2021 Georgia Code
Title 40 - Motor Vehicles and Traffic
Chapter 5 - Drivers' Licenses
Article 3 - Cancellation, Suspension, and Revocation of Licenses
§ 40-5-51. Suspension of Driving Privilege of Nonresident; Reporting Convictions, Suspensions, and Revocations of Nonresidents

1. The privilege of driving a motor vehicle on the highways of this state given to a nonresident under this chapter shall be subject to suspension or revocation by the department only when suspension or revocation is required by law for the violation. No points shall be assessed as provided in Code Section 40-5-57 for any violation committed by a nonresident.
2. The department is required, upon receiving a record of the conviction in this state of a nonresident driver of a motor vehicle of any offense, to forward a certified copy of such record to the motor vehicle administrator in the state wherein the person so convicted is a resident.
3. When a nonresident's operating privilege is suspended or revoked, the department shall forward a certified copy of the record of such action to the motor vehicle administrator in the state wherein such person resides.

(Code 1933, § 68B-302, enacted by Ga. L. 1975, p. 1008, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 4; Ga. L. 2004, p. 749, § 6.)

- Jurisdiction of state over persons temporarily traveling in state, § 50-2-21.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Failure to comply with reporting requirements.

- Any failure by the Department of Transportation in complying with the reporting requirements of O.C.G.A. § 40-5-51 pertaining to suspension or revocation of operating privileges of nonresident motorists did not diminish the fact that former O.C.G.A. § 40-5-55(c), in effect at the time of the offense, evoked procedures at the time of defendant's arrest for immediate suspension of any person's driving privileges upon refusal to submit to the chemical test prescribed by O.C.G.A. § 40-5-55(a); consequently, since the trial transcript revealed that the deputy advised defendant at the time of arrest of defendant's options pursuant to Georgia's implied consent law, there was no basis for excluding evidence of the results of the state-administered breath test. Anthony v. State, 211 Ga. App. 622, 441 S.E.2d 70 (1993), overruled on other grounds, State v. Coleman, 216 Ga. App. 598, 455 S.E.2d 604 (1995).

- Police officer's warning to nonresident defendant that "Under OCGA §§ 40-5-55 and40-5-153, you will lose your privilege to operate a motor vehicle from six to twelve months should you refuse to submit to the designated State administered chemical test" omitted the crucial fact that refusal to take the test would affect defendant's ability to drive "on the highways of this state." Thus, the defendant was deprived of making an informed choice, and the test results were inadmissible; overruling, Anthony v. State, 211 Ga. App. 622, 441 S.E.2d 70 (1993) and State v. Reich, 210 Ga. App. 407, 436 S.E.2d 703 (1993). State v. Coleman, 216 Ga. App. 598, 455 S.E.2d 604 (1995).

- Arresting officer's incorrect statement to a motorist arrested for DUI that the motorist's Florida driver's license would be suspended "for one year tonight" upon the motorist's refusal to submit to chemical tests was harmless since the driver had refused to take the tests before the officer made the incorrect statement. Rojas v. State, 235 Ga. App. 524, 509 S.E.2d 72 (1998).

- Even if a defendant's speeding conviction were affirmed, O.C.G.A. § 40-5-51(a) provided that no points were to be assessed for any violation committed by a non-resident; accordingly, even if the conviction had been proper, the trial court erred in ordering the defendant to surrender the defendant's Texas driver's license. In the Interest of R.G., 272 Ga. App. 276, 612 S.E.2d 94 (2005).

Cited in Hale v. State, 188 Ga. App. 524, 373 S.E.2d 250 (1988); Smith v. State, 338 Ga. App. 635, 791 S.E.2d 418 (2016).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Forwarding of records upon conviction for driving under the influence.

- Georgia law requires that when non-resident is convicted of driving under the influence the court forward the nonresident's driver's license to the Georgia Department of Public Safety, with the license to be forwarded to the non-resident's home state along with the record of conviction and record of any action taken by the Department of Public Safety. 1986 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U86-15.

Georgia law requires that when a non-resident person is charged with driving under the influence the arresting officer is to take the driver's license, attach it to the court's copy of the citation, and forward it to the appropriate court, as would be done with a Georgia driver. 1986 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U86-16.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

C.J.S.

- 60 C.J.S., Motor Vehicles, § 355.