'Super' Speeder Slapped With $1.4 Million Ticket, But There's A Catch

Sir, will you need to pay this $1.4 million fine on payment installments?

A Georgia man was left stunned after learning his speeding ticket for going 90 in a 55 mph zone and learning the ticket had a $1.4 million price tag.

Connor Cato was hauling ass on September 2 in Savannah, Georgia when a state boy caught him for the 35-over offense which is considered a "super speeder" in the state.

“‘$1.4 million,’ the lady told me on the phone. I said, ‘This might be a typo’ and she said, ‘No sir, you either pay the amount on the ticket or you come to court on Dec. 21 at 1:30 p.m,'” Cato told WSAV of a conversation he had with a woman from the city of Savannah.

That's right, Connor, pay a cool $1.4 million or get your ass to court to face the music.

(Getty Images)

As you would do, Cato got a lawyer. His brain was racing. He couldn't slow down. The thoughts of how he was going to come up with $1.4 million were causing him great anxiety.

“At first when I was asked about this, I thought it was a clerical error. But then you told me you followed up and apparently it’s not a clerical error,” Cato added, while acknowledging WSAV calling the city to figure out what's going on with this ticket. “But again, I have never seen something like this, ever.” 

Here's how Connor ended up with a $1.4 million ticket on his head: Savannah says the figure is a "placeholder" used to get the super speeder into a courtroom. The e-citation system places the highest figure possible -- $999,999 -- as a way to guarantee the ticket is answered.

"The City did not implement the placeholder amount in order to force or scare people into court. The programmers who designed the software used the largest number possible because super speeder tickets are a mandatory court appearance and do not have a fine amount attached to them when issued by police. Recorder’s Court is working on adjusting the language in e-citations in order to avoid future confusion," a city of Savannah spokesperson told WSAV.

So if the system places a $999,999 "placeholder" on a super speeder, where did the other $400,000 "placeholder" come from?

It's unclear.

Do programmers just go in and screw with people by placing such large "placeholders" on them that they lose their minds to the point where they think life is over?

It's unclear.

And does the State of Georgia put massive "placeholders" on druggies to make sure they show up for court?

Cato's lawyer eased his client's mind by reminding him that the maximum fine for a super speeder case is $1,000.

Whew.

In case you were wondering, the world record for a speeding ticket fine is said to be a $1,091,340 price tag for a Swedish driver who was going 105 mph over the speed limit in Switzerland.

And in Finland, speeding ticket fines are based on what you make. If you're rich, you're going to pay a bigger fine proportionate to your income.

Keep this in mind if you're going to haul ass in Europe. It can be costly.