Today is the day. With a new year drivers will also see harsher speeding punishments.

The new “super-speeder” law will go into effect on Jan. 1 and will require an additional fine for drivers traveling 85 miles per hour or above on most Georgia roads, including Interstate 75. The new law will also add the fine for drivers speeding at an excess of 75 miles per hour on two-lane streets.

“I think this is going to make people more aware and remind them to slow down,” said Calhoun Police Detective Lt. Tony Pyle.

The $200 fine is in addition to the speeding citation a driver would normally receive, according to Pyle.

“When a ticket is written, we will send a copy of the citation to court services and then the state would issue the $200 fine,” Pyle said.

Drivers will receive the fine in the mail, and then will be given 90 days to pay up or lose their license. Offenders who have lost a license due to failure to pay will have to pay the $200 fee and an additional $50 to have their license reinstated. Pyle also said the “super speeder” fine counts for an extra point against a driver’s license, on top of the points received for a regular speeding ticket.

With the new fine, some speeding fines will be more than doubled. In Calhoun the fee for speeding 15- 20 miles per hour over the posted limit is $160; the fine for speeding 20-25 over the posted limit is $225. In the county a ticket for up to 20 miles over the limit is $130; 21-25 over is $210; 36-40 over is $320.

The fines are expected to generate more than $20 million in annual state revenue, according to the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

The funds collected could go to the state’s struggling network of trauma hospitals, but ultimately it will be up to the legislation to determine how the dollars are spent.

Pyle says he hopes the fee will remind those exiting the interstate to slow down.

“I have seen people come off 75 so fast they almost miss the turn,” Pyle said.