§ 17-6-11 - Display of driver's license for violation of traffic, motor vehicle, motor common carrier, motor contract carrier, or road tax on motor carrier laws in lieu of bail, recognizance, or inc - Georgia Statutes

O.C.G.A. 17-6-11 (2010)
17-6-11. Display of driver's license for violation of traffic, motor vehicle, motor common carrier, motor contract carrier, or road tax on motor carrier laws in lieu of bail, recognizance, or incarceration; suspension of license; organ donation; arrest; seizure of license

(a) Any other laws to the contrary notwithstanding, any person who is apprehended by an officer for the violation of the laws of this state or ordinances relating to: (1) traffic, including any offense under Code Section 40-5-72 or 40-6-10, but excepting any other offense for which a license may be suspended for a first offense by the commissioner of driver services, any offense covered under Code Section 40-5-54, or any offense covered under Article 15 of Chapter 6 of Title 40; (2) the licensing and registration of motor vehicles and operators; (3) the width, height, and length of vehicles and loads; (4) motor common carriers and motor contract carriers; or (5) road taxes on motor carriers as provided in Article 2 of Chapter 9 of Title 48 upon being served with the official summons issued by such apprehending officer, in lieu of being immediately brought before the proper magistrate, recorder, or other judicial officer to enter into a formal recognizance or make direct the deposit of a proper sum of money in lieu of a recognizance ordering incarceration, may display his or her driver's license to the apprehending officer in lieu of bail, in lieu of entering into a recognizance for his or her appearance for trial as set in the aforesaid summons, or in lieu of being incarcerated by the apprehending officer and held for further action by the appropriate judicial officer. The apprehending officer shall note the driver's license number on the official summons. The summons duly served as provided in this Code section shall give the judicial officer jurisdiction to dispose of the matter.

(b) Upon display of the driver's license, the apprehending officer shall release the person so charged for his or her further appearance before the proper judicial officer as required by the summons. The court in which the charges are lodged shall immediately forward to the Department of Driver Services of this state the driver's license number if the person fails to appear and answer to the charge against him or her. The commissioner of driver services shall, upon receipt of a license number forwarded by the court, suspend the driver's license and driving privilege of the defaulting person until notified by the court that the charge against the person has been finally adjudicated. Such person's license shall be reinstated if the person submits proof of payment of the fine from the court of jurisdiction and pays to the Department of Driver Services a restoration fee of $50.00 or $25.00 when such reinstatement is processed by mail.

(b.1) It shall be the duty of a law enforcement officer or emergency medical technician responding to the scene of any motor vehicle accident or other accident involving a fatal injury to examine immediately the driver's license of the victim to determine the victim's wishes concerning organ donation. If the victim has indicated that he or she wishes to be an organ donor, it shall be the duty of such law enforcement officer or emergency medical technician to take appropriate action to ensure, if possible, that the victim's organs shall not be imperiled by delay in verification by the donor's next of kin.

(c) Nothing in this Code section bars any law enforcement officer from arresting or from seizing the driver's license of any individual possessing a fraudulent license or a suspended license or operating a motor vehicle while his or her license is suspended, outside the scope of a driving permit, or without a license.

(d) The commissioner of driver services shall be authorized to promulgate reasonable rules and regulations to carry out the purposes of this Code section and to establish agreements with other states whereby a valid license from that state may be accepted for purposes of this Code section.