If you receive a speeding ticket, you might be inclined to plead guilty so you can pay the fine and carry on with your life. After all, you have no time for court dates. However, it is important to understand that a traffic ticket is no laughing matter.
If you do not fight a traffic citation, you will accumulate points on your driving record, and this can significantly raise your insurance cost. And depending on the nature of the citation, you might have a criminal record to contend with. Thus, to effectively, fight your speeding ticket, it helps to start by understanding how you got the ticket in the first place.
Speeding violations that can earn you a ticket
Georgia is a basic speed law state. Basically, this means that driving at a speed that is unreasonable for the prevailing conditions amount to a violation. Here are common speeding violations that can lead to a charge:
- Exceeding the designated speed limit
- Speeding in a residential, schooling or commercial zone
- Driving below the designated speed limit
- Reckless driving
- Engaging in a speed competition
Defending a speeding ticket: your options
Depending on the circumstances that led to the citation, you can raise a number of defences and have your speeding ticket reduced to a less serious infraction or dropped altogether. Here are some of these defences:
Necessity – What if you had a medical emergency to respond to (like a sudden onset of an illness)? Or, an accident was imminent? In either case, you can argue that you had no choice but to speed as a matter of urgency.
GPS evidence – If you had GPS device in with you, and can generate a reliable GPS report to prove that you were driving at a slower speed than what the police claims, then you can cite this as evidence that you were not speeding at all.
If you receive a speeding citation, you need to explore your defense options as soon as you possibly can.