I was driving my roommate's car in Georgia on the highway shortly after sunset and forgot to turn on the headlights. I could still see because it was not fully dark and even with car lights off, there are still dim yellow lights that are always on in front of the car. I got pulled over for speeding and because I had no taillights on (which I was unaware of because I didn't know that those lights could turn off) and turned them on immediately once the officer mentioned it. I received a ticket for a tail light requirement, violation code 40-8-23; and speeding at 85 mph in a 70 zone, code 40-6-181-B.
I read about the tail light code online and the car met the requirements for tail lights, they just were not on at the time because I was not aware the lights were off. I don't know why I didn't receive a warning for it.
The speeding occurred unfortunately because there was a car following closely behind me in the far left lane, and two other cars driving in the middle lane on my immediate right. I had my turn signal on but the car in the middle lane wouldn't slow down enough for me to get over without cutting in front of them. I know in court this may be no excuse for speeding, but I wanted to get out of the way without slowing to a dangerous speed with a car that was also speeding behind me. I'm still the only one that got pulled over.
Is there anything that I can do at all to help myself with this in court? I've never been to court for a traffic violation so I'm afraid of what may happen.
I read about the tail light code online and the car met the requirements for tail lights, they just were not on at the time because I was not aware the lights were off. I don't know why I didn't receive a warning for it.
The speeding occurred unfortunately because there was a car following closely behind me in the far left lane, and two other cars driving in the middle lane on my immediate right. I had my turn signal on but the car in the middle lane wouldn't slow down enough for me to get over without cutting in front of them. I know in court this may be no excuse for speeding, but I wanted to get out of the way without slowing to a dangerous speed with a car that was also speeding behind me. I'm still the only one that got pulled over.
Is there anything that I can do at all to help myself with this in court? I've never been to court for a traffic violation so I'm afraid of what may happen.