Hello everyone and happy 2010. As you may have already heard, the state of Georgia implemented the new “Super Speeder Law” at the start of this new year. Under the law, titled HB160, speeding drivers are considered “high-risk” and are targeted in an effort to reduce the number of speed-related deaths in the state.
In Georgia, there is one speed-related death every day on average, and over 20% of all the motor vehicle fatalities last year were due to speeding drivers. With every ten miles per hour that a driver travels above 50 mph, crash forces double on impact. It has even been said that speed can be much more dangerous than DUI-related accidents on roadways.
The new Super Speeder Law, which took effect January 1, 2010, fines an
additional $200 state fee to any driver convicted of traveling over 75 mph on a two-lane road, or traveling over 85 mph anywhere in the state. Failure to pay the fee will result in a license suspension and an additional $50 fee. These fees are tacked on to bulky fines already imposed by local jurisdictions for speeding violations.
Not only is the law intended to lower the amount of speeders and speed-related accidents, but fees collected under the law will go strait to Georgia’s trauma care hospital system, where over half of the patients are typically victims of motor vehicle accidents.
I encourage Georgia drivers to learn more about the new law and other safety regulations by visiting the official Georgia Super Speeder Law website which can be accessed by clicking on the link.
Filed under Speeding Violations by on Jan 15th, 2010. Comment. 
Celebrators toasting in 2010 apparently refrained from getting behind the wheel this past New Year’s Eve. According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents on New Year’s Eve is decreasing every year.
In Georgia, the number of alcohol-related fatal accidents has decreased 5 percent from the previous year. According to Hall County Sheriff’s Sgt. Kiley Sargent, the public is finally starting to get the message to make safe decisions and not to drink and drive. It could also be the $10,000 price tag for a DUI in Georgia that deters drivers from drinking and driving.
Each year, Georgia has over 200,000 DUI arrests. According to Century Council, approximately 11,773 people were killed in crashes involving a drunk driver last year. This year, law enforcement officials are cracking down even more on drunk drivers, and with the high-cost of a DUI, drivers are starting to listen.
If you are caught with a Blood Alcohol Content of 0.08 grams or more in Georgia, these are just some of the fees associated with a DUI arrest you need to worry about:
- Bail Cost: $150 – $2,500, depends on how many offenses you’ve had and your blood alcohol level.
- Towing: Cost: $50 – $200, this cost can add up daily. Some cities
may auction your car if you can not afford to get your car after 30 days. - Insurance Cost: $4,500+, one of the biggest hits a drunken driver takes is in insurance premiums, which may affect insurance rates for three to five years. Your policy will be classified as “high-risk” and rates can likely double, triple or even quadruple.
- Legal Fees: $2,000- $25,000
- Other Fines: $300 – $5,000, depends on your offense and if there have been any previous arrests.
- Alcohol Evaluation Cost: $95 – $300.
- Alcohol Education and Treatment Cost: $500 – $4,000
- License Reinstatement Fees: $210 – $410. Once you have completed a state-certified risk reduction program, which costs $287, you can reinstate your Georgia driver’s license for a fee of $210 – $410.
The fees are sobering! Fortunately, data shows that drivers are finding alternative modes of transportation to avoid the high-cost, and potentially deadly, consequences of driving under the influence.
Filed under Fines and Fees by on Jan 19th, 2010. Comment.
On Tuesday the unusual practices in Georgia trial courts, including disrespectful gifts to court personnel and the ejection of a defendant’s uncle, were the subjects of a pair of unsigned Supreme Court decisions.
In one of the Georgia cases, Presley v. Georgia, the Supreme Court came to a conclusion on two open issues concerning closed courtrooms.
The trial judge had kicked out an uncle of the defendant during jury selection and said her courtroom was too small to accommodate both potential jurors and the public. The defendant, Eric Presley, who had been convicted of trafficking in cocaine, appealed the conviction and claimed his Sixth Amendment right to a public trial had been violated.
In 1984, the Supreme Court had ruled that the press and the public have a First Amendment right of access to jury selection. Tuesday the court extended that right to criminal defendants under the Sixth Amendment for Presley’s case. “There is no legitimate reason, at least in the context of jury selection proceedings, to give one who asserts a First Amendment privilege greater rights to insist on public proceedings than the accused has,” said the opinion.
The Supreme Court also concluded that a defendant seeking to open a courtroom does not need to present alternatives to the trial judge. Whether trial judges are given alternatives or not, the majority opinion said, they “are obligated to take every reasonable measure to accommodate public attendance at criminal trials.”
Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Antonin Scalia disagreed, saying the majority should not have decided the two questions in summary fashion without a full briefing and argument.
The second Georgia case, Wellons v. Hall, ordered the federal appeals court in Atlanta to reconsider its decision that there was nothing legally wrong with two gifts that had been given to court personnel by the jurors in a capital trial. The two gifts were a chocolate penis for the trial judge and chocolate breast for the bailiff.
“Judicial proceedings conducted for the purpose of deciding whether a defendant shall be put to death must be conducted with dignity and respect,” the unsigned majority opinion said.
The decision instructed the appeals court to reconsider the case in light of Cone v. Bell, a Supreme Court decision from last April clarifying how federal courts may take account of state court rulings in habeas corpus cases. Four justices dissented. Justice Scalia, joined by Justice Thomas, said that the majority had treated the appeals court with disrespect, “as though we were schoolmasters grading their homework,” and that “an appropriately self-respecting response” from the appeals court “would be summary reissuance of the same opinion.”
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. also disagreed saying the gifts were “strange and tasteless” as well as “facially troubling,” Justice Alito added that the Supreme Court should either have agreed to hear the case or denied review, but sending the case back for reconsideration was inappropriate.
Filed under Blog, Georgia Courts by on Jan 20th, 2010. Comment.
An ignition interlock device (IID) is a tool that is used to prevent people from driving under the influence of alcohol. An IID is a mechanism that is installed to a motor vehicle’s dashboard and will act as a breathalyzer to determine if the driver is capable of getting behind the wheel based on their BAC (Breath Alcohol Content). While some states order drivers to get an ignition interlock device if they have previous DUI convictions, having one installed could be helpful just to make sure you are safe to drive and don’t make any unsafe decisions.
Here’s how the IID works: Before a person can start their vehicle, they must breathe into the device as if they are using a breathalyzer. The IID measures their BAC, and if it is over the allowed amount, which varies between states but is commonly .02% to .04%, than the engine cannot be started.
As of 2009, almost all 50 states have laws that permit the use of IID’s as a sentencing alternative for drunk drivers, or as a condition of driving again after a suspended license resulting from a DUI.
In Georgia, upon conviction of a second DUI the violator’s license is suspended for at least 18 months. For the final six months of the license suspension the driver is required to have an IID installed in any vehicle that they intend to use once they are re-licensed.
It is almost impossible to fool the IID, and I’m sure many have tried. The engine will not start if a person attempts to use a mechanical tool in place of their breath or if the device is tampered with in any way. Having a sober friend blow into the device before you drive will also fail; at random times once the engine has been started the device will ask for additional breath samples.
If you are ordered to have an IID installed, you will have to pay for all the fees, which include installation, renting, maintenance, and calibrations. The installation typically costs from $100-$200. The monthly rental fee typically costs from $70 to $100. Thus, here is yet another expense that can be associated with DUI. For more on the sobering costs of driving under the influence, which was the topic of my last blog post, please click on the link.
The IID has proven effective in California, where data shows that with repeat DUI offenders, the use of IID is associated with reductions in succeeding DUI incidents. However, with first time DUI offenders that had high blood alcohol levels the IID has not shown as much success.
Filed under DUI Prevention by on Jan 23rd, 2010. Comment.
Georgia may become the next state to ban texting while driving. Last Tuesday State Republicans Allen Peake and Amos Amerson introduced House Bill 938, which would outlaw texting while driving and charge drivers with a fine and driver’s license penalties for doing so.
If the bill passes, it would go into effect July 1 and make Georgia the 20th state to make texting while driving illegal. Nine states ban text messaging for teen drivers.
According to Rep. Peter Barca, a bill author, texting while driving “is more serious than driving drunk because your eyes are off the road for just too long. Make no mistake about it: People are killed by people texting messages.”
The bill has the support of AAA Auto Club, which wants to see similar laws passed in every state by the year 2013. Kevin W. Bakewell, senior vice president of the AAA Auto Club South, said the ban on texting is AAA’s top legislative priority, as multiple studies have shown the practice to be an extremely dangerous distraction for drivers due to the extended time drivers’ eyes are off the road.
Peake says the bill is a step in the right direction for Georgia. He stopped short of a total ban on cell phone use and says the legislation addresses the “more dangerous” practice of texting. “I used to text like crazy while driving, I had no idea what was going on around me, and that’s scary. I knew I needed to make some changes before I hurt myself or someone else.”
Peake said the law may also be difficult to enforce, but hopes that having a law on the books which could cost drivers who get caught at least a $50 fine and two penalty points on their driver’s licenses would be a deterrent. A study in California shows that a ban in the state reduced texting while driving by 70 percent.
Filed under Blog by on Jan 25th, 2010. 3 Comments.
Many teenagers are not aware of what laws affect them, or are ignorant that the consequences of committing a crime will actually happen to them. It is important for teenagers to understand their rights, and that is why attorney J. Tom Morgan will be presenting a program titled, “A Teenagers Guide to Georgia Law.” Georgia teenagers will be given advice about teen-specific laws and consequences that is important for them to understand, specifically regarding alcohol, drugs and sex.
For example, if a 17-year-old boy takes a pornographic photo of his 17-year-old girlfriend and sends it to his friend; both boys are guilty of a 20-year felony. In Georgia, sending a pornographic photo via text message of someone under the age of 18 is a felony, even if the sender is a minor.
One aspect of Georgia law that is often misunderstood by teenagers has to do with underage drinking and driving. While many teenagers think they can have a few drinks and drive without getting a DUI, this is not true. The blood alcohol level in Georgia must be .02 or higher for an underage person to get a DUI, and many teens don’t realize that only one drink will often put them over this limit. For anyone under the age of 21 to get behind the wheel of a vehicle with any alcohol on their breath, they are absolutely risking, and probably will get, a DUI.
Another common question teens often ask is if an underage person is at a party that has alcohol, but is not drinking, can they be arrested? The answer is no. It is not against the law to be at a party where kids are drinking alcohol; it’s just against the law to be drinking as well. If police do come and you have not been drinking, Morgan recommends asking for a Breathalyzer to prove your innocence.
Morgan, the author of “Ignorance is No Defense,” a guide for teenagers and their parents on Georgia law, wants to provide teens and their parents with information meant to deter the act of crimes, as well as to help teens avoid becoming the victims of crimes. He believes most young people will make wiser decisions if they have given it some thought ahead of time and have the legal knowledge.
Kathy Hodges, a counselor at Savannah Country Day School where the program will be held, said the program will help students to make good decisions. “We’re concerned that kids can make decisions without really understanding the full ramifications of them,” said Hodges. “We feel that part of our obligation in educating kids is to help them understand the consequences of decisions.”
Filed under Blog, DUI laws by on Jan 30th, 2010. Comment.
