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This page is a current-reference page for 40-8-24. Reflectors.. Match the facts to the statutory language and verify agency/prosecutor charging practice when needed.
O.C.G.A. section
40-8-24. Reflectors.
Officer field notes
- Confirm and document the specific conduct that matches the statute, not just the code number.
- For traffic stops, articulate the observed violation, location/public roadway facts, vehicle tag/driver identifiers, and any video or witness evidence.
- Verify effective dates, enhancements, and agency charging practices before relying on the post for court-sensitive decisions.
Report / citation articulation tips
- Use the statutory phrase that matches the observed facts.
- Include the who/what/where/when, how you observed it, and any admissions or corroborating evidence.
- If issuing a citation, preserve the specific subsection or factual basis in notes/bodycam/report narrative.
Current statutory text
40-8-24. Reflectors.
Every motor vehicle manufactured after March 12, 1954, and operated upon a highway, other than a truck tractor, motorcycle, or motor driven cycle, shall carry on the rear, either as a part of the taillights or separately, two red reflectors, and every motorcycle and every motor driven cycle shall carry on the rear at least one red reflector, meeting the requirements of this Code section.
Every such reflector shall be mounted on the vehicle at a height not less than 20 inches nor more than 60 inches measured as set forth in subsection (b) of Code Section 40-8-21 and shall be of such size and characteristics and so mounted as to be visible at night from all distances within 300 feet to 50 feet from the rear of such vehicle except that visibility from the greater distance is hereinafter required of reflectors on certain types of vehicles.
When operated, towed, or parked upon a highway, roadway, or street at any time, every trailer and semitrailer which would otherwise be exempt from this article as an implement of husbandry under Code Section
40-8-1
shall carry on the rear, either as a part of the taillights or separately, two red reflectors and shall carry on the front two red reflectors. The reflectors carried on the rear shall meet the requirements of subsection (b) of this Code section. The reflectors carried on the front of such trailer or semitrailer shall be mounted thereon at a height of not less than 20 inches nor more than 60 inches measured as set forth in subsection (b) of Code Section
40-8-21
and shall be of such size and characteristics and so mounted as to be visible at night from all distances within 300 feet to 50 feet from the front of such trailer or semitrailer.
(Ga. L. 1953, Nov.-Dec. Sess., p. 556, § 107; Code 1933, § 68E-205, enacted by Ga. L. 1982, p. 165, § 4; Code 1981, §
40-8-24
, enacted by Ga. L. 1982, p. 165, § 10; Ga. L. 1989, p. 298, § 2.)
Code Commission notes.
– Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1991, “motor driven” was substituted for “motor-driven” in two places in subsection (a) and “taillights” was substituted for “tail lights” in subsections (a) and (c).
RESEARCH REFERENCES
Am. Jur. 2d.
– 7A Am. Jur. 2d, Automobiles and Highway Traffic,
§§
190, 191.
C.J.S.
– 60 C.J.S., Motor Vehicles,
§
43 et seq. 60A C.J.S., Motor Vehicles,
§
625 et seq. 61 C.J.S., Motor Vehicles,
§
1208. 61A C.J.S., Motor Vehicles,
§
1639.
Source / verification note: Updated from the Georgia Code public CIC/Lexis-linked source snapshot used for this audit. Verify court-sensitive decisions against the official Georgia Code and agency policy. Last reviewed: 2026-05-23.