ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / NEWS

Georgia man gets $1.4 million speeding ticket for going 35 mph over the limit, and it wasn't a mistake

In Georgia, the maximum fine for traffic violations and misdemeanor was $1,000 and $5,000 in cases of aggravated misdemeanor
PUBLISHED SEP 29, 2024
Cover Image Source: Getty Images / LifestyleVisuals (Representative)
Cover Image Source: Getty Images / LifestyleVisuals (Representative)

A Georgia man was handed a speeding ticket for a whopping $1.4 million for going 90 mph in a 55 mph zone. Connor Cato of Chatham County was shocked to see the amount so he double-checked with the officials. However, he was told that it wasn't a mistake and he needed to appear in court in the next couple of months. 

Road radar with a camera measures and signals high speed | Getty Images | stock photo
Road radar with a camera measures and signals high speed | Getty Images

In the incident from last year, Cato told WSAV-TV in Savannah that he received the citation in September after getting pulled over by the Georgia State Patrol for speeding. He said he knew he was going to get a super speeding ticket, but could never imagine that it would be over a million dollars. 



 

Cato called the court hoping that it would be a typo or an error. However, a woman on the phone told him that it wasn't a mistake and he would need to appear in court two months later in December. 

Cato then contacted criminal defense attorney Sneh Patel, who told the news outlet that he had never seen anything like this before.



 

Patel claimed that in the state of Georgia, the maximum fine for traffic violations and misdemeanors was $1,000. In cases of aggravated misdemeanor, the fine could be $5,000 and the bond could go up to $10,000, but never $1.4 million. 

In response to WSAV's request, the City of Savannah explained that the fine was an e-citation, generated by the system automatically. It wasn't an actual fine but just a "place holder" for the offender as cases of super speeding require a mandatory court appearance.

Speed Camera | Getty Images | Stock photo
Speed Camera | Getty Images 

The officials explained that the system automatically places $999,999.99 as the base amount plus other costs and the only way to resolve the hefty ticket is to appear in court. The response added that the practice had been in place since 2017.

The city clarified that the placeholder wasn't meant to scare people into court, and the programmers used the largest possible number only to aid the requirement. 

Photo illustration a close up shot of judge banging the gavel for silence at court | Getty Images | Stock Photo
Photo illustration a close up shot of judge banging the gavel for silence at court | Getty Images

Thus, the $1.4 million ticket wasn't an actual fine but just a way to make sure that Cato appeared in court where the judge would determine the actual amount. 

Joshua Peacock, a spokesman for Savannah’s city government clarified to the Associated Press that the actual fine could not exceed $1,000 in addition to the state-mandated costs. 



 

He added that after Cato's case, the court was working on adjusting the "placeholder language" of the system to avoid confusion in the future.  

While Cato's case was eventually resolved, earlier this year, residents of Wales became victims of a scam after being framed for false speeding tickets. In what is dubbed as the "Nip Farm Scam", fraudsters in England and Wales, sold innocent people's details to drivers who pin their traffic violations on others to avoid punishment.



 

In the scam, victims often end up facing penalties without their knowledge and land in court. While officials have arrested drivers who tried to pin their violations on others, the providers of drivers' information, remain at large, as per Wales Online.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
The guest had no idea whose face was engraved on the top of the box and how much it cost.
13 hours ago
The young entrepreneur saw a common problem kids his age faced and came up with an invention.
14 hours ago
It was a gift from the father of his first client to whom he had sold a condo.
18 hours ago
The singer wanted to celebrate his journey by sending fans to the place linked to his early days.
18 hours ago
Wait till you hear the list of weird prizes that 'Price is Right' gave in the '50s.
1 day ago
The bottled water from the popular retailer has nanoplastic particles more than the firm's limits.
1 day ago
Most of the sharks had concerns about water pressure even though the product impressed them.
1 day ago
The host wanted to be sure about the signature that added a lot of value to the doll and the cards.
2 days ago
The incident took place on a busy Friday night and the staff failed to keep track of the group.
2 days ago
Some users also told her to just sell the car back and take cash for it instead of just paying taxes.
3 days ago
The man was initially convinced that there was a gold nugget inside the rock but he just couldn't crack it.
3 days ago
The question may not have been suggestive but fans read between the lines and interpreted it their way.
3 days ago
Sajak acknowledged that his farewell was robbing the players of time and winning opportunities.
3 days ago
The user finally decided to spend what he found on a camera and still had $500 left.
3 days ago
The guest made it clear that he intended to hold on to the precious instrument for life.
4 days ago
The priest could've won the game if he hadn't failed to guess answers based on Bible clues.
5 days ago
The guest's children called it ugly but she held on to it as it made her feel at peace.
6 days ago
The contestant decided to do something different for the third slot and that backfired.
6 days ago
Charli and her sister were called out for being out of touch with the everyday reality of workers.
6 days ago
Former Amazon workers also commented giving further clarity about the meaning of the label.
7 days ago