State lawmakers will consider closing a loophole that allows thousands of offenders to avoid fines if they violate Georgia’s distracted driving law.
Three years ago, Georgia prohibited motorists from holding cellphones while driving. But, under the law, the charges must be dropped if first offenders bring a receipt for a hands-free driving device to court.
Rep. John Carson, R-Marietta, who sponsored the distracted driving law three years ago, wants to eliminate that provision. Though traffic fatalities have fallen in recent years, they have risen amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s time to close this loophole and save more lives,” Carson said at a press conference Tuesday at the Georgia Capitol.
The General Assembly approved the Hands-Free Georgia Act in 2018. It prohibits motorists from handling phones or other electronic devices while driving. A first offense costs up to $50 and one point on your driver’s license (motorists who accumulate 15 points in a 24-month period lose their license). A second offense costs up to $100 and two points, and a third costs up to $150 and three points.
The bill was a tough sell for lawmakers inclined to favor personal liberty over government mandates. One thing that helped secure its passage: the loophole Carson now wants to eliminate.
Lawmakers call it the “get out of jail free card.” First offenders can buy a cellphone dash mount or other hands-free device after they’ve been cited and bring the device or a receipt to court. When they do, judges must drop the charges.
The idea was to allow offenders to demonstrate they plan to comply with the hands-free law in the future. It also assured lawmakers the law was intended to improve traffic safety, not generate revenue from traffic tickets.
There’s no way to know how many people have taken advantage of the provision. Many local courts don’t track its use or share the information with each other. But nearly 7,500 hands-free citations were dismissed in 2019 in Atlanta alone — nearly all of them because the offenders brought a receipt to court.
The same lack of tracking makes the provision vulnerable to abuse. It’s only available to first offenders, and those who use it must sign a sworn statement saying they’ve never been charged with the same offense before. But because the charges are dropped once they present a receipt in court, prosecutors say it’s difficult to know whether someone using the provision has been cited before.
“There is no way to enforce that,” Cobb County Solicitor General Barry Morgan said at Tuesday’s press conference.
Carson’s House Bill 247 would eliminate the “get out of jail free card.” It has the support of professional associations representing local solicitors, district attorneys and police chiefs. It also has the support of several House committee chairmen. But its prospects are uncertain.
Last year Carson proposed a bill that eliminated the loophole but also doubled the fines for offenses. The bill got a skeptical reception from lawmakers and did not pass.
Carson’s new bill would not increase the fines, though it would eliminate judges’ ability to impose lower fines. For example, a first offense would cost $50 under HB 247. Under the current law, $50 is the maximum fine judges can impose.
“Right now we just want to have a good bill that passes,” Carson said.
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