Georgia Driving Violations, Fines, Penalties, and Regulations

The Georgia Department of Driver Services caters to the resident drivers of the state of Georgia. The Department of Driver Services is tasked with the administration of driver’s license privileges, as well as maintaining a population of safe and educated motorists on the state’s roads and highways. In order to best control the driving masses, the Department of Driver Services, like most other states, uses a points-based system to track and assess drivers exhibiting consistent violations of traffic laws, which makes them a hazard to themselves, but also, other drivers and pedestrians.

Georgia Traffic Point System

In the state of Georgia, the Department of Driver Services is legally bound by law to adhere to the following points-based system. Drivers that accrue point totals of fifteen (15) or more within a two (2) year period face mandatory suspension. Drivers under the age of eighteen (18) and twenty-one (21) can only accrue four (4) points or any four (4) point violation before facing mandatory suspension. Additionally, the Georgia point system includes offenses in the point total that occur out of the state of Georgia. Habitual offenders, individuals in multiple serious infractions resulting in accidents, and other grievous one-time violations may all also warrant mandatory suspension, revocation, or cancellation per Georgia traffic laws.

Georgia Fines and Penalties

Traffic Violations	Fine Amounts	Points	Traffic School	Jail	License Suspension?
Aggressive Driving	Court only violation	6	At court's discretion to allow driver to attend defensive driving school once every five years to remove points	Court discretion	License suspension likely, mandatory for drivers under the age of 21
Driving Under Influence - DUI	Fines of up to $1000	6	Mandatory DUI school required by Georgia law	Imprisonment for up to one (1) year	Mandatory license suspension
Driving While Imparied - DWI	Fines of up to $1000	6	Mandatory DUI school required by Georgia law	Imprisonment for up to one (1) year	Mandatory license suspension
Driving With License Suspended	Court only violation	6	At court's discretion to allow driver to attend defensive driving school once every five years to remove points	Court discretion, misdemeanor offense	Mandatory license suspension
Driving Without Headlights	Fines of $265, plus additional surcharges and penalties	3	At court's discretion to allow driver to attend defensive driving school once every five years to remove points	Incarceration not relevant to single offense	License suspension from single offense will not occur
Exhibition of Speed	Fines of $100 up to $550	2 to 6	At court's discretion to allow driver to attend defensive driving school once every five years to remove points	Incarceration not relevant to single offense	Mandatory license suspension
Failure to Yield	Fines of $265, plus additional surcharges and penalties	3	At court's discretion to allow driver to attend defensive driving school once every five years to remove points	Incarceration not relevant to single offense	License suspension from single offense will not occur
Failure to Signal	Fines of $265, plus additional surcharges and penalties	3	At court's discretion to allow driver to attend defensive driving school once every five years to remove points	Incarceration not relevant to single offense	License suspension from single offense will not occur
Failure to Stop	Fines of $265, plus additional surcharges and penalties	3	At court's discretion to allow driver to attend defensive driving school once every five years to remove points	Incarceration not relevant to single offense	License suspension from single offense will not occur
Hit and Run	Court only violation	6	At court's discretion to allow driver to attend defensive driving school once every five years to remove points	Court discretion, misdemeanor for property damage, felony charge is bodily injury or death	Mandatory license suspension
Illegal Passing	Fines of $265, plus additional surcharges and penalties	4	At court's discretion to allow driver to attend defensive driving school once every five years to remove points	Incarceration not relevant to single offense	License suspension from single offense will not occur
Illegal u-turn	Fines of $265, plus additional surcharges and penalties	3	At court's discretion to allow driver to attend defensive driving school once every five years to remove points	Incarceration not relevant to single offense	License suspension from single offense will not occur
Intoxication Manslaughter	Court only violation	6	Mandatory DUI school required by Georgia law	Felony offense, incarceration highly likely	Mandatory license suspension
No Drivers License	Court only violation	6	At court's discretion to allow driver to attend defensive driving school once every five years to remove points	Court discretion, misdemeanor offense	Mandatory license suspension
Running a Red Light	Fines of $265, plus additional surcharges and penalties	3	At court's discretion to allow driver to attend defensive driving school once every five years to remove points	Incarceration not relevant to single offense	License suspension from single offense will not occur
Running Stop Sign	Fines of $265, plus additional surcharges and penalties	3	At court's discretion to allow driver to attend defensive driving school once every five years to remove points	Incarceration not relevant to single offense	License suspension from single offense will not occur
Reckless Driving	Fines of up to $1000, court only violation	4	At court's discretion to allow driver to attend defensive driving school once every five years to remove points	Imprisonment for up to one (1) year	Suspension of license mandatory for persons under age of 21, likely for older individuals
Speeding in School Zone	Fines of $100 up to $550	2 to 6	At court's discretion to allow driver to attend defensive driving school once every five years to remove points	Incarceration not relevant to single offense	License suspension from single offense potential
Unsafe Lane Change	Fines of $265, plus additional surcharges and penalties	4	At court's discretion to allow driver to attend defensive driving school once every five years to remove points	Incarceration not relevant to single offense	License suspension from single offense will not occur

What to Expect in a Georgia Traffic Court

In Georgia traffic courts, individual drivers will stand before a judge regarding their latest infraction or violation. In the event of multiple citations that have been unaddressed, all of these violations will be discussed with the traffic court judge. At this time, drivers may present their case regarding a traffic violation, while requesting dismissal. If this does not work, and drivers are facing high point totals or a point total that warrants mandatory suspension, they may request the option of attending defensive driving school to reduce their point total, and in turn, save their privilege to drive. Having an attorney make these requests, as well angle to dismiss outstanding tickets, proves highly beneficial to any driver. Some relevant links to Georgia traffic courts and the point system include:

Georgia Driving Violations Legal Help from a Lawyer

In court, having an attorney represent your interests both before and during traffic court hearings is essential to obtaining any form of beneficial outcome in most cases. Drivers, whose income earning ability and license privileges are at stake, would be highly at risk for losing the right to drive, if not for an attorney’s intervention in traffic court in the state of Georgia. For this reason, many drivers facing suspension or other negative outcomes from traffic violations will turn to an attorney to dismiss or mitigate the negative consequences from these offenses.

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