How much is a speeding ticket in Georgia?

[llebrekniT]

I've been doing some comparison studies for an upcoming trip we're thinking about making to the WORLD. We are looking at flying vs. driving. Here's what I've come up with:

Flying: Cost for 4 people $896. Total travel time involved from home to hotel - 6.5 hours. We do have one reward ticket we can use, which lowers the cost of the airfare to $672. We would have to get a rental, which usually runs $200 - $250.

Driving: We have a leased vehicle. It is almost 900 miles each way. At .15 per mile that's $270 that I will eventually have to pay. We will need a hotel room on the drive down and again on the way back as we canNOT drive straight through. That adds approx. $150 to the traveling cost. That would make the total for driving $420. Driving time would be 14 hours at 65mph. If only we could average 100 mph we could cut that down to just over 8 hours! I checked the van speedometer, it can totally do this!

Total travel time for driving from home to hotel, including stopover to sleep and sticking closer to speed limit- about 24 hours.

Which brings me to the point of this thread. The factor I am missing is the cost of a speeding ticket in Georgia. My DSIL informs me that the highway patrol in GA is very tough. Given DH's lead foot, I must consider that we may end of with at least one speeding ticket during our travels. (One must be practical in their planning.)

Does anyone out there have any advice?

 

[browneyes]

There's 1 place in NW Georgia that if you're 1 mph over the limit, it'll cost you $1,000. But it's on not on the interstate. Several years ago (about 16 or so), it cost me $58 for going 12 mph over the limit. I'm sure the cost has gone up since then though.

 

[Ellester]

I think my DH's last ticket in Ga was around $90, but that was over 10 years ago. My dad had a $496 ticket in Florida last year (on the turnpike, in a work zone) so consider FL as well. They are tough on out of state plates in my opinion (my dad is a Floridian). Also, I think Georgia has some law that they can immediately revoke your liscense and/or take you to jail for going a certain amount over the limit (I want to say 20mph, but I'm not sure). I'm sure you don't have bail figured in your budget! I don't know when you are going, but USAir is having a big Florida sale from all it's east-of-the-Mississippi cities for $183 round trip. Check out www.usair.com . Also, don't forget to add the extra food you will be eating on the road. We spend about $15 per McDonald's meal for our family of four.

 

[Otto's Doll]

Ask Wobin (or Chris!) aka Delswife!!!!

 

[Robinrs]

I only had one ticket in my Georgia life and it cost me $75 in Cobb County on I 75 about 12 years ago.

 

[MICKEY88]

Originally posted by llebrekniT
Driving time would be 14 hours at 65mph. If only we could average 100 mph we could cut that down to just over 8 hours! I checked the van speedometer, it can totally do this!

do you have any clue how fast you would actually have to drive to average 100MPH...the speedometer on the van might say it can go 100MPH,,but in reality there isn't a van made that can do those speeds safely....no speed rated tires..rollover factor...etc....

oh and forget any decent gas mileage at that speed....



you wouldn't make it one way at those speeds..let alone there and back...

 

[ZachnElli]

I was going to say ask Delswife too!

Do you know anyone with a radar/laser detector you can borrow? It's not a complete guarantee (my dh is a major lead foot), but it at least cut down the amount of tickets in half!

 

[zulaya]

Since delswife hasn't popped in and you might not have time to read her entire trip report, I'll save you some time.

Her son was going over the speed limit by a lot...I'll have to check how much...but he was fined $1000.

Apparently Georgia is like Wisconsin...real tough on speeders.

You better bite the bullet and buy the airfare. It'll probably save you more in the long run if your DH is a lead foot of any kind.

 

[delswife]

Delswife says:DO NOT SPEED IN GEORGIA!

Scuba Steve says:DO NOT SPEED IN GEORGIA!

Brother says:DO NOT SPEED IN GEORGIA!

See Chris speed in Georgia.

See Chris get pulled over in Georgia.

See Chris get a fine for $700 in Georgia.

See Chris go to court and have judge RAISE fine to $1000 in Georgia.

See Chris get one year probation at $44 a month on top of fine in Georgia.

See Chris be lucky he has military protection from MOTHER!

Doesn't Georgia still have a chain gang?

Don't say you werent warned, I would go with the plane and less traveling hours for more Disney time.

And avoid Georgia at all cost.

Cuz, trust me, it will cost ya.

 

[delswife]

Also wanted to add:

Chris was clocked at 112 mph but the officer wrote the ticket for 103mph.

He could have killed someone or have been killed. I still want to cry when I think about it.

I believe rented vehicles usually have a 'governer' thing on them so you can't go over 65mph.

Vans tend to be top heavy and harder to control at high speeds. They don't have the wide wheel base for control like a Mustang or Corvette.
Like Mickey88 said

but in reality there isn't a van made that can do those speeds safely....no speed rated tires..rollover factor...etc....

When they roll they sometimes rip apart like a soda can. Then you also have to figure road conditions, ect.

I wouldn't take the chance.

 

[MICKEY88]

wow...I've been quoted by delswife

 

[Zurg]

Just to point out the bright side,

Chris has a lot less money to buy booze, tatoos, & other such distractions that may tempt a young recruit.



OK Don't Speed in Georgia.

 

[FINFAN]

Having just returned from making the drive to Orlando from Chicago...not including the nail in the tire, the time lost loading and unloading the van(o.k. I admit we looked like the Griswalds, but we had ALL the Xmas gifts etc) the traffic between Macon and Valdosta (we STILL don't know why we were at a crawl) my need to use just about every rest stop due to the high volume of caffeine I was drinking we were doing 80 just to not LOSE time! I will say, at times when we felt like poking along at 70-75...we were shot some really nasty looks and other visual aides by fellow motorists. We also needed to take care of a repair that was more than airfare would've been all on its own, but that would've needed to be done anyway. We made it to Atlanta in 12 hours, and then pulled up at the Dolphin 8 hours after we left Atlanta. In all honesty, the drive was not that bad, and had we packed any where near what normal people do it would've been SO much easier. We liked being on our own schedule, and the kids were awesome in the car. Plus, couldn't stop tp get fireworks if we were on the plane! Keep in mind we also had 13 days. If it were a week trip, even 10 days, I would fly if I could.
Enjoy your trip whatever you decide!
Pam

 

[TTFN]

I agree with Delswife.....DON'T SPEED IN GEORGIA! My dd (age 18 at the time) was traveling with another young girl and had someone get on their tail flashing lights and being a pain. They were scared and speeded up to get up to where some trucks were ahead. A little later, someone else got behind them and they got scared and speeded up and next thing they know they are being pulled over. speed...100 mph ticket.... $500!! Because of her age she also lost driving privileges in Ga and had to take a defensive driving course to get it back, and pay $200 fees to get her driving priviledges reinstated. Lots of money to come out of an 18 year olds pocket! I told her I was glad she got the ticket instead of getting scraped up from the road side.

DON'T SPEED IN GEORGIA!

 

[clh2]

As always Delswife - you do have a way with words!

And, I do echo the comment from one of the previous posters...Wisconsin is just as bad...although my only speeding infractions were in Illinois believe it or not (I lived there and had IL plates.)

 

[battricia]

I got a speeding ticket in south carolina for 200 dollars =(. It was a really bad situation, and had I had the time, and money to go back and fight it I would have, because the whole 'pull over' situation was done improperly, and I would even say illegally. Never the less I paid the 200 dollars because it would have cost me more to get back to south carolina.

I'm not sure of laws in south carolina, but this is how the situation went. I would like to say first of all that I NEVER speed. Unfortunately this situation I did not realize I was speeding. My sister and I had looked for a speed limit sign, the sign said 70 so I sped up to 70. No more than 5 min. after the sign I was pulled over. Unfortunately we entered a working zone, on a saturday, with no workers and all the signs were covered. There was 2 lanes of 95, I was in the passing lane, among many many other cars (both infront and in back who were obviously also doing 70mph), and the right lane was also full, unfortunately there was an unmarked camaro in the right lane, and when we drove by her my sister looked over and saw her uniform, said that's a cop, she noticed us and she could obviously tell we were on our way to vacation so she dropped back and slid in behind me, and threw on her lights as soon as she saw our Pennsylvania license plate. Once we were able to get over we got over and she came out of her car screaming at me. I just sat there saying 'i'm sorry' the whole time, I was really upset. I was under the impression that a cop can't pull you over just driving behind you unless they follow you for 5 miles or so, which is where I think she was in the wrong. I also think the state is in the wrong because the signs were unclear, except of course the 70mph sign that my sister and I had seen just a few minutes before we were pulled over. I think the cop realized there was no way we'd be coming back to fight the ticket, so she had nothing to worry about. Sorry for such a long post, I just wanted to warn you that not only are these states tuff with their tickets, the cops know when you're heading for vacation or not a state resident and they WILL take advantage of that.

tricia.

 

[mom2bandp]

I live in Georgia and don't like to drive in Georgia. I'm not the speeder in the family, DH is. After we became parents he finally slowed down, and it's a good thing cause we couldn't afford to keep paying for his speeding habit. Coming back from our honeymoon to Hilton Head Island across I-16 (Savannah to Macon) he got a ticket which wound up costing us around $400. (And so began our first fight as a married couple! ) Moral of the story: Don't speed in Georgia!

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by delswife
I believe rented vehicles usually have a 'governer' thing on them so you can't go over 65mph.

Urban myth. I drive rental cars a lot on business and leisure. Many times I've drive 70+ in them. A number of states have interstate speed limits over 70 mph. This would be impractical.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Originally posted by battricia
I was under the impression that a cop can't pull you over just driving behind you unless they follow you for 5 miles or so, which is where I think she was in the wrong. I also think the state is in the wrong because the signs were unclear, except of course the 70mph sign that my sister and I had seen just a few minutes before we were pulled over.

Uh where did you come up with the 5 miles thing? A police officer can visually see you speeding and pull you right over. There is no requirement that they follow you. As for how the area was marked, I really don't know. And I doubt she came out of her car screaming at you, unless something caused that.

 

[Belle1962]

May I remind you that a speeding ticket is the gift that keeps on giving:

On your insurance premiums.

Factor in the cost of increased insurance premiums AND depending on your company the possibility of being dropped.