MACON, Ga. — Georgia's hands-free law has been in effect for more than a year and a half now, and there's no doubt some of you have found out the hard way by getting a ticket for using your phone while driving.
But what if there was a way to make the ticket disappear? One woman says it's possible.
She tweeted a few weeks ago saying -- here in Georgia -- that all you have to do is prove you've gotten a hands-free device before your court date and the judge will throw out the charge.
Is that true?
We spoke to the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, the Macon-Bibb Solicitor General, and checked the Georgia Code to verify.
The initial tweet, at last count, had nearly 50,000 likes and more than 15,000 retweets.
It shared a pretty simple concept: If you're cited in Georgia for using your phone behind the wheel, buying a hands-free device before your court date will get you off scot-free.
"For one time they can and will dismiss a citation for you," said Macon-Bibb Solicitor General Rebecca Grist.
Robert Hydrick with the Governor's Office of Highway Safety agrees, and so does the Georgia Code, which says anybody who can prove they bought a hands-free device after getting a ticket for violating the hands-free statute "shall not be guilty of such offense."
So 13WMAZ can verify that yes, buying a hands-free device before your court date can get you out of a ticket.
However, there are a few limitations.
"One thing we want to caution people, this is a one-time only thing," said Hydrick.
It only applies to your first hands-free offense. After that, this exemption won't help you.
And if you try to claim the exemption more than once, it could land you in even more legal trouble than the citation would carry.
"You're swearing to a judge under penalty of perjury that you have this technology and that you're using it," said Grist.
You're also swearing this is your first time claiming this exemption.
"Prosecutors across the state do keep track of who has used that before, so sometimes even between different counties and jurisdictions we're still going to know," said Grist.
While it's a useful tool for first time offenders, Hydrick says it serves a bigger purpose.
"Preliminary data is showing that since the law took effect in July 2018, traffic deaths in Georgia are going and we believe that they can go down even further if more and more people will put their phones down while driving," he said.
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