A motorcyclist traveling 172 mph was too fast to catch, Sandy Springs police said.
If police had been able to stop the motorcycle Saturday, April 11, the rider would’ve gone to jail, said Sandy Springs public information officer Sgt. Sal Ortega.
“Our officer didn’t have a chance to catch him,” Ortega said. “Those speeds, that’s an arrest. Your talking about reckless driving.”
Speeding of all sorts has been a problem since people began to shelter in place to help stop the coronavirus outbreak and traffic lessened. There has been an increase in super speeders taking advantage of the open roads. Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul recently compared the excessive speeds on Ga. 400 and I-285 to a NASCAR event. It has been mostly speeding cars, however, not motorcycles, Ortega said.
Sandy Springs Police jurisdiction along Ga. 400 runs from just after Lenox Road (Exit 2) to just before Holcomb Bridge Road (Exit 7).
Sandy Springs Police track a motorcyclist traveling 172 mph
Generally, speeders traveling over 100 mph are arrested, but police officers have been using discretion in making arrests during the public health emergency. The driver could be ticketed with a pending court date. “Now it’s on a case-by-case basis,” Ortega said.
Drivers are in violation of Georgia’s Super Speeder law when traveling 85 mph on the highway or 75 mph on any other type of road, according to the Georgia Department of Driver Services.
Super speeders found guilty in Sandy Springs have to pay a $200 fee to the state in addition to the municipal court fine. “You get a super speeder that goes to court, and Sandy Springs wants to collect $500 for their fine; because of the super speeder law, they have to pay an extra $200,” Ortega said.
The $200 fine is added to state general funds used for trauma care, he said.
