I make Georgia my "official" home tomorrow when I go to the DMV and get my Georgia drivers license and register to vote at the same time. I tried to do it last month and then again on Saturday. Long story short, I didn't have the right paperwork the first time, then there is this little word called "suspended" on my Indiana license. While I still have a valid drivers license, as evidence by the fact that they didn't haul me away to jail or charge me a ginormous extra fee when I got the two tickets in October a week apart, the CDL portion of my drivers licensed is suspended because I didn't send in the two year physical form due in August. Since I hate doctors and I don't need the CDL anymore, the plan was to just let it fall off my driver's license. However, on Saturday, the lady at the counter feared that when she went to change it over to Georgia, the whole thing would come back suspended (i.e. making me ineligible to hold a drivers license period). She suggested I come back Tuesday (they are closed on Monday) to make sure it gets done right. I'm starting to feel like Georgia doesn't want me ... they just don't know how persistent I can be.
One thing I do know is that Georgia knows how to make the bling. I went to the courthouse to pay the ticket I got back in October. The first court date I went to, I showed up just for them to tell me the court load was too backed up and I had been rescheduled. They had sent me a notice, but it arrived two days after the scheduled court day. Anyway, my appointment was at 2 p.m. today. So I, and 400-500 other people, showed up for 2 p.m. court. You think I am exaggerating, but I am not. The line to get in went out of the building, up the steps and around the sidewalk. My ticket was cheap ($136) compared to others. I figured if they average $200 per ticket times 500 people, that's about $100,000 an hour or two. Do that 3-4 times a day and that's a whole lot of bucks. All I can say is if you ever come through DeKalb County Georgia, you best be paying attention to the signs and your speedometer.
While grateful, both Indiana and Georgia feel a little corrupt in the way they handle traffic tickets. In Indiana, you can pay extra money and if you don't get another ticket in a year, you don't get any points on your license. If you do get another ticket, then both tickets count. However, as I found out, if you have a CDL (even a suspended one) you aren't eligible for the program. In Georgia, if you don't contest the ticket, but instead choose just to pay your fine, they will automatically knock 10 miles off of your speeding ticket or, if it was a different kind of moving violation like mine (I turned left on a no turn on left), it gets reduced to an ordinance violation and you just pay the fine and get no points. While I hate that I got two tickets back in October, it was probably a God thing. In recent days when I felt like putting my gas pedal through the floorboard, I remembered I couldn't afford the ticket or the points.
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3 comments:
Somewhat amusing that you know so much about the system for speeding tickets, eh? LOL.
Rhonda
Hey now, be nice :) Two speeding tickets in 27 years, that's not bad considering I drive about 15,000 to 20,000 miles a year. That's like a half a million miles. I don't count my very safe illegal left hand turn ... it was a stupid place to put a sign :)
A stupid place to put a sign? LOL. I like that.
Maybe you're just a quick learner? ;) Two in 27 years isn't bad and that is a whole lot of mileage. When you moved, Danielle was bummed until I explained to her that you travled across country as easily as most people go to the store. I think that's pretty accurate.
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