Admissibility of Traffic Ticket in Georgia

Assume you are stopped at a red light. The driver behind you hits your car. You are injured. The police come to the scene and issue a citation to the defendant for following too closely. Is the citation admissible as evidence of negligence if the personal injury case goes to trial? As with many legal issues, the answer is: it depends!

The issuance of the citation itself is not necessarily relevant or admissible. Admissibility depends on what happens after the citation is issued; and specifically, whether there is an admission of guilt. If the defendant pays the the fine, that in and of itself is not admissible. Howard v. Lay, 259 Ga.App. 391, 392 (2003). “We have consistently held inadmissible evidence of any traffic court initiation or disposition of a case against the parties to a collision unless the party has entered a guilty plead in traffic court, thereby admitting liability.” Eubanks v. Waldron, 263 Ga.App. 75 (Sept. 5, 2023).

However, if a defendant is cited for a traffic violation, posts a cash bond, and fails to appear in court, “such failure shall be construed as an admission of guilty and the cash bond may be forfeited.” That admission creates a prima facie showing of negligence. See: O.C.G.A. 40-13-58. See also: Coleman v. Fortner, 260 Ga.App. 373 (2003).

What if the defendant pays the fine and fails to appear in court on the date stated on the ticket? In Burnette v. Brown, 272 Ga.App. 383 (Feb. 16, 2005), the defendant driver was cited for failure to maintain lane. She did not appear in court for the hearing on the traffic citation and her husband paid the ticket. The Court found no error in the trial court allowing such evidence to be considered by the jury as an admission against interest. Essentially, because the defendant failed to appear before the court for her traffic citation and did not “take any other action to contest the citation”, it was admissible as to negligence. But see: Howard v. Lay, 259 Ga.App. 391 (2003) (tortfeasor unconscious and did not find out about the citation or that it had been paid until 18 months after the wreck).

Based on the jurisprudence, whether or not a traffic citation is admissible in a subsequent civil action can be summarized as follows:

• Defendant pays fine after pleading not guilty, nolo contendere, or being adjudicated guilty = not admissible. Waszczak v. City of Warner Robins, 221 Ga.App. 528 (1996).
• Defendant admits he failed to appear at the traffic citation hearing = Can be used to establish negligence per se. Roberts v. Ledbetter, 218 Ga.App. 860 (1995).
• Defendant admits he failed to appear in court on the citation and forfeited his cash fine = admissible. Robert v. Ledbetter, 218 Ga.App. 860 (1995).
• Defendant pays a fine on a citation and fails to appear in court on a citation = The party’s failure to appear is deemed an admission of guilt, and this admission may be used in a civil action as an admission against interest to establish negligence. Agic v. MARTA, 334 Ga.App. 679 (Nov. 18, 2015)(Paying a fine on a citation and not appearing in court equivalent to a cash bond forfeiture).

If you have been injured as the result of a driver that was cited for violating the law, contact The Hamilton Firm for a free consultation.