DeKalb County Ticket Fixing Scam – Follow Up

Posted on September 10, 2009 by georgiatrafficlawyer

Interesting article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution points out how a security oversight by the Dekalb County Recorder’s Court paved the way to a ticket fixing scheme. According to this article by Ty Tagami of http://www.ajc.com:

DeKalb Recorder’s Court, which handles traffic tickets and misdemeanor charges, was found in an unrelated review last year to have allowed millions of dollars in unpaid fines to slip through the county’s fingers. The court was then burned by a fraud ring. Three former employees and five others were indicted in connection with ticket-fixing. Two of the defendants pleaded guilty last week.

The recently concluded grand jury, empaneled for July and August, said lax oversight made the court vulnerable.

“Clearly, no ‘check and balance’ system was in place at the time of the alleged criminal actions, and frankly, the Grand Jury finds it deleterious for the head of Recorder’s Court to fail to take any initiative, action, or corrective steps once her former employees were implicated,” the jurors wrote.

Problems need to be addressed from the “get go” and handled to prevent this type of fraud from happening again. The crime was occurring at such a low level in what might be deemed a bureaucracy by most, it was literally “flying under the radar”.

Read the article at AJC,com

Contact a DeKalb County GA Traffic Lawyer now.

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Speeding Crackdown in Coweta County Georgia

Posted on August 24, 2009 by georgiatrafficlawyer

Speeding continues to be a major problem with major consequences on Interstate 85 through Coweta County.

Georgia State Patrol’s Newnan Post Commander Sgt. Lance Greene and Coweta County Sheriff’s Office Lt. John LaChance are teaming up to make the Coweta corridor of Interstate 85 safer during ongoing construction. They are planning several enforcement crackdowns to get their point across.

From Dec. 1, 2006 — when the interstate widening and repaving project began — to June 1, 2009, the sheriff’s office’s traffic unit has worked 1,891 accidents on the county’s interstate corridor, according to LaChance. Of those accidents, 11 resulted in fatalities, and there were 728 injuries.

The sheriff’s office has issued 2,921 citations this year so far, and, of those, 2,611 were for speeding, said LaChance.

The speed limit through the construction zones is 50 mph and it will remain that way until the construction concludes and the state takes possession of the road from the contractors.

“There are a lot of people who are going 50-55 mph,” said Greene. “The message is out. Enforcement efforts have worked. But there’s always going to be a certain percentage of people who will exceed the speed limit. We are very forgiving of speed out there and we can still write tickets all day long. This is not about generating revenue — we’re being so forgiving that we should tighten up a bit.”

“Within one hour we can write 15 tickets, no problem — and that’s with high grace,” LaChance added.

Motorists who choose to drive 85 mph and above are basically declaring that they know “everything’s going to be perfect,” according to Greene. He said those motorists leave no reaction time in case something unexpectedly goes wrong.

“You can do everything right and that one guy out of 50 can do something stupid and all the other cars will get caught in it,” said Greene.

LaChance said the biggest ticket he’s written on the interstate was for a motorist traveling 108 mph. Greene has written a ticket for 101 mph and one for 105 mph — both motorists were stopped during the morning commute just north of Bullsboro Drive. Greene once clocked a motorcycle traveling 132 mph driving on the opposite side of the barrier wall, but he couldn’t get to him.

When the speed limit goes back to 70 mph after the construction project is finished, leniency will be gone, the officers warn. Anything over 85 mph — beginning Jan. 1 — will be violating the state’s new “Super Speeder” legislation and cost the driver an additional $200 on top of the citation. Also, speeding in construction zones doubles fines.

Motorists will be seeing a lot more law enforcement officers on the interstate. They plan to increase their visibility to pace traffic — especially over the upcoming Labor Day holiday weekend.

In addition to increased patrols around Labor Day, police will be using lasers to catch speeders during Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. They also target drivers who are following too closely, motorists conducting improper lane changes, anyone driving under the influence and other traffic violations.

“We will be out there on travel days,” said LaChance. They are also aiming for one concentrated day a month in addition to holidays and routine patrols.

LaChance and Greene are pleading with drivers to pay attention to interstate signage as road conditions continue to change during the final stages of construction. They should especially pay attention to the signs warning of lane shifts, ones indicating an exit-only lane, and ones instructing drivers to merge ahead.

“We’re begging people to slow down,” said LaChance. “Slow down and save a little money in gas.”

The sheriff’s office is hoping to keep the number of wreck fatalities down to no more than 10 this year, through a campaign of education and enforcement. So far, the county’s had six traffic deaths.

Still, the sheriff’s office has consistently reduced the number of traffic-related deaths. In 2005, there were 34 deaths; in 2006, there were 26; in 2007, there were 20; and last year, there were 12.

“Don’t speed, don’t follow too closely and don’t drink and drive,” said Greene.

Article by Elizabeth Richardson, Newnan Times Herald

Speeding Ticket in Coweta County Traffic Court?

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Georgia Troopers’ Budgets Cut, But Presence Remains The Same

Posted on August 17, 2009 by georgiatrafficlawyer

Last week, the state announced a 5 percent decrease in the Georgia State patrol budget; however, drivers are being assured that Georgia’s highways and interstate system will still be safe.

“We will still have coverage, we will still have a presence of troopers,” said Paul Cosper, Public Information Officer for the Georgia State Patrol.

Another 5 percent budget cut for the state patrol was announced last week; this comes after a 14 percent budget cut earlier this year. According to Cosper the state patrol budget has gone from $118 million to $95 million, resulting in lower salary and furlough days for the majority of state patrol employees, including administration and office staff.

State troopers had earned about $35,000 before budget cuts when troopers across the state had a 10 percent reduction in pay. Cosper said 82 percent of the budget goes toward personnel services, meaning salaries.

“Like everyone else in the state we are feeling the pinch of a tighter budget,” said Cosper.

Last month, Gov. Sonny Perdue announced a reduction in annual work schedule days for teachers, resulting in three fewer days of work and pay for Georgia’s teachers. The state patrol will also be taking three days, two in August and one in September.

“There will be a rotation on who takes their days when, there will be no lapse in service,” said Cosper.

Scheduling, according to Cosper, will fall to local state patrol post sergeants.

“Sergeants will be looking at which areas needed more state patrol presence,” he said. “Obviously the metro Atlanta area would need a higher volume of troopers. Whereas [Gordon County] might not be as busy.”

According to Sgt. Shawn Tucker, commander of state patrol post 47 in Calhoun, the state patrol in Gordon County will continue to maintain a heavy presence during peak travel hours.

“We are looking at the commute schedule, when people are driving to and from work,” Tucker said. “That is when the most crashes occur.”

Tucker said that they are studying traffic patterns and looking to furlough troopers during the travel periods that would be least inconvenient to drivers.

There will still be troopers stationed throughout I-75 in Gordon County, according to Cosper, and there will be no burden placed on the Gordon County sheriff’s department to patrol I-75.

“There will be troopers out there. The interstate is the state patrol’s responsibility,” Cosper said.

Cosper also said that all scheduling would now need to be handled “creatively.”

“It is up to the local sergeant to determine all scheduling,” he said.

After the third furlough day in September the department will re-evaluate the budget.

“Hopefully things will pick up and there will be a bump in revenue,” Cosper said.

The Georgia State Patrol receives no money from tickets issued on the interstate, said Copser. All ticket revenue remains within the county. Georgia State Patrol is funded through the state using tax revenue.

“This is no one’s fault,” he said. “This is just a sign of the economy and we are all hoping it will get better.”

Tucker said that Post 47 is also tracking daily hours to prevent overtime and modifying schedules to prevent overtime. Tucker also said that Post 47 has been fortunate enough not to have to lay off any troopers.

“Everyone is still here,” he said.

Article by Lydia Senn, Calhoun Times

Calhoun Georgia Traffic Ticket

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Budget Cuts Pull Troopers Off Georgia Highways & Interstates

Posted on August 3, 2009 by georgiatrafficlawyer

Fewer state troopers will be patrolling Georgia roads beginning Saturday as the State Patrol beings furloughs that could take each patrolman off their assignment two days a month for the rest of the year.

The small agency — like all state agencies — has had to cut spending as Georgia’s finances have worsened.

While the governor has not approved the Department of Public Safety’s plan for twice-a-month furloughs, Commissioner Bill Hitchens says he has already told troopers they most likely will lose almost 10 percent of their pay starting this month. That also means the agency will reduce patrol deployments.

Some patrol posts are responsible for 15 to two dozen counties but have as few as eight troopers to provide 24-hour coverage.

To compensate for that shortage, for the past two years there have been no troopers driving most of Georgia’s 20,000 miles of roads and interstates in the early morning hours. Twenty of the state’s 48 patrol posts close between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. and don’t reopen until 7 a.m., leaving only an operator to take emergency calls and to rouse an on-call trooper from bed to respond.

“All of this isn’t finalized,” Hitchens, said about the proposal to furlough each trooper two days a month.

Troopers, who earned about $35,000 a year before the cuts, not only patrol rural highways and help with other law enforcement duties in those areas, they also watch for speeding and respond to accidents on interstates around major cities, including the Downtown Connector through Atlanta.

They provide traffic control for large events such as races, fairs and football games as well as security at Georgia and Georgia Tech football games.

“We’re looking at everything,” Hitchens said in an interview Saturday when asked about those special events that sometimes require troopers to travel across the state to work, adding the cost of food and hotels to the expense.

Article by Rhonda Cook, AJC.com

Georgia Traffic Laws

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Many Georgia Towns and Cities Scrapping Red Light Cameras

Posted on July 26, 2009 by georgiatrafficlawyer

Because of its proximity to us and its population concentration, the state of Georgia is a good place to look at trends that will most likely make their way to North Carolina. Or not. Remember the brouhaha we went through a few years ago about red light cameras, the pole-mounted devices that snap a picture of your license plate if you are in the intersection after the light has changed to red? I think we can stop worrying about that trend ever reaching N.C. in large numbers, as Georgia cities are removing the cameras from their “safety” arsenal. In fact, traffic cameras of all kinds are under siege across the country.

Towns and cities all across Georgia are scrapping the programs. Atlanta suburbs Duluth, Lilburn, Norcross, Snellville and Suwanee all have put the program in park while they review the results, or have announced plans to take the cameras down altogether.

Unforeseen drawbacks
For one thing, rear-end collisions increase greatly when red light cameras are in use. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports a 49 percent increase (from 65 to 97) in rear-enders at traffic camera intersections in my hometown of Marietta from 2004-05, when the cameras were installed. The town of Duluth saw a 21 percent increase in accidents, from 75 to 91, between March 2004 and February 2005, as compared with March 2005 and February 2006. In that same time period, accidents in Lilburn increased from 37 to 46, or 24 percent.
Rumors went around that small towns were lowering the number of seconds the light stayed amber to nail more drivers, though none of them have admitted to doing so. Still, in response to citizen complaints, Georgia enacted a state law on Dec. 31, 2008, mandating the yellow phase of the lights last one second longer at every camera-enforced intersection in the state. In January 2008, red light cameras in Lilburn issued almost 1,500 tickets at three intersections. After adding the single second to the yellow light phase, January 2009 saw the number of camera-issued tickets dive to about 300, according to City Manager Bill Johnsa. Snellville’s trio of cameras nailed almost 3,000 drivers in December of 2005. This February saw that number fall to under 500.
Officials of these cities insist the focus was on safety, not revenue generation. But still, now that they are not making money — while presumably still making motorists safe — cities are taking them down.

Other electronic traffic controls in the Southeast are facing tough times, too. In Louisiana, the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Department recently cut ties with Redflex Traffic Systems, citing a series of incidents. Redflex employed a speed camera for the parish, a radar system that takes a picture of — and mails a ticket to — speeders. Back in April, the parish had to give refunds to 2,488 ticketed drivers because the company had set the van up in a place where the speed limit changed from 70 mph to 60.
Following several other incidents, including having the “speeder van” parked illegally on private property, the final straw came when Redflex parked the van on the property of the Carroll Baptist Church in Walker, La. Church officials had the van towed. In a statement, the sheriff’s office said, “It was brought to the attention of sheriff’s officials that improper comments were made to the towing company employees. … Due to a recent series of events regarding Redflex and its representatives, the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office is discontinuing its participation in the parish’s photo enforcement program commonly referred to as ‘the speeder van.’”
The Web site, photoenforced.com/nc.html shows the red light camera locations in the Tar Heel State. So far, they’re all down east, having not made it west of Gaston County. Let’s hope our local leaders take note of these issues with electronic public safety enforcement and do not open that messy can of worms.

Article by Dave Russell, CitizenTimes.com

Georgia Traffic Ticket Defense Lawyer

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Atlanta Ranks Third Nationally In Traffic Congestion

Posted on July 20, 2009 by georgiatrafficlawyer

ATLANTA — If you’re waiting for someone caught in a traffic jam somewhere in Metro Atlanta, you’re not alone. Atlanta now ranks third in the nation in traffic congestion.

Over the years, traffic in Atlanta has gotten more and more congested. In 1982, drivers sat stuck in traffic for just 19 hours each year. By 2000, that number jumped to 60 hours.

In 2007, things got a little better, but we’re still wasting hours and hours parked on the freeway.

Will nearly $1 billion in highway stimulus funds improve things? Don’t hold your breath.

Imagine wasting 57 hours a year sitting in traffic — more than your normal workweek. That was in 2007 when the Texas Transportation Institute did its latest study of Atlanta traffic as part of a nationwide study. It was released Wednesday.

Today it could be a lot worse.

And forget using federal stimulus money to make things better. That money will fix roads, traffic lights and bridges, but it will not improve the traffic flow.

Money for that will have to come from the Georgia Legislature, now working on a plan that will not reach voters until November 2010.

It could include a proposal from the Atlanta Regional Commission, looking to add a penny to the sales tax to jump start traffic improvements with $700 million a year.

An immediate goal, according to ARC director Chick Krautler, will be to divert traffic away from Downtown Atlanta.

I think bypasses of some sort outside of Metro Atlanta to move some of the traffic away from the city are absolutely essential,” Krautler said.

That’s something John Oxendine, a GOP gubernatorial candidate and Georgia Insurance Commissioner, supports.

“A freeway that would take South Georgia traffic, Florida traffic, traffic to and from the Port of Savannah — and let it all bypass through West Georgia and get nowhere near the streets of our city,” he said.

“We are looking at a system of high occupancy toll lanes. We’ve got bottlenecks that have to be fixed like the 400 and 285 interchange and other interchanges throughout the region,” Krautler said.

With transportation and traffic becoming key gubernatorial campaign issues, Roy Barnes, former governor and present Democratic candidate, wants action now.

“We’ve talked about transportation solutions but we never have come together to try and do it. And it has now become an emergency, a crisis,” Barnes said.

All sides agree that it will take a combination of bypasses, toll roads and mass transit to get Atlanta out of the top rankings for most serious traffic congestion. It will also take legislative action to get funding before anything can be improved.

Story from 11Alive.com

Atlanta Traffic Ticket Lawyer

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Florida’s Seat Belt Law Enacted To Save Lives

Posted on July 5, 2009 by georgiatrafficlawyer

Florida has a new law that goes into effect Tuesday of this week. Modeled after Georgia’s Seat Belt law which was enacted in 1996 and has saved thousands of lives, the law, according to the article below, is long overdue.

Beginning Tuesday, not wearing a seat belt can cost you about $100 under a new Florida law that changes enforcement of the state’s law. Officers now can stop people for not wearing a seat belt. Before, motorists could only be cited if they were stopped for another violationThe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that Florida’s primary seat belt law will prevent roughly 1,700 serious auto accident injuries, 140 deaths and save about $408 million in associated costs yearly, Leeper said.

In 2007 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said seat belt usage in Georgia was at 89 percent.

Statistics for the state for 2007, the latest available from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, include:

– Of 1,972 people killed in crashes, 1,201, or 61 percent, of them were not wearing a seat belt.

– Florida’s seat belt usage rate is 81.7 percent, which ranks 31st out of the 50 states.

– Law enforcement officers in Florida issued 311,715 traffic citations for not wearing a seat belt as a secondary traffic offense.

The new measure carries a financial incentive passed by Congress in 2005. That program gives states a one-time federal grant to be spent on highway-related projects if the state adopts a primary enforcement law by June 30. Florida’s potential grant could be $35.5 million.

Some lawmakers had worried it would increase racial profiling. Rep. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville, was among the legislators who voted against the measure.

“I do have an issue with racial profiling not only of blacks but also of brown minorities, and I understand that seat belts save lives,” she said. “But I view this as a primary stop bill, not a primary seat belt law, so let’s call it what it really is.”

Georgia made it legal to pull over motorists solely for not wearing a seat belt effective July 1, 1996, according to Georgia Department of Public Safety spokesman Gordy Wright. It is a non-moving violation and carries a fine of $15.

Before it became a primary enforcement law, Georgia in 1995 had a fatal accident rate of 2.1 percent per 100 million miles traveled, Wright said, or about 1,600 fatalities. By 1999 that had dipped to 1.9 percent per 100 million miles, or about 1,500 fatalities.

“That was despite motor vehicle travel increasing about 5 percent a year,” Wright said. “There were more cars on the road and more drivers, but still the fatal accident rate declined.”

Article by Jessie-Lynne Kerr, Jacksonville. com

Georgia Traffic Laws

Florida Traffic Laws

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Dekalb County Georgia Prosecuters Uncover Traffic Ticket Fixing Scheme

Posted on June 29, 2009 by georgiatrafficlawyer

DECATUR, Ga. – DeKalb County prosecutors say they have uncovered a sophisticated traffic ticket fixing scheme involving three former county employees who used a team of local workers to help attract business.

District Attorney Gwen Keyes Fleming said Thursday that the three former deputy clerks with the county’s recorder’s court face racketeering charges. Five others face charges of making false statements, bribery and other charges.

Fleming said the former deputy clerks would arrange to destroy or dismiss the ticket for a fee of 50 percent of the fine. She said the three also had associates, including two who worked at a local salon, who would help attract business. She said sometimes they were given a 25 percent finder’s fee.

Article from the August Chronicle

Dekalb County Ga Traffic Ticket?

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Georgia Court Throws Out Georgia’s Left Turn Law

Posted on June 15, 2009 by georgiatrafficlawyer

It should seem easy enough to write a law declaring it illegal to make a left-hand turn into the far right-hand lane on a multi-lane road.

But the Georgia Legislature so badly mangled the wording of the law the Georgia Supreme Court on Monday found it “unconstitutionally vague.”

A plain reading of the statute renders two “diametrically opposite interpretations,” Justice Carol Hunstein wrote. A person of “common intelligence” cannot determine with reasonable certainty that the law prohibits making a left-hand turn into the right lane of a multi-lane roadway, the ruling said.

Until the Legislature meets next year and fixes the law, police cannot longer hand out tickets to motorists who make the improper turn.

The court ruling was a legal victory for Todd Christopher McNair of Whitfield County. In 2007, he was arrested by Dalton police for DUI, obstruction of a police officer and making an improper left-hand turn. McNair should have turned into the left-hand lane, not the right-hand lane of the roadway, police said.

At trial, McNair was acquitted of DUI and obstruction but convicted of the improper turn. He was fined $500, given a year’s probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. He also was sentenced to four months in jail for a probation violation.

Benjamin Goldberg, a Whitfield County public defender, said when he first read the statute he couldn’t believe it — or comprehend it.

“It was jibberish,” Goldberg said. “It was like reading another language.”

The law starts out well enough, clearly instructing drivers to be in the far left-hand lane of the ongoing traffic before making a left turn.

But then the statute becomes indecipherable: “Whenever practicable, the left turn shall be made to the left of the center of the intersection and so as to leave the intersection or other location in the extreme left-hand lane lawfully available to traffic moving in the same direction as such vehicle on the roadway being entered.”

Goldberg said even attorneys have a hard enough time interpreting some state laws. But this one, he said, was off the charts.

Article by Bill Rankin, Atlanta Journal Constitution

Georgia Traffic Laws

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Georgia “Super Speeder” Fines On Hold Until Jan1.

Posted on June 8, 2009 by georgiatrafficlawyer

Pricier driver’s license reinstatement fees go into effect July 1, but the extra $200 fines for Georgia’s “super speeders” won’t be charged until early next year.

When the new fines, recently approved by the Georgia Legislature, take effect, they won’t be paid with the rest of the traffic ticket. They’ll be collected separately, with notification often coming weeks after the court date for the ticket, when the usual fine still must be paid.

These super-speeder fines will kick in for drivers caught traveling more than 75 mph on two-lane roads or 85 mph on any road. It’s part of an effort to raise money for Georgia’s trauma network, the system of emergency rooms and ambulance services called upon for the worst accident injuries.

State leaders hope a public subsidy will convince hospitals to keep their high-cost emergency operations running and that eventually new services can shorten the time it takes to get rural patients to a trauma center.

Though law enforcement likely will tell motorists about the increased fines, formal notice will come from the state’s Department of Driver Services. The DDS will have to wait for local officials to send it notice of the ticket, which is supposed to be done within 10 days of the ticket being paid or a court conviction, DDS spokeswoman Susan Sports said

Then the department has 30 days to notify the driver of the additional fine by mail, and the driver has 90 days to pay it. If the fine isn’t paid by then, the driver’s license will be suspended, Sports said.

“Please keep your address current,” Sports said.

The new speeding fines and increased fees to reinstate a suspended license are expected to generate about $23 million a year.

The speeding fines won’t be implemented until Jan. 1 because the state must print new traffic tickets, adding a box to indicate whether the ticket was written on a two-lane road or a larger highway, Sports said.

Even though the money won’t start flowing for a while, the state is expected to give the appointed commission in charge of spending it an advance to dole out to hospitals and ambulance services, said Dennis Ashley, who heads up The Medical Center of Central Georgia’s trauma program and is chairman of the state trauma commission.

The commission already has split up about $59 million in state dollars, spreading it among existing hospitals and EMS providers last year. Eventually, supporters would like to see upward of $80 million doled out each year, though so far Gov. Sonny Perdue’s super-speeder program has been the only fundraising effort that legislators have agreed to.

The commission, which met Thursday in Macon, is considering several potential uses for the super-speeder money. The state’s EMS and trauma office, which sets emergency care standards and inspects ambulance services, is “woefully understaffed,” according to a recent study by the American College of Surgeons, Ashley said. Commission members are talking about a statewide transfer system to triage patients across the state, making sure they’re sent to the correct hospital, he said.

In some ways the commission is still in startup mode. Members spent some of last week’s meeting talking about designs for a logo, which would be turned into a decal that can be placed on ambulances for which the commission approves funding. They also talked about hiring a company to build the commission’s Web site.

Ashley said the commission will try to keep costs for this kind of thing to a minimum. He said the commission wants to mark the ambulances it funds, though, since they’re being allocated on a county-by-county basis and need to be tracked.

The commission approved funding for 56 new ambulances last year for rural counties.

Some ambulances in those areas had 350,000 miles on them, Ashley said.

Article by Travis Fain, Macon.com

Georgia Super Speeder Lawyer

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