, you will have to pay the $200 fine in addition to the $50 reinstatement fee.
However, before paying your ticket, you may first want to consider pleading it down.
Can You Plead Down Your Speeding Ticket in Georgia?
There are three ways to plead your speeding ticket in Georgia: pleading guilty, pleading not guilty, and pleading nolo (no contest).
Pleading guilty
By pleading guilty you are admitting that the charge on your traffic ticket is correct and you accept the penalties associated with those charges. Depending on your traffic ticket, pleading guilty may also add points to your license which could cause you to get your license suspended.
Note that paying your speeding ticket is legally equivalent to showing up to court and entering a guilty plea.
Pleading not guilty
By pleading not guilty, you are asserting that the charges against you are wrong and may be given the opportunity to negotiate the issued charge. That’s why, in most instances, it is recommended to plead not guilty upon receiving a traffic citation. If you plead not guilty, you can request a bench or a jury trial.
Pleading nolo
By pleading nolo contendere or no contest, you admit guilt although you will not receive points on your driving record. However, the conviction will still appear on the record and it may affect your insurance premiums.
If you are over 21, you have the right to plead nolo once every 5 years. It is not possible to plead no contest to avoid the Super Speeder fine. Furthermore, the judge will deny your nolo plea in the case of collisions with severe bodily injuries or if the charge is DUI or drug related.
Many people think it isn’t worth fighting a speeding ticket in Georgia, but this is not always the case.
Is It Worth Fighting a Speeding Ticket in Georgia?
Although only about 5% of drivers fight a speeding ticket, there are many reasons why you may want to contest the charges against you, for example:
- If you get convinced, you could end up paying hefty fines, adding points to your license, going to traffic school, having increased auto insurance rates for up to five years, and having your driver’s license suspended. On the other hand, if you win, you won’t have any of the consequences of a conviction.
- Perhaps you were speeding because you had to get to the hospital or attend to an emergency family situation. If you present your side of the story in court, the judge may decide to reduce or dismiss the offense.
- Your attorney may be able to show that the officer interpreted the law incorrectly or made a mistake. For example, the officer might have mistakenly stopped your car due to obstructed vision, heavy traffic, or another reason. If you believe that your speeding ticket was issued in error, you should plead not guilty.
- Since Georgia doesn’t assign points for speeding violations of less than 15 mph over the speeding limit, if you drove close to the limit, you may be able to have the ticket reduced. Besides, you won’t receive any points on your driving record.
- You may try to reduce your ticket to a non-reporting violation. You will still have to pay a fee, but no charge will be entered into your driving history. What’s more, your insurance won’t see any charges and your premiums won’t go up.
- Even if you think you don’t have much of a defense—for example, if an officer paced you for a longer period of time and can easily prove that you exceeded the speed limit—you can still avoid the charges if the officer doesn’t show up in court. In this case, the judge will typically dismiss the citation. You will automatically win the case and won’t have to pay the fine or have the violation go on your record.
In other words, if you believe that your ticket is contestable, it might be worth fighting for.
Using App Winit to fight your speeding ticket in Georgia
A traffic ticket attorney is a major asset in fighting a speeding ticket. Typically, an attorney will request a court trial, represent you in court, and negotiate with the prosecutor to have your charges dropped or reduced.
The Winit app is the simplest way to find a lawyer who will fight your speeding ticket in Georgia. All you need to do is snap a picture of your ticket and submit any evidence right in the app. Our team will get back to you with a free quote within the next 48 hours. The app allows you to choose any of the experienced attorneys available on the platform at low rates.
We’ll take care of everything from providing you with quotes from the attorney to facilitating the initial communication and processing the fees. We will also prepare the case and go to court on your behalf. The entire process is completely risk-free—we charge you 50% of the fine amount only if we win. We’ve already saved our users over 10 million dollars.
Tips to Fight Georgia Speeding Tickets
Speeding tickets are usually issued based either on the use of speed-monitoring equipment such as laser or radar units, visual estimation, or pacing. Your ticket must show which method was used to detect speeding.
How to beat radar guns
Radar guns use radio waves to measure the speed of moving objects, giving the police officer the necessary evidence to pull you over. However, speed monitoring may be erroneous, causing the radar waves to be distorted by surrounding objects or to spread and capture the speed of another vehicle.
The best way to dispute your ticket in this case is to challenge the accuracy of the reading or the equipment itself. All equipment must be properly calibrated and officers must be trained to use the equipment. Your attorney may ask for proof of calibration and training.
Another method for beating radar guns is to prove that your vehicle was not the one speeding, for instance, if your dashcam shows that a driver next to you exceeded the speed limit.
How to beat visual estimations
Some speeding ticket cases are based on a visual estimation where the police officer roughly estimates your speed. In fact, the officer doesn’t need to have any further proof—as long as they think you were speeding, you can get a ticket.
If your speed was determined using visual estimation, your attorney can try to show that the officer has not been sufficiently trained in estimating the speed. Another way to beat the ticket is to provide evidence through dashcam footage that you weren’t speeding.
How to beat the police pacing methods
Pacing occurs when the officer follows your car at a constant speed, using the speedometer to estimate the speed. Just like with radar guns, the speedometer must have been calibrated within the past six months in order for the ticket to be valid. If your attorney can prove that the equipment was faulty, you might get the ticket dismissed.
Besides, you have the right to use the footage taken from your dashcam as evidence. If it shows that the police officer wasn’t matching your speed, the judge might rule that the ticket is invalid. You need to keep in mind, though, that the officer can also introduce a video into evidence to back up the claim of your speeding violation.
Ask for all the evidence that the other side has
During the preparation stage, your lawyer can request the police officer and prosecutor to provide all the evidence they have. That way, you can find out what arguments the prosecution is likely to make and decide how to proceed. If the prosecutor doesn’t give you the requested information on time, the judge may have your case dismissed. However, if you want to ask for evidence, you will first need to provide your own list of witnesses and supporting documentation.
Below, we list the different ways to pay for your speeding ticket in Georgia.
How to Pay Georgia Speeding Ticket
You have to pay the full amount of your speeding fine to the same county court from which you received the ticket. To pay the fine, you must have your citation number, court case number, driver’s license number, as well as a method of payment.
The amount you need to pay should be indicated on your ticket. If this is not the case, you can call the phone number on the ticket to find out what your fine is. Make sure to pay the fine at least two weeks before your scheduled court date. If you pay before the court date, you will in most cases not be required to appear in court.
There are several different ways to pay your speeding ticket: in person, by mail, over the phone, or online using the court’s or county’s website. If your court or county doesn’t have a website, you can use the Judicial Council of Georgia’s centralized database to search for your traffic citation using your name, date of birth, and citation number. If you have missed your court date, you will have to contact the court directly.
Whatever payment method you choose, make sure to request proof of payment and keep it for your records. Note that you should never have to pay through a third-party website or service.
How Long Does a Speeding Ticket Stay On Your Record in Georgia?
If your driver’s license is issued in Georgia, points will remain on your driving record for two years. After points have been on your record for two years, they will drop off.
How can I get points removed from my record?
If you want to get points removed from your Georgia driving record before the end of the two-year period, you can request a points reduction of up to seven points once every five years.
However, in order to do that, you must first complete a certified Driver Improvement Course and present the course certificate to the Department of Driver Services (DDS) either by mail or in person. It is important to keep in mind that even though points can be removed from your record, a violation on your record can’t.
Can I avoid points on my driving record?
In some situations, you may be able to avoid points on your driving record altogether. The judge may give you the option of completing a six-hour defensive driving program. Your ticket may not be processed if you can show proof of finishing this program.
