Current GA Traffic Laws- Ignorance of the law is not an Excuse

Here’s a helpful hint for all Georgia drivers to write a reminder… It’s time to buckle-up in pickup trucks! Simply stated, the new law says, if you’re in a truck, just buckle-up. Why now? Well, the facts are clear. Nearly HALF the fatality passenger vehicle crashes in Georgia’s rural areas involve light pickup trucks! AND in those fatal crashes, 75-percent of the dead are unrestrained. Traffic crashes, injuries, and fatalities cost Georgia more than $7.8 billion and result in more than 1,500 crash deaths every year. Nearly a hundred of these lives could be saved without spending another dime of your taxes if people in pickup trucks simply buckled-up at the same rate as folks in other passenger vehicles. Georgia’s new pickup truck law will effectively increase safety belt usage and help save lives here too.

Specifically the new law states:

"No person shall operate a motor vehicle on any public road or highway of this state while using a wireless telecommunications device to write, send, or read any text based communication, including but not limited to a text message, instant message, electronic mail, or Internet data."

The fine for offenders will be $150 and one point on their driver license, the new law goes into effect on July 1st, 2010.

To read the bill please go to Senate Bill 360

House Bill 23 was also signed into law by the Governor. This new law prohibits drivers under the age of 18 from using a wireless communication device.

Specifically the new law states:

"prohibits use of wireless telecommunications devices by persons under 18 years of age with an instruction permit or Class D license while operating a motor vehicle"Like the other new driving law, the fine for offenders will be $150 and one point on their driver license, the new law goes into effect on July 1st, 2010.

To read the bill please go to House Bill 23

The new state ‘Super Speeder Law’ goes into effect in Georgia. And any high-risk drivers who make a habit of ignoring posted speed limits will be the first to feel the pinch of higher state fines (called fees) on their wallets.

How much higher? The new law titled HB160 tacks-on another two-hundred-dollar state-fee for any driver convicted of speeding at 75-or-more on any two-lane roads.. OR convicted of speeding at 85-and-over anywhere in Georgia. Those new state fees will be in addition to any local fines already in effect in the jurisdiction where the speeding offense occurs.

Who is a SuperSpeeder? Under the provisions of this new Georgia law, any driver convicted of violating HB160 will now be classified by the state as a ‘Super Speeder’ and subject to an additional fee. The new ‘SuperSpeeder Law’ is designed to get tough on high-risk drivers who’ve been endangering other motorists and ignoring warnings to slow down. On average, there’s a speed-related death-a-day in Georgia!

The ‘SuperSpeeder Law’ established the new state fees to help police put the brakes on Georgia’s dangerous and illegal speeders. Failure to pay the ‘SuperSpeeder’ fee results in an additional $50.00 fee and the suspension of the offender’s driving privileges and license. ‘SuperSpeeder’ is a highway safety law designed to save lives on our roads by changing the way illegal speeders drive in Georgia... by slowing them down within legal limits.