re: Smael Mondon charges DROPPED

Agree - tie a charge to data. Radar, video, etc. I once got a ticket for being rear-ended in fricking Colorado with no LEO even present and I was stopped at the time of the incident because it was rush hour. #outofstateplates

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This is why almost every single misdemeanor is pled out. They do not have the resources to try every case. They’re not going to slam down their iron fists on a traffic offense that didn’t hurt anyone. They’ll offer a reduced charge to get the case done and out of their case load

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Yes. But, the Rant wants to turn this into a big deal. Not the law. The law says this was not a big enough deal to pursue. But the Rant?

The police said "we got a guy for speeding, here's your speeding ticket."
The Rant: "We have to crucify the University the guy plays for!"

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What are the exact conditions that trigger "too fast for conditions"?

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As the name implies, it depends on the conditions. Driving 30 mph sounds fine unless you're doing it on black ice in a school zone, for example.

If your driving is unsafe in that situation. Not that complicated, and by definition has conditional parameters.

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It's a catch all.

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For people driving dangerously. Agreed.

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Georgia football's Smael Mondon Jr. had his charges of racing and reckless driving dismissed, his attorney Billy Healan told ESPN. The decision came during a hearing Monday at Athens-Clarke County Municipal Court, where Mondon pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of driving too fast for conditions.

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driving too fast for conditions


Like we all haven't done that a time or two.

There are a few pieces missing:

-75 in a 40
-His teammate was in a sports car beside him.
-Told the police officer he didn’t know it was his teammate beside him.
-His teammate pulls over after the cop pulls this guy over telling the cop he wanted to check on him.


This guy got let off so he could play football.

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-His teammate was in a sports car beside him.

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Healy said of the reckless driving charge: “There was no one that was endangered by this. There were no other cars that had to swerve or get out of the way. It simply wasn’t racing and it wasn’t reckless.”

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-His teammate was in a sports car beside him.
-Told the police officer he didn’t know it was his teammate beside him.
-His teammate pulls over after the cop pulls this guy over telling the cop he wanted to check on him.

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None of which proves or means anything.

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This guy got let off so he could play football.

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All you have to do is check on the history to know that the police in Athens do not let me people go because they play football. This is an odd take for anybody to make considering the past.

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As the name implies, it depends on the conditions. Driving 30 mph sounds fine unless you're doing it on black ice in a school zone, for example.

If your driving is unsafe in that situation. Not that complicated, and by definition has conditional parameters.

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There are no parameters as the law is written in Georgia and in most places. It is intentionally ambiguous so it can be used at the discretion of a police officer to provide an excuse for stopping a motorist and, when they find they had no actual legal reason to do so it provides an indefensible position for the motorist. There is no definition of "too fast for conditions" and therefore if the state says you are guilty you are indeed guilty. Remove CFB from the equation entirely and it is a very poorly conceived law. Cops receive inadequate training at best, they are certainly not in a position to base this call on anything other than their feels. Feels should not be the basis for the state to strip someone of their freedom as happened in this case.

Mondon was detained and arrested, for reckless driving and racing. Given recent history in Athens Clarke County related to UGA football players racing and driving recklessly those are very severe charges in ACC and the residents of ACC, most of whom are not affiliated with UGA in any way other than living in the same county as the university, have been EXTREMELY vocal locally about reckless driving and racing involving UGA athletes. It is a hot button issue locally where elected officials answer to the citizens, not the University and certainly not the AD or football program. Those charges were dropped. Local officials are catching hell about those charges being dropped. No matter what the truth is the local citizenry, most of whom are in no way affiliated with UGA, wanted blood in this case. Prosecutors are keenly aware of local opinion....yet they dropped the charges in a deal because they knew that prosecuting the charges was going to prove difficult, even with public opinion on their side, because the law was not on their side AND Mondon no doubt has the resources to present a credible and able defense. Both parties, the state and the accused, concluded that the lesser charge was more appropriate. That is a fact....both parties agreed to it. Had the state had a sure fire case or even one that they could present with legal credibility they would have done so in the current local climate in ACC. They chose not to do so. They are catching hell locally about it but it is far less hell had they tried the case and lost...and they were not reasonably certain that they would win.

This is the problem with a law which is ambiguous as "driving too fast for conditions" is. It can't be quantified. Intentionally written in a manner that allows the state as much leeway as possible and as little room for defense as possible...again, who can say they did not hurt the officers sense of propriety? How it is that people who are completely convinced that government is all bad all the time are simultaneously convinced that the police and prosecutors are incapable of making a mistake is a mystery which will never be fully answered.

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For people driving dangerously. Agreed.

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So what is driving dangerously? Driving is easily quantifiable...if you are operating a vehicle you are driving it. The issue is the use of the adjective "dangerously" which is legally defined as "unsafe, hazardous, fraught with risk". Any of those 3 ambiguous terms would apply to driving a vehicle at any speed in any condition...it is ALWAYS unsafe, hazardous and fraught with risk anytime one is operating a vehicle...this a major reason why driving is not a right but instead a privilege which is bestowed upon those who display a minimum amount of care while driving. Thus the question is begged...what is driving dangerously or too fast for conditions? The answer is it is a judgement call, it is not quantifiable and is used intentionally because it can not be quantified. There alread exists a law against driving too fast...speed limits. The state could EASILY make it known that speed limits are only applicable under normal traffic and weather conditions and anytime a vehicle is being operated outside of those conditions those speed limits are reduced by 5, 10, 15, however many MPH would represent a safe speed. They do not do this because that is not the intent of the law, the intent is to provide as much leeway as possible to the discretion of policemen and prosecutors and as little in the way of defense to the public as possible. In the world of auditing un-ambiguous language such as "55 MPH Speed Limit" is an audit trap....you are either in compliance or not, no debate. Removing that measurement from the equation of speed limits is the intent because the state is all about making their point, public safety be damned. If anyone doubts this they do not operate a vehicle in the US ever. If they did they would see examples of people driving too fast for conditions multiple times a day and almost none of them are ever charged with it.

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So what is driving dangerously? Driving is easily quantifiable...if you are operating a vehicle you are driving it. The issue is the use of the adjective "dangerously" which is legally defined as "unsafe, hazardous, fraught with risk". Any of those 3 ambiguous terms would apply to driving a vehicle at any speed in any condition...it is ALWAYS unsafe, hazardous and fraught with risk anytime one is operating a vehicle...this a major reason why driving is not a right but instead a privilege which is bestowed upon those who display a minimum amount of care while driving. Thus the question is begged...what is driving dangerously or too fast for conditions? The answer is it is a judgement call, it is not quantifiable and is used intentionally because it can not be quantified. There alread exists a law against driving too fast...speed limits. The state could EASILY make it known that speed limits are only applicable under normal traffic and weather conditions and anytime a vehicle is being operated outside of those conditions those speed limits are reduced by 5, 10, 15, however many MPH would represent a safe speed. They do not do this because that is not the intent of the law, the intent is to provide as much leeway as possible to the discretion of policemen and prosecutors and as little in the way of defense to the public as possible. In the world of auditing un-ambiguous language such as "55 MPH Speed Limit" is an audit trap....you are either in compliance or not, no debate. Removing that measurement from the equation of speed limits is the intent because the state is all about making their point, public safety be damned. If anyone doubts this they do not operate a vehicle in the US ever. If they did they would see examples of people driving too fast for conditions multiple times a day and almost none of them are ever charged with it.

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are you having a manic episode?