Georgia motorists and those who drive through the state who like to go fast will pay a heavy penalty for their penchant for speed this year. The state’s new “super-speeder” law imposes a stiff fine on those who travel well above posted limits. The well-intended law, which went into effect on New Year’s day, should make the state’s roads safer for all who travel them.
Under the new regulation, any motorist exceeding 75 miles per hour on a two-lane road or 85 mph on other roads — including interstate highways — will be classified as a “super speeder” and fined an extra $200. That’s an attention-getter, to be sure.
Moreover, there appears to be little wiggle room for those ticketed for excessive speed to avoid the additional levy imposed by the state legislature. If the so-called “super speeders” don’t fork over the extra cash, they will lose their license. That’s fair.
Legislators who approved the law during their last session reasonably believe the fine will help reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on the state’s roads. That’s a logical assumption. The link between high speed and vehicular accidents is well established, and any reduction in the number of speeders is bound to be beneficial.
Moreover, the fines will serve a dual purpose. They are designed to be a deterrent to scofflaws, of course, but the money collected will be used, in part, to help fund and expand Georgia’s trauma hospitals. Such funding is welcome. Some parts of the state have no trauma hospitals and centers in other areas are overburdened and underfunded. If the new fees, as promised, are forwarded to the hospitals, it should help cure those ills.