I was making the trip down from Chattanooga to Florida, cruising along on the highway at 80. I was kind of zoning out listening to an audio book, and didn't realize that the speed limit had dropped to 55, and I got nailed for doing 80 in a 55 which is a massive $728 ticket plus I'm sure some really jacked up insurance rates.

It's not that I don't know it changes to 55 in Atlanta (I've driven through there plenty of times before), there was just no real traffic on the road (it was a Sunday at 11am) and I wasn't paying attention. My fault, and I'm not disputing that I deserved a ticket for it and I understand that it's my responsibility to pay attention to the changes in speed limit, but $700 plus thousands in insurance rates seems pretty hefty for an honest mistake that wasn't really endangering anyone (road was empty, and the people that were on it were all crusing at 70-80 as well).

So what are my options? I have a good record (only other speeding ticket in my life was 7 or 8 years ago, but it was in Georgia too), and I called a traffic lawyer and they said there was a 75% chance that they could get it knocked down to 14mph over, though my fees would actually end up being higher than the $728 in exchange for saving the insurance hike.

If I go to court myself and plead guilty what are the chances they knock it down that far? How does it all work? Do I just say "guilty" or do I get a chance to tell my story?

Also, what exactly does pleading "no contest" mean? Would that prevent the insurance hikes. I don't really care about the points because I'm not planning on accumulating more of them, but I'm mainly concerned about the insurance rates. 25mph over usually implies some really aggressive speeding and swerving in and out of traffic but this was pretty tame, I was going maybe 3mph faster than the few other cars on the road.

The device he hit me with was a lidar.

I wasn't even in the Z (which I've never gotten a ticket in), as I was driving the wife's Altima for the trip. Go figure.

 

Where did you get the ticket at?

 

On the interstate in Atlanta, near exit 256 Mount Paran Rd.

 

Yeah this ^ will have a pretty big impact on your options and chances of reduction.

 

So Fulton county(what court) ?? If so, they are so backed up on cases you could ask for a continuance and the ticket might just get lost(this has happened for a few people that I know). Also were you pulled over by Georgia State Patrol or local authority??

 

Thing is, you got popped by our super speeder law. Good thing for you, you are out of state and they could show leniency and reduce the ticket to 14 over(this will still show up on you insurance, but is not as severe(I work in the insurance industry). Which leads me to the question, who are you insured with?

 

The court is the Municipal Court of Atlanta at 150 Garnett Steet.

I can definitely tell that they're backed up. I got the ticket on July 3rd, my court date is July 27th, and they still don't have the ticket in their system when I try to look it up either online or over the phone.

I didn't notice if it was GSP or local authority that pulled me over. It was a copy on a motorcycle with a laser, he was wearing a blue uniform I believe.

I'm insured with State Farm.

 

If you can, ask for a continuance because you are out of state. Atlanta is known to lose tickets. Once you get that, I would try and contact the officer who ticketed you and see if he could reduce it non point moving violation. With it being lidar(your only hope of getting it reduced is begging for forgiveness). If he agrees, just pay the ticket and be done with. You have Pm about the insurance.

 

That actually seems like a pretty quick turnaround for a court date. I got an illegal taillight ticket (smoked overlays) on Jun 22, and my court date is only Aug 18th. Hell it took them 19 days to even put the ticket in the system.

 

I'll give it a shot but the officer seemed like quite the hard *** so I doubt that he'll bite.

Assuming they don't lose the ticket, am I better off paying the lawyer or actually going to court myself and pleading guilty, or even asking to speak with the prosecutor?

Also, I've heard that continuances are just for the actual trial. As I understand it, the first date they gave me is for the "pre-trial hearing" where I just plea guilty/not-guilty, isn't it?

 

If you are going to plea guilty, you just have to pay the ticket. They have a website
http://www.atlantaga.gov/government/..._04_19_06.aspx
you can pay here
https://courtview.atlantaga.gov/pa/E...mw2000*display

 

It was my understanding that if you plea guilty in person the judge would often reduce the speed significantly.

Or is that only if you speak with the prosecutor to cut a deal?

 

Yeah, you would need to try and cut a deal with either the officer(beg for mercy) or show up to court and plea with the prosecutor. If it is cost effective(travel from FL is not cheap these days), it is in your best interest to show up and plea for a lesser charge. Just remember when you show up, you have to pay court cost as well, even if no plea is accepted.

 

Well, my court date is tomorrow and they STILL don't have the ticket in the system. I tried to file for an extension last week but they said I can't do that until the ticket is in the system because they have to attach the letter requesting the extension to the ticket.

So maybe they lost the ticket already? The court CSR on the phone swears that never happens though, heh. They said that if the ticket isn't here by court time tomorrow then they'll reschedule the date when the ticket comes in.

I'm not planning on driving down there with a 99% chance that they'll just tell me to turn around and leave because they don't have the ticket yet. Knowing my luck they'll process the ticket 15 minutes before the time scheduled for my hearing.

 

Aaaaand of course the ticket just went into the system, lol

 

I live in atlanta and have had a few experiences with the Georgia court system. Every time I've gone to court whether I was trying to fight a speeding ticket or some other offense, I've learned that Georgia court judges don't show much leniency. In all honesty, if I were you, I wouldn't waste the money to hire a lawyer. Pleading guilty in court also probably won't help you get a lower sentencing and you probably will have just wasted your time driving all the way back down here to find out you're just going to have to pay that hefty fine. However, they should give you the opportunity to ask for the assistance of a free lawyer once you're there in court. You could use him/her and try to work out a deal with the prosecution using this lawyer to get a sentence that is a bit lower.

It's really unfortunate that you got hit by the super speeder law, I feel like they get more strict and strict as the days pass with that garbage.

Good luck!

 

If it your only offense within the last 3 yrs you can plead "nolo contendre" and it won't put points on your license. Just left GA in May.

 

If you go to ct, the prosecutor should at least reduce the fine.