Posted on 12/28/2009 10:31:25 AM PST by Colonel Kangaroo
To those who feel the need to speed: Be warned. For the fastest of fast drivers, it’s about to get really expensive.
Going 85 miles per hour or more on most Georgia roads -- including interstates -- will cost a speeder an additional $200, when a new "super-speeder" law takes effect on Friday. On two-lane roads, meaning one lane each way, the extra fine kicks in at 75 mph.
That’s on top of whatever ticket the speeder gets for going over the speed limit.
“It’s a lifesaving law,” said Bob Dallas, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, noting that speeding makes death or severe injury much more likely when an accident happens.
The original speeding ticket may not tell the offender about the additional state fine, Dallas said. First, the driver will get the local ticket as usual. Then, the state will send a letter notifying the speeder of the $200 fine, which must be paid within 90 days of the letter's date.
“The goal here is to prevent the worst of the worst speeding in the state of Georgia,” Dallas said. “At some point we just have to put an end to the super-speeders and using our roadways as a racetrack. And this is what this law is designed to do.”
Drivers who don’t pay will have their licenses suspended.
The original ticket is no joke either. Local fines -- which range depending on where tickets are issued and the driver's speed -- are commonly well over $100.
In McIntosh County on Georgia's coast, going 34 mph over the speed limit will cost you $1,355, according to the county court clerk’s office. That’s before the new state fine.
At least one local official, Sheriff J. Tyson Stephens of Emanuel County, has called the $200 state fine little more than a tax that will impose an out-of-kilter burden on the working poor.
Dallas said he knew of no other state with a similar law, though some states had tried variations, such as higher fines on problem roads.
The law intended money collected from the fines to fund trauma services, but where it's actually spent will be up to the state Legislature.
I see city police on the interstate here in Florida running radar.
What crap.
Pennsylvania has them too. They only troll the spots where the limit is lowered to 55 instead of 65 for revenue reasons. I got a 70 in a 55 a few years ago which was $149.50 Welcome to PA, here's your toll.
Maybe so but I had NM plates. Maybe it was the out-of-state
road tax...
Georgia...was...is...and probably always will be the number one speed trap in America...North...South...or Central.
Indeed they have. Because regardless of your intuition the statistics indicate something else. Namely, driving faster in and of itself does not increase the risk of collision and therefore does not increase the risk of injury or death.
The reality is that the larger the disparity in velocity the more danger there is of collision and the more damaging that collision is.
So if you're going slower than everyone else on the highway, you're the danger. Speed up.
On the other hand, it's a lot easier to pull people over on the interstate and give them a ticket.
Nice to see that Georgia has its priorities straight.
where is the obligatory picture post of Catherine Bach in her Daisy Dukes, posing with the General Lee?
In my area the State Patrol will pull you over for under 5 miles per hour. If I know H.E.A.T. is working the area I am extra careful.
My 19 year old son (who knows everything donchaknow) said they won't write a ticket unless you have exceeded 10 miles over (or is it 15) because of the cost factor. But he is the same boy who asked me if he needed to peel an egg before he boiled it.
Not to be a smartass, but I have some logistical questions about this.
What is the speed limit on Ga highways? Why is that the safe speed?
I was talking with a civil engineer who said that speed limits were set at 80% of the speed that can be driven safely under poor conditions.
If you presume people will drop their speed by 15% (65-55) in poor conditions, then a highway with a speed limit of 65 mph would be completely safe at 95 mph. (65/.8=81, 81/.85=95).
So how does 85 mph on a highway present a safety issue when the highways are built to allow 95 mph safely in dry conditions?
I know that route well. When my 19 year old got his license the examiner told me it is safer for him and everyone else if he keeps up with traffic.
I usually travel 400 at 80 trying to keep up (even in the 55 mile per hour section.) If you don’t some jerk is on your tail trying to intimidate you into getting out of his way.
Actually it is more accurate to say even at 80 you still have jerks riding your tail trying to get you to pull over. And cars still whiz by you going 90 or better.
Nevada does that. They have what I call a "wasting fuel" fine. If you are doing, IIRC, 5 MPH over the speed limit(might be more)they stop you and issue you a ticket that only costs 15 bucks. They know you are going to pay it, instead of coming back to Nevada to contest it, the ticket doesn't go on your driving record either. They mostly use it on CA drivers.
The one time I got one I was doing 70 on a freeway, Nevada drivers were passing me like I was standing still and I'm the one the cop pulled over. I mailed in my 15 bucks and shrugged my shoulders, not much you can do about it.
I'm not just whistlin’ Dixie. We have the most dangerous road design (especially entrance and exit ramps) in the nation.
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