SAVANNAH, GA – An individual allegedly going 35 miles per hour over the speed limit before being pulled over in early September in Savannah, Georgia, was understandably floored when he learned the citation was for $1.48 million.
According to local reports, Connor Cato was reportedly on his way home on September 2nd when he’d gotten pulled over by a Georgia State Patrol trooper for allegedly going 90 in a 55 miles per hour zone.
Now anyone who may suffer from a lead-foot or may from time to time be a little generous with the interpretation of the word “limit” in speed limit would likely conclude that getting nabbed going 35 over the posted limit is likely going to translate into one hefty ticket.
But the fine that Cato learned of wasn’t even in the same galaxy of reasonable estimations likely fathoming something in the the several hundred dollar range.
Apparently what Cato landed himself in when receiving the citation was what’s known as a “super speeder” ticket, a class of speeding ticket meant to delineate the average speeder from those outright zooming through a respective stretch of road.
And the fine Cato read on the received e-citation was so unbelievable, he thought it was some kind of a typographical error.
Speaking with a local news outlet about the $1.48 million dollar fine, Cato recalled how he contacted the courts to confirm whether this fine was legitimate, saying, “‘$1.4 million,’ the lady told me on the phone. ‘This might be a typo’ and she said, ‘No sir, you either pay the amount on the ticket or you come to court on Dec. 21 at 1:30 p.m.'”
Sneh Patel, a local criminal defense attorney out of Savannah, voiced a degree of skepticism that a court would actually impose such a fine in the event someone missed a traffic court date, saying, “I mean, I can’t imagine someone would have to pay $1.4 million for not showing up for a speeding ticket.”
Patel was also among those who thought such a fine had to be an error but was both shocked and intrigued when seeing it was confirmed.
“At first when I was asked about this, I thought it was a clerical error. But then you told me you followed up and apparently, it’s not a clerical error. But again, I have never seen something like this, ever.”
For the sake of context, traffic-related misdemeanors in the state of Georgia harbor a $1,000 maximum penalty, meaning the courts’ ability to impose such a fine for excessive speeding is seriously questionable.
Furthermore, according to Patel, even if the misdemeanor is classified as aggravated in nature, the fine wouldn’t venture beyond $5,000.
However, some much-needed context finally came from a spokesperson for the city of Savannah, explaining that while the displayed figure on the citation wasn’t exactly a typo, it certainly isn’t a serious expectation in the realm of fines.
According to the city spokesperson, the bizarre million-dollar figure displayed on the citation comes courtesy as a sort of numerical bug that the city claims is a “placeholder” for the citation amount, adding, “The system automatically puts in $999,999.99 as the base amount plus other costs since the only way to resolve the ticket is to appear in court.”
The spokesperson further added that city officials are working on adjusting the language and unclear monetary figure presented on “super-speeder” tickets so as not to create this sort of confusion again.
According to local reports, Connor Cato was reportedly on his way home on September 2nd when he’d gotten pulled over by a Georgia State Patrol trooper for allegedly going 90 in a 55 miles per hour zone.
Now anyone who may suffer from a lead-foot or may from time to time be a little generous with the interpretation of the word “limit” in speed limit would likely conclude that getting nabbed going 35 over the posted limit is likely going to translate into one hefty ticket.
But the fine that Cato learned of wasn’t even in the same galaxy of reasonable estimations likely fathoming something in the the several hundred dollar range.
Apparently what Cato landed himself in when receiving the citation was what’s known as a “super speeder” ticket, a class of speeding ticket meant to delineate the average speeder from those outright zooming through a respective stretch of road.
And the fine Cato read on the received e-citation was so unbelievable, he thought it was some kind of a typographical error.
Speaking with a local news outlet about the $1.48 million dollar fine, Cato recalled how he contacted the courts to confirm whether this fine was legitimate, saying, “‘$1.4 million,’ the lady told me on the phone. ‘This might be a typo’ and she said, ‘No sir, you either pay the amount on the ticket or you come to court on Dec. 21 at 1:30 p.m.'”
Sneh Patel, a local criminal defense attorney out of Savannah, voiced a degree of skepticism that a court would actually impose such a fine in the event someone missed a traffic court date, saying, “I mean, I can’t imagine someone would have to pay $1.4 million for not showing up for a speeding ticket.”
Patel was also among those who thought such a fine had to be an error but was both shocked and intrigued when seeing it was confirmed.
“At first when I was asked about this, I thought it was a clerical error. But then you told me you followed up and apparently, it’s not a clerical error. But again, I have never seen something like this, ever.”
For the sake of context, traffic-related misdemeanors in the state of Georgia harbor a $1,000 maximum penalty, meaning the courts’ ability to impose such a fine for excessive speeding is seriously questionable.
Furthermore, according to Patel, even if the misdemeanor is classified as aggravated in nature, the fine wouldn’t venture beyond $5,000.
However, some much-needed context finally came from a spokesperson for the city of Savannah, explaining that while the displayed figure on the citation wasn’t exactly a typo, it certainly isn’t a serious expectation in the realm of fines.
According to the city spokesperson, the bizarre million-dollar figure displayed on the citation comes courtesy as a sort of numerical bug that the city claims is a “placeholder” for the citation amount, adding, “The system automatically puts in $999,999.99 as the base amount plus other costs since the only way to resolve the ticket is to appear in court.”
The spokesperson further added that city officials are working on adjusting the language and unclear monetary figure presented on “super-speeder” tickets so as not to create this sort of confusion again.
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