Georgia Speeding Laws

Basic Speed Law: No person shall drive a vehicle at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard for the actual and potential hazards than existing. GA. CODE § 40-6-180

Penalty for Exceeding Speed Limit

A first time violator may be:

• fined not more than $1,000,
• sentenced to jail time of not more than 12 months, and
• the violator’s license may be suspended between one to five years.

Penalty for Reckless Driving

A first time violator may be:

• fined not more than $1000,
• sentenced to jail time of not more than 12 months, and
• the violator’s license may be suspended between one to five years

Speed Limits

• 70 MPH on interstate system or on physically divided highways
• 65 MPH on the interstate system inside urban areas with a population less than 50,000
• 65 MPH on State divided highways without full access control
• 55 MPH on other locations
• 30 MPH in urban or residential district
• 35 MPH on unpaved county road 

Georgia Speeding Law

Georgia has what is known as an “absolute” speed limit law. There is no trick to how this works: If the sign says 40 mph and you drive 41 mph or more, you have violated the law. In other words, you are guilty if you drive over the speed limit. In Georgia you may be able to make three possible defenses:

• Attacking the officer’s determination of your speed. To do this you must discover what method the officer used to cite you and then learn about the ways to attack that particular method.
• Claiming an emergency forced you to exceed the speed limit to avoid serious damage or injury to yourself or others.
• Claiming that the officer mistook your car for another car. With so many similar-looking cars, it is possible that a cop could see a speeding car, lose sight of it around a corner, and then wrongly pick out your car farther down the road.

Note that in Georgia you can be ticketed for driving at an unsafe speed, even if that speed does not violate the posted limit -- for example, driving exactly at the maximum mph posted limit on the freeway amidst slower and heavy traffic, in a dense fog, or in a driving rainstorm or blizzard.

Point System

A person's license is subject to suspension if they accumulate 15 or more points within a 24 month period. At the end of the  suspension period, the point count is  reduced to zero.  Upon reaching the requisite point assessment for the first time, the license suspension is for 1 year.  Upon reaching the requisite point assessment for the second time within 5 years, the license suspension is for 3 years.Upon reaching the requisite point assessment for the third time within 5 years, the license suspension is for 5 years; 2 years of this suspension period are mandatory. The following points are assessed for speeding and speed related violations:  Reckless driving-4 points; exceeding the speed by more than 14 MPH but less than 19 MPH-2 points; exceeding the speed by more than 19 MPH but less than 24 MPH-3 points; exceeding the speed by more than 24 MPH but less than 34 MPH-4 points; exceeding the speed by more than 34 MPH-6 points; other moving violations-3 points. No points are assessed for driving too fast for conditions.