HB 409 - Law enforce veh; pursuing suspect; death or injury to third party
Georgia House of Representatives - 1995/1996 Sessions
HB 409 - Law enforce veh; pursuing suspect; death or injury to third party
Page Numbers - 1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5
Code Sections - 40-6-6
1. Twiggs 8th
House Comm: PubS / Senate Comm: Judy /
House Vote: Yeas 106 Nays 0 Senate Vote: Yeas 53 Nays 0
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House Action Senate
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1/26/95 Read 1st Time 3/1/95
1/27/95 Read 2nd Time 3/14/95
2/8/95 Favorably Reported 3/14/95
Committee Amend/Sub Sub
2/28/95 Read 3rd Time 3/15/95
2/28/95 Passed/Adopted 3/15/95
FS Comm/Floor Amend/Sub CS
3/17/95 Amend/Sub Disagreed To
Recedes 3/17/95
3/23/95 Sent to Governor
4/19/95 Signed by Governor
395 Act/Veto Number
5/1/95 Effective Date
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Postponed by the House 2/15/95
Code Sections amended: 40-6-6
HB 409 LC 10 1362S
The House Committee on Special Judiciary offers the
following substitute to HB 457:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1- 1 To amend Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
1- 2 relating to motor vehicles and traffic, so as to specify the
1- 3 conditions under which a pursuing law enforcement officer
1- 4 may be found to have contributed to the causation of
1- 5 damages, injury, or death caused by a fleeing suspect; to
1- 6 change certain penalty provisions applicable to the offense
1- 7 of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer; to
1- 8 provide for the mandatory nature of certain penalty
1- 9 provisions; to provide for related matters; to provide an
1-10 effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
1-11 purposes.
1-12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
1-13 Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
1-14 to motor vehicles and traffic, is amended by striking in its
1-15 entirety Code Section 40-6-6, relating to the operation of
1-16 authorized emergency vehicles and law enforcement vehicles,
1-17 and inserting in lieu thereof a new Code Section 40-6-6 to
1-18 read as follows:
1-19 "40-6-6. (Index)
1-20 (a) The driver of an authorized emergency vehicle or law
1-21 enforcement vehicle, when responding to an emergency call,
1-22 or when in the pursuit of an actual or suspected violator
1-23 of the law, or when responding to but not upon returning
1-24 from a fire alarm, may exercise the privileges set forth
1-25 in this Code section.
1-26 (b) The driver of an authorized emergency vehicle or law
1-27 enforcement vehicle may:
1-28 (1) Park or stand, irrespective of the provisions of
1-29 this chapter;
1-30 (2) Proceed past a red or stop signal or stop sign, but
1-31 only after slowing down as may be necessary for safe
1-32 operation;
-1- (Index)
LC 10 1362S
2- 1 (3) Exceed the maximum speed limits so long as he or she
2- 2 does not endanger life or property; and
2- 3 (4) Disregard regulations governing direction of
2- 4 movement or turning in specified directions.
2- 5 (c) The exceptions granted by this Code section to an
2- 6 authorized emergency vehicle shall apply only when such
2- 7 vehicle is making use of an audible signal and use of a
2- 8 flashing or revolving red light visible under normal
2- 9 atmospheric conditions from a distance of 500 feet to the
2-10 front of such vehicle, except that a vehicle belonging to
2-11 a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency and
2-12 operated as such shall be making use of an audible signal
2-13 and a flashing or revolving blue light with the same
2-14 visibility to the front of the vehicle.
2-15 (d)(1) The foregoing provisions shall not relieve the
2-16 driver of an authorized emergency vehicle from the duty
2-17 to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons.
2-18 (2) When a law enforcement officer in a law enforcement
2-19 vehicle is pursuing a fleeing suspect in another vehicle
2-20 and the fleeing suspect damages any property or injures
2-21 or kills any person during the pursuit, the law
2-22 enforcement officer's pursuit shall not be the proximate
2-23 cause or a contributing proximate cause of the damage,
2-24 injury, or death caused by the fleeing suspect unless
2-25 the law enforcement officer acted with negligent
2-26 disregard for proper law enforcement procedures in the
2-27 officer's decision to initiate or continue the pursuit.
2-28 Where such negligent disregard exists, the pursuit may
2-29 be found to constitute a proximate cause of the damage,
2-30 injury, or death caused by the fleeing suspect, but the
2-31 existence of such negligent disregard shall not in and
2-32 of itself establish causation.
2-33 (3) The provisions of this subsection shall apply only
2-34 to issues of causation and duty and shall not affect the
2-35 existence or absence of immunity which shall be
2-36 determined as otherwise provided by law.
2-37 (e) It shall be unlawful for any person to operate an
2-38 authorized emergency vehicle with flashing lights other
2-39 than as authorized by subsection (c) of this Code
2-40 section."
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LC 10 1362S
SECTION 2.
3- 1 Said title is further amended by striking in its entirety
3- 2 subsection (b) of Code Section 40-6-395, relating to the
3- 3 offense of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer,
3- 4 and inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection (b) to read
3- 5 as follows:
3- 6 "(b)(1) Any person violating the provisions of
3- 7 subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a
3- 8 high and aggravated misdemeanor and:
3- 9 (A) Upon conviction shall be fined not less than
3-10 $300.00 $500.00 nor more than $5,000.00, which fine
3-11 shall not be subject to suspension, stay, or probation
3-12 or and imprisoned for up to 12 months, or both not
3-13 less than ten days nor more than 12 months. Any
3-14 period of such imprisonment in excess of ten days may,
3-15 in the sole discretion of the judge, be suspended,
3-16 stayed, or probated;
3-17 (B) Upon the second conviction within a five-year
3-18 ten-year period of time, as measured from the dates of
3-19 previous arrests for which convictions were obtained
3-20 to the date of the current arrest for which a
3-21 conviction is obtained, shall be fined not less than
3-22 $600.00 $1,000.00 nor more than $5,000.00, which fine
3-23 shall not be subject to suspension, stay, or probation
3-24 or and imprisoned for up to 12 months, or both not
3-25 less than 30 days nor more than 12 months. Any period
3-26 of such imprisonment in excess of 30 days may, in the
3-27 sole discretion of the judge, be suspended, stayed, or
3-28 probated; and for purposes of this paragraph, previous
3-29 pleas of nolo contendere accepted within such
3-30 five-year ten-year period shall constitute
3-31 convictions; and
3-32 (C) Upon the third or subsequent conviction within a
3-33 five-year ten-year period of time, as measured from
3-34 the dates of previous arrests for which convictions
3-35 were obtained to the date of the current arrest for
3-36 which a conviction is obtained, shall be fined not
3-37 less than $1,000.00 $2,500.00 nor more than $5,000.00,
3-38 which fine shall not be subject to suspension, stay,
3-39 or probation or and imprisoned for up to 12 months, orboth not less than 90 days nor more than 12 months.
3-41 Any period of such imprisonment in excess of 90 days
3-42 may, in the sole discretion of the judge, be
-3- (Index)
LC 10 1362S
4- 1 suspended, stayed, or probated; and for purposes of
4- 2 this paragraph, previous pleas of nolo contendere
4- 3 accepted within such five-year ten-year period shall
4- 4 constitute convictions.
4- 5 (2) For the purpose of imposing a sentence under this
4- 6 subsection, a plea of nolo contendere shall constitute a
4- 7 conviction.
4- 8 (3) If the payment of the fine required under paragraph
4- 9 (1) of this subsection will impose an economic hardship
4-10 on the defendant, the judge, at his or her sole
4-11 discretion, may order the defendant to pay such fine in
4-12 installments and such order may be enforced through a
4-13 contempt proceeding or a revocation of any probation
4-14 otherwise authorized by this subsection.
4-15 (4) Notwithstanding the limits set forth in any
4-16 municipal charter, any municipal court of any
4-17 municipality shall be authorized to impose the
4-18 punishments provided for in this subsection upon a
4-19 conviction of violating this subsection or upon
4-20 conviction of violating any ordinance adopting the
4-21 provisions of this subsection.
4-22 (5)(A) Any person violating the provisions of
4-23 subsection (a) of this Code section and, who, while
4-24 fleeing or attempting to elude a pursuing police
4-25 vehicle or police officer in an attempt to escape
4-26 arrest for a felony offense other than a violation of
4-27 this chapter, operates his or her vehicle in excess of
4-28 30 miles an hour above the posted speed limit, strikes
4-29 or collides with another vehicle or a pedestrian,
4-30 flees in traffic conditions which place the general
4-31 public at risk of receiving serious injuries, or
4-32 leaves the state shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a
4-33 high and aggravated nature felony punishable by a fine
4-34 of $5,000.00 and imprisonment for not less than one
4-35 year nor more than five years.
4-36 (B) Following adjudication of guilt or imposition of
4-37 sentence for a violation of subparagraph (A) of this
4-38 paragraph, the sentence shall not be suspended,
4-39 probated, deferred, or withheld, and the charge shall
4-40 not be reduced to a lesser offense, merged with any
4-41 other offense, or served concurrently with any other
4-42 offense."
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LC 10 1362S
SECTION 3.
5- 1 This Act shall become effective on May 1, 1995.
SECTION 4.
5- 2 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are
5- 3 repealed.
-5- (Index)
Office of the Clerk of the House
Robert E. Rivers, Jr., Clerk of the House
Last Updated on 01/02/97