The penalty is typically up to $1,000, the officials said. (Representative pic)
A man in the United States was left in shock after he was hit with a $1.4 million speeding fine for driving 35mph (miles per hour) over the limit. According to The Independent, Connor Cato was driving home on September 2 when the Georgia state police caught him driving 90mph in a 55mph zone. While he expected a hefty fine, he was, however, shocked when he was handed the seven-figure charge.
According to the outlet, Mr Cato contacted the court, assuming the $1.4 million fine was a typo. However, he was told to either pay the fine or appear in court in December. Speaking to Savannah's WSAV-TV, Mr Cato said that he was told by the city staff that the fine was a "placeholder" which was generated by computer software.
"'$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 December 21 at 1.30pm,'" Mr Cato said, as per the outlet.
Separately, a spokesperson for Savannah's city government explained that Mr Cato received a "placeholder" fine, meaning that he never has to pay the hefty penalty. The staggering figure was generated by e-citation used by the local Recorder's Court that is automatically applied to "super speeders" - anyone caught going more than 35 miles over the speed limit, the officials explained.
The eventual penalty is typically up to $1,000, the officials added. A judge will now set the real fine at the mandatory court appearance in December.
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"We do not issue that placeholder as a threat to scare anybody into court, even if this person heard differently from somebody in our organization," Joshua Peacock, a spokesman for Savannah's city government, said as per the New York Post.
"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," he added.
Now, Mr Cato must appear in court as he was still driving above the speed limit. Meanwhile, the city officials said they are working on adjusting the placeholder language in e-citations to avoid any confusion in the future.