2022 Georgia Code
Title 40 - Motor Vehicles and Traffic
Chapter 6 - Uniform Rules of the Road
Article 15 - Serious Traffic Offenses
§ 40-6-395. Fleeing or Attempting to Elude Police Officer; Impersonating Law Enforcement Officer

1. It shall be unlawful for any driver of a vehicle willfully to fail or refuse to bring his or her vehicle to a stop or otherwise to flee or attempt to elude a pursuing police vehicle or police officer when given a visual or an audible signal to bring the vehicle to a stop. The signal given by the police officer may be by hand, voice, emergency light, or siren. The officer giving such signal shall be in uniform prominently displaying his or her badge of office, and his or her vehicle shall be appropriately marked showing it to be an official police vehicle.
2. 1. Any person convicted of violating the provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section upon a first, second, or third conviction thereof shall be guilty of a high and aggravated misdemeanor and upon a fourth or subsequent conviction thereof shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished as follows:
      1. Upon the first conviction shall be fined not less than $1,000.00 nor more than $5,000.00, and the fine shall not be subject to suspension, stay, or probation, and imprisoned for not less than 30 days nor more than 12 months. Any period of such imprisonment in excess of 30 days may, in the sole discretion of the judge, be suspended, stayed, or probated;
      2. Upon the second conviction within a ten-year period of time, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction is obtained, shall be fined not less than $2,500.00 nor more than $5,000.00, and the fine shall not be subject to suspension, stay, or probation, and imprisoned for not less than 90 days nor more than 12 months. Any period of such imprisonment in excess of 90 days may, in the sole discretion of the judge, be suspended, stayed, or probated; and for purposes of this paragraph, previous pleas of nolo contendere accepted within such ten-year period shall constitute convictions;
      3. Upon the third conviction within a ten-year period of time, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction is obtained, shall be fined not less than $4,000.00 nor more than $5,000.00, and the fine shall not be subject to suspension, stay, or probation, and imprisoned for not less than 180 days nor more than 12 months. Any period of such imprisonment in excess of 180 days may, in the sole discretion of the judge, be suspended, stayed, or probated; and for purposes of this paragraph, previous pleas of nolo contendere accepted within such ten-year period shall constitute convictions; and
      4. Upon the fourth or subsequent conviction within a ten-year period of time, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction is obtained, shall be fined not less than $5,000.00 nor more than $10,000.00 and imprisoned for not less than 12 months nor more than ten years.
   2. For the purpose of imposing a sentence under this subsection, a plea of nolo contendere shall constitute a conviction.
   3. If the payment of the fine required under subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (1) of this subsection will impose an economic hardship on the defendant, the judge, at his or her sole discretion, may order the defendant to pay such fine in installments and such order may be enforced through a contempt proceeding or a revocation of any probation otherwise authorized by this subsection.
   4. Notwithstanding the limits set forth in any municipal charter, any municipal court of any municipality shall be authorized to impose the punishments provided for in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (1) of this subsection upon a conviction of violating such subparagraphs or upon conviction of violating any ordinance adopting the provisions of such subparagraphs.
3. Any person violating the provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section who, while fleeing or attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle or police officer:
   1. Operates his or her vehicle in excess of 20 miles an hour above the posted speed limit;
   2. Strikes or collides with another vehicle or a pedestrian;
   3. Is the proximate cause of an accident;
   4. Flees in traffic conditions which place the general public at risk of receiving serious injuries;
   5. Commits a violation of:
      1. Code Section 40-6-144;
      2. Subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-163;
      3. Subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-251;
      4. Subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-390;
      5. Subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-390.1; or
      6. Subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-391; or
   6. Leaves the state

      shall be guilty of a felony punishable by a fine of not less than $5,000.00 nor more than $10,000.00 and imprisonment for not less than 12 months nor more than ten years.

4. Following adjudication of guilt or imposition of sentence for a violation of subparagraph (b)(1)(D) or subsection (c) of this Code section, the sentence shall not be suspended, probated, deferred, or withheld, and the charge shall not be reduced to a lesser offense, merged with any other offense, or served concurrently with any other offense.
5. It shall be unlawful for a person:
   1. To impersonate a sheriff, deputy sheriff, state trooper, agent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, police officer, or any other authorized law enforcement officer by using a motor vehicle, motorcycle, or blue light designed, equipped, or marked so as to resemble a motor vehicle, motorcycle, or blue light belonging to any federal, state, or local law enforcement agency; or
   2. Otherwise to impersonate any such law enforcement officer in order to direct, stop, or otherwise control traffic.

History. Code 1933, § 68A-904, enacted by Ga. L. 1974, p. 633, § 1; Ga. L. 1978, p. 1483, § 2; Ga. L. 1983, p. 836, § 1; Ga. L. 1985, p. 758, § 19; Ga. L. 1987, p. 3, § 40; Ga. L. 1990, p. 585, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 5; Ga. L. 1992, p. 6, § 40; Ga. L. 1994, p. 831, § 3; Ga. L. 1995, p. 855, § 2; Ga. L. 2004, p. 450, § 1; Ga. L. 2010, p. 256, § 2/HB 1231; Ga. L. 2012, p. 729, § 1/HB 827; Ga. L. 2022, p. 100, § 1/HB 1216.

The 2022 amendment, effective July 1, 2022, rewrote subsection (b) and redesignated former subparagraphs (b)(5)(A) and (b)(5)(B) as present subsections (c) and (d), respectively; redesignated former subsection (c) as present subsection (e); and substituted “vehicle, motorcycle, or blue light” for “vehicle or motorcycle” twice in paragraph (e)(1). See Editor’s notes for applicability.

Cross references.

Impersonating public officer or employee generally, § 16-10-23 .

Suspension of driver’s license for conviction for fleeing or attempting to elude officer, § 40-5-54 .

Editor’s notes.

Ga. L. 2010, p. 256, § 5/HB 1231, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the amendment by that Act shall apply to all offenses committed on or after July 1, 2010.

Ga. L. 2012, p. 729, § 2/HB 827, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that the amendment to this Code section shall apply to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2012.

Ga. L. 2022, p. 100, § 2/HB 1216, not codified by the General Assembly, makes this Code section applicable to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2022.

Law reviews.

For article, “Criminal Law,” see 53 Mercer L. Rev. 209 (2001).

For annual survey of criminal law, see 56 Mercer L. Rev. 153 (2004).

For article, “Police Pursuits: A Comprehensive Look at the Broad Spectrum of Police Pursuit Liability and Law,” see 57 Mercer L. Rev. 511 (2006).