While Howard suggests taking a defensive driving school, or raising your policy’s deductible in order to bring your policy’s rates back down, the most effective option is to limit you’re your insurance company sees in the first place.  Under Georgia law, traffic courts only transmit the final disposition of your case to the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS), which is the agency insurance companies pull their information from.  Therefore, hiring an attorney to defend your charges and navigate you through the local court system is always the smartest option in dealing with a traffic citation’s impact on your driving record and insurance rates.

For example, if you are pulled over for speeding at 86 mph in a 55 mph zone, like much of I-285, your insurance company will see the actual speed reported to DDS (86/55) and will see that you were assessed four points for the violation under Georgia law.  Even if you enter a “no contest,” or nolo contendre plea, insurance will still see your actual speed (86/55) and likely raise your rates on this fact alone, even though Georgia DDS will not assess you the points if it’s your first no contest plea in the past five years.  Having an attorney defend your case can often times result in a reduction of the actual speed transmitted to Georgia DDS.  Even if your attorney is able to secure a smaller reduction in your reported speed, say 75 mph in a 55 mph, it will still save you points and insurance money in the long run.  Any speeding citations reduced to less than 15 mph over the posted speed limit will not be transmitted to Georgia DDS at all, effectively saving you from insurance even knowing that you received the citation.  Your most cost effective option in handling a traffic citation in Georgia will almost always be to pay for a competent attorney up front to do everything possible to save you from paying out in the long run in increased insurance rates.

Answer:  I’m sure that many people ask themselves the same questions.  You should get the best lawyer you can afford to represent you and do it as soon as possible, since your license may be suspended if you do not ask for a hearing within ten business days from the date of your arrest.   I would not represent myself if I were to be arrested for DUI as there are things a lawyer can do for you that you can not do for yourself, and if you try to do things for yourself, remember that everything you say will be used against you.  The old saying, “a person who represents himself has a fool for a client”, comes to mind and it is true.

Answer: You are assuming that you know the law and whether or not the officer did everything that he should have done when arresting you. The most important thing to remember is that the burden of proof is on the state, not you. An experienced DUI attorney can review your case and determine whether or not you have a good defense and if the state can prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. There are strict legal requirements that the state must meet in order to prove you guilty. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that they can do it all. There are some very good legal challenges to field sobriety tests and breath testing equipment. A good DUI lawyer will know these and be able to help you defend your case.