Don’t plead guilty in traffic court without first understanding how your insurance rates will be be impacted.

Driving is an essential part of life for many people in Georgia, but it comes with certain responsibilities. One of these is obeying traffic laws and regulations, and unfortunately, many drivers find themselves facing charges for a variety of traffic offenses. If you are one of these people, you may be tempted to plead guilty to get the whole ordeal over with quickly. However, this may not be the best course of action, especially if you’re concerned about insurance costs.

As you may know, the state of Georgia operates on a point system for traffic violations and most citations are reported to DDS.ga.gov. Each time you are found guilty of a reportable traffic offense, a certain number of points is added to your driving record. The more points you accumulate, the greater the likelihood that your insurance premiums will increase. If you accumulate enough points, your insurance company may even refuse to insure you altogether. This is why it’s so important to invest whenever possible in maintaining a clean record. 

For example, a single traffic ticket can increase your auto insurance premiums by an average of 22 percent, according to an analysis by Insurance.com. Reckless driving, DUI, driving without a license, and hit + run are among the most expensive offenses, with first-time offenders facing an average increase of 16 to 22 percent. Even less serious offenses like speeding can increase your insurance premiums by an average of 11 to 15 percent. These increases can last for several years, depending on your driving record and the insurance company’s policies.

By pleading guilty to a traffic offense, you are essentially admitting fault and allowing points to be added to your driving record. This can have a long-term impact on your insurance costs, which can end up costing you hundreds or even thousands of dollars over time. In some cases, it may be possible to have the charges reduced or dismissed altogether, which can help minimize the impact on your driving record and insurance premiums.

If you’re facing traffic charges in Georgia, it’s important to consult with legal counsel as soon as possible. An experienced traffic attorney can review the details of your case and help you understand your options. Depending on the circumstances, it may be possible to negotiate a plea bargain or fight the charges in court. Even if you end up being found guilty, an attorney may be able to help you minimize the impact on your driving record and insurance costs.

In addition to legal counsel, there are other steps you can take to minimize the impact of traffic offenses on your insurance costs. For example, some insurance companies offer safe driving courses or other discounts for drivers who take proactive steps to improve their driving skills. 

If you do find yourself facing traffic charges, it’s important to take the situation seriously and seek legal counsel before making any decisions that could impact your driving record and insurance costs.

The first phase of DUI detection is vehicle in motion, where the officer makes DUI-related observations before initiating a traffic stop. In many DUI cases, the officer pulls a driver over for Failure to Maintain Lane, but in the video, you see that they used their turn signals appropriately, interacted with other traffic well, and they moved over or changed lanes without issues. Those are all things your defense team should be documenting and taking note of.

The officers are trained to look for specific impaired driving “cues.” The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sponsored research to identify the most common and reliable initial indicators of DWI. There were 24 cues that were identified as being associated with a high probability that the driver exhibiting the cue is impaired.

They include:

Problems Maintaining Proper Lane Position

• Weaving
• Weaving across lane line
• Drifting
• Straddling a lane line
• Swerving
• Almost striking an object or a vehicle
• Turning with a wide radius

Speed and Braking Problems

• Stopping problems
• Unnecessary acceleration or deceleration
• Varying speed
• 10 mph or more under the speed limit

Vigilance Problems

• Driving without headlights at night
• Failure to signal or inconsistent with action
• Driving in opposing lanes or wrong way on one way
• Slow response to traffic signals
• Slow or failure to respond to an officer’s signals
• Stopping in lane for no apparent reason

Judgment problems

• Following too closely
• Improper or unsafe lane change
• Illegal or improper turn
• Driving on other than designated roadway
• Stopping inappropriately in response to officer
• Inappropriate or unusual behavior
• Appearing to be impaired

Important Terminology

Reasonable Articulable Suspicion – the amount of evidence required to initiate a traffic stop is much lower than the probable cause required for an arrest.

• A particularized and objective basis for suspecting that a citizen is involved in criminal activity. This suspicion need not meet the higher standard of probable cause, but it must only be more than mere caprice or a hunch.

Probable Cause – the legal standard of evidence that is required to support an arrest as opposed to what is required to initiate a traffic stop. In Georgia, the officer must have knowledge or reasonably trustworthy information that someone was in control of a moving vehicle, while under the influence to a degree that renders her incapable of driving safely.

DUI Less Safe – the legal standard that applies to all DUI cases, regardless of whether the test result was over or under the legal limit.

• DUI in Georgia = a Less Safe Driver
• “A driver or operator of a motor vehicle is under the influence of alcohol when the person is affected by alcohol to the extent that it is less safe for the person to drive than it would be if the person were not affected by alcohol. A driver who is less safe is less efficient, less skillful, less coherent, less able, less qualified, and less proficient.”

Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt – standard of proof required to convict someone of DUI at trial.

• A reasonable doubt is defined by the courts as “a doubt of a fair-minded, impartial juror honestly seeking the truth. It is a doubt based upon common sense and reason. It does not mean a vague or arbitrary doubt, but it is a doubt for which a reason can be given arising from a consideration of the evidence or lack of evidence, a conflict in the evidence, or any combination of these.”

Before the early 1970s, officers used several different field sobriety tests to determine possible intoxication. But none of these tests were standardized. Officers used their own set of instructions and clues, making it very difficult to determine how reliable these tests were.

In 1975, the Southern California Research Institute, with funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), decided to come up with tests that all officers throughout the United States would administer and interpret the same way. They came up with the three standardized tests that officers use today. Then, they conducted several other studies to determine how accurate each one is.

The first standardized field sobriety test that officers rely on during a DUI investigation is the HGN, or the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test. Nystagmus refers to the involuntary jerking of the eyeballs. The jerking becomes more pronounced when someone is intoxicated by alcohol or certain drugs. This is why it is used to determine if probable cause exists for a DUI arrest.

Common Causes

Three drug categories can cause nystagmus to occur: Depressants, inhalants, and dissociative anesthetics. It’s important to know what can cause this condition so you can match up what the officer thinks is present with what the toxicology shows.

For example, if you have a case with marijuana, it doesn’t fall into one of those three drug categories known to cause nystagmus. So if the officer sees the standard six out of six clues, it won’t match up to the facts of your case. Either it’s a false positive or the officer is claiming to see something that was not there.

How the Officer Conducts the Test

The Horizontal Nystagmus Test (HGN) is a standardized field sobriety test where the officer instructs the suspect to follow (with his eyes) a stimulus to the left and to the right.

The first step the officer should take before conducting the test is to medically qualify your client and verbally instruct them on how to take the test.

Then, they should position the stimulus between 12-15 inches from the driver’s face and slightly above eye level.

The position of the stimulus is the first thing you want to make note of. Because if it is held too closely, too high, too far, or too low, it increases the false positive rate. Making it very important to distinguish the position correctly when reviewing the video.

Next, the officer will conduct a series of passes with the stimulus. During this phase of the test, it’s important for you to count the seconds for each pass.

Equal Tracking

The first series of passes is called the equal tracking section – – where the officer is checking to make sure your client’s eyes move together at the same speed and with a full range of motion.

The officer will always start with the defendant’s left eye. It should take approximately two seconds out and approximately two seconds back to the center, then repeat approximately two seconds out, and approximately two seconds back to the center.

So if you add all those times up it should take approximately eight seconds total.

There should be a distinct pause between the equal tracking section and the next section, which is a smooth pursuit of the stimulus.

Smooth Pursuit

For the smooth pursuit portion of the test, the stimulus is moved from the center position to the far left and back to the center position twice for each eye, moving at a speed that takes at least two seconds from the center position to the side position.

If a lack of smooth pursuit is detected, a “clue” is scored for the eye in which the officer observed a lack of smooth pursuit. The acceptable tolerance for this test is anywhere between 12-20 seconds.

Maximum Deviation

The next series of passes is designed to determine whether the person has distinct nystagmus at maximum deviation. Maximum deviation is the point at which the eye has moved fully to one side and cannot move any further.

The officer should move the stimulus from the center position to the person’s far left at a rate taking at least two seconds, hold for at least four seconds, and then move back to the center position at the same two-second rate.

It’s important to count those seconds to make sure the minimum of four seconds is met.

You also want to make sure they do not last too long because that can induce fatigue nystagmus.

Onset Angle of Nystagmus

The final phase of the HGN test is a set of passes used to determine whether the onset of nystagmus occurs prior to the eye’s movement to a 45-degree deviation.

The officer should move the stimulus very slowly at a rate that would take at least four seconds to move the stimulus to the person’s shoulder or at a rate of no more than 10 degrees per second. What matters to the officer at this point is whether or not your client’s eyes start to jerk.

If they do start to jerk, the officer is required to stop and hold the stimulus steady to confirm two things:

• Is the jerking continuing?
• Did the jerking occur before the 45-degree angle?

There should be no doubt that the stimulus is stopped and being held in that position.

Testing Conditions

One final thing to pay attention to during the HGN test is whether or not optokinetic nystagmus could be present. This is the jerking of the eyes caused by full-field visual motion. Situations, where there is a lot of traffic or distractions, might cause the person to lose focus on the stimulus and look beyond it.

Roadside Testing Terminology

• Field Sobriety Test (FST): Refers to any test the officer administers on the side of the road.
• Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST): Refers to three specific tests that have been researched for accuracy and follow a specific protocol to determine whether or not a person should be arrested. These tests are the HGN, the Walk-and-Turn, and the One-Leg Stand.
• False Positive: When a test incorrectly indicates a condition is present. For example, when the field sobriety tests indicate that a person was above the specified BAC, but a breath or blood test shows that they were actually below the specified BAC.
• Nystagmus: The medical term used to describe the involuntary jerking of the eyeballs.
• Resting Nystagmus: The jerking of the eyes when looking straight ahead at a stimulus.
• Lack of Smooth Pursuit: When the eyes jerk or “bounce” as they follow a smoothly moving stimulus.
• Nystagmus at Maximum Deviation: When the eyes begin jerking after four seconds while looking all of the ways to the side.
• Fatigue Nystagmus: Also known as endpoint nystagmus, it’s caused by holding the eye at maximum deviation for 30 seconds or longer. It has nothing to do with being tired.
• Vertical Gaze Nystagmus (VGN): An up and down jerking of the eyes occurs when the eyes gaze upward at maximum elevation. The presence of this type of nystagmus is associated with high doses of alcohol for that individual and certain other drugs.
• Optokinetic Nystagmus: the jerk nystagmus induced by full-field visual motion.

The repercussions for a hit and run in Cobb County can be significant. Often, this misdemeanor traffic violation requires you to appear in court for an arraignment.

Usually, municipal court judges adjudicate arraignments for misdemeanor traffic offenses that occur within city limits. But, sometimes, Cobb County State Court has jurisdiction. This courthouse can preside over non-felony criminal cases, including hit and run traffic violations.

You can usually verify the location of your arraignment by reviewing your citation. This document also provides the date and time of your court date. It’s important to mark this on your calendar so the court doesn’t place you in failure to appear status with a bench warrant for your arrest.

Hit and Run Penalties

It’s best to speak with an experienced Cobb County traffic attorney before you arrive at your arraignment. The laws around this offense can be tricky – and you’re facing serious consequences with a conviction.

While you aren’t required to hire a lawyer, a hit-and-run violation carries a wide range of penalties based on the type of code the officer used for the citation. These codes can be confusing even for law enforcement and mistakes are made when it comes to charging the appropriate offense.

But before you panic about the citation, you should first evaluate the various hit and run code sections to determine if the officer charged you correctly.

Hit and Run O.C.G.A. 40-6-270

The most severe hit and run violation fall under O.C.G.A. 40-6-270, which applies when a driver strikes another moving vehicle. In this setting, the law expects drivers to pull over and exchange information with the other driver. The law also requires a driver to render assistance and contact emergency medical services and local law enforcement if someone is injured.

Drivers who fail to complete these steps could be charged with O.C.G.A. 40-6-270. Possible penalties include:

• a misdemeanor conviction,
• an automatic license suspension,
• a fine ranging from $300 to $1000,
• and jail or a probation sentence of 12 months.

Hit and Run Code O.C.G.A. 40-6-271

Striking an unoccupied vehicle is also classified as a hit and run if you fail to notify the owner or leave your contact information. This offense falls under code O.C.G.A. 40-6-271.

While less severe than O.C.G.A. 40-6-270, this violation still carries heavy penalties that might include:

• a misdemeanor charge
• a fine ranging up to $1000,
• and jail or a probation sentence up to 12 months.

Georgia Defense for a Hit and Run Violation

The best way to prepare for your arraignment is to speak with a traffic attorney who understands the codes and potential risks. Give yourself the best opportunity for a favorable outcome by scheduling a free consult with EHG Law.