Speeding Ticket in Charlotte? Consider Insurance Points.

Callers to my law office after receiving a speeding ticket in Mecklenburg and surrounding counties often ask whether their ticket will affect their driving record.

"What can you do to help me? I don't want any point on my driving record." It is understandable, as all of us wish to maintain good driving records. But drivers need to be aware that points on their driving record are likely to also increase their cost of insurance.

Driver records are maintained by the DMV.  The DMV will assess points on driving records for moving violations. Separately, auto insurers will review DMV records and establish auto insurance rates. Insurance rates can be increased when a person is convicted of a traffic offense, specifically a moving violation.

North Carolina regulates car insurance rates. There is a reward for being a good driver in North Carolina. If a person is convicted of speeding 10 mph or less (not in a school zone) and there is not a moving violation in the past 3 years, no insurance points will be assessed. This is a situation where driving points will be assessed, however no insurance increase will result.

I often encourage people to review the North Carolina Consumer Guide to Automobile Insurance. You can view it here. Page 8 and 9 are most helpful.



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Charlotte Traffic Ticket- What if the Police Officer doesn't show up?

My law office receives phone calls daily from people who received a speeding ticket in the Charlotte area. The two main questions asked are "What happens if the Officer doesn't show up in Court, Is my case then dismissed?" and "Do I need to come to court on my traffic ticket?".

I'll address the first question today.

Every traffic ticket citation will include a promise to appear in court. If the ticket is in Mecklenburg County, the first court date is in Courtroom 1130. Courtroom 1130 is an administrative courtroom where the defendant or the defendant's attorney negotiates the traffic ticket with the District Attorney. As such, in this courtroom, the police officer is not subpoenaed to come to court.

If the negotiation is not successful, the case is then set for trial which will be held on the fourth floor of the Courthouse. The date will be within six to eight weeks. The police officer is then subpoenaed to come to court on the trial date. For whatever reason, should the police officer not attend on the trial date or the District Attorney cannot call the case for trial due to a heavy docket, the case will likely be continued to a new date.

Gaston County traffic and speeding tickets are handled differently than Mecklenburg. The first appearance for a traffic ticket in Gaston County is in front of a Magistrate. There is no judge or District Attorney present. The case is continued for a trial date approximately six weeks later where the officer is subpoenaed.

People are often surprised to hear this multi-step procedure for traffic tickets in North Carolina. Many recall the old days of traffic court where police officers would line the court hallways with everyone waiting for their case to be called. If the officer wasn't present, the case was dismissed. Due to many factors, including the large number of traffic ticket cases each day, this "one-step" practice is understandably no longer feasible.  For example, Mecklenburg County Courtroom 1130 is an administrative courtroom that can docket up to 1300 cases a day.

Most traffic tickets in Mecklenburg, Gaston and Union County can be negotiated and resolved by an attorney without the person coming to court.  Before making a trip and spending all day waiting in court, call a traffic attorney in the Charlotte area to see if they can be of assistance.

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High Speed Traffic Tickets

ABC News recently had a story about law enforcement officers who were caught speeding. Some officers were arrested for speeds over 100 miles per hour.

I've blogged before about the seriousness of high speed traffic citations. Last year, Kyle Busch was cited for traveling 128 mph in 45 mph. Some felt he should be held to a higher standard of conduct because of his place in the race car industry.

 Are you more offended when a law enforcement officer breaks the law? What is worse-  Kyle Busch or a police officer? Should the person's occupation have no bearing in the issue? It brings up the question whether law enforcement officers should be held to a higher standard of conduct than the average citizen.  Should the punishment be more severe if an officer of the law were found guilty for this offense?




Regardless of your job, any speeds cited for over 90 mph are very serious offenses. It's not just a speeding ticket. You can be sentenced to jail for such high speeds. Consult an attorney before you go to court.

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A Punishable Need for Speed

Kyle Busch was in the news this week for his need for speed off the race track. Cited at driving 128 mph in a 45mph zone, Bush is facing speeding and reckless driving charges. My father called me with his opinion. He felt Busch needs to be punished and should be suspended from racing for a short period of time. I asked my father if he thought it was worse for him to be speeding than the average citizen. He thought yes- due to his position in the industry, he should be held to a higher standard of conduct. I followed up by asking if the neighbor down the street received the same speeding ticket, would my father have the same opinion? Should the neighbor not be allowed to go to work? Should the principal arrested for DWI not be allowed to be a principal? Should Montel Williams not be allowed to work?

Ultimately it will be up to the racing organization whether they suspend Busch. However, many will have different opinions on how the law should respond in these situations. Do we hold those in certain professions to higher standards of conduct?



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The Picture Isn't Always Perfect

Looks like speed cameras may be coming back to North Carolina again. Today's Charlotte Observer had an article outlining proposed legislation that would bring back the automated speed cameras in limited areas in North Carolina. Court fines collected from these violations would go toward paying off a $745 million dollar debt the state owes the public school system.

The speed cameras estimate a car's speed and then takes a picture of the license plate. The registered owner of the vehicle is pleasantly surprised several weeks later when they receive a citation in the mail for speeding. The article doesn't mention that these cameras often times break down, take blurry pictures and cannot account for the situation when the registered owner of the vehicle is not the driver of the car in the picture. Here is an article that addresses the problems with the cameras. The system failed in 2006- the state would have to be creative to make it work this time.


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Baby on Board!

We have all heard the stories people tell police officers when they get caught speeding. Some of them are very true and some are probably better left untold. How about the women in labor going to the hospital? Far fetched but very true. These parents to be were speeding to the hospital after the wife's water broke. They saw the blue lights behind them. The husband called 911 and told the 911 operator that he wasn't going to pull over because his wife was about to have a baby. The police officer following them ends up giving the couple a police escort to the hospital. The baby was born 6 minutes after they arrived at the hospital. I can tell you it takes more than 6 minutes for an officer to conduct a traffic stop. After the baby was born, the police officer hands over a speeding ticket to the husband, stating "Congratulations, but I will see you in court. Here is a video about the story:



The Police Department is supporting the officer's actions, stating that the husband put other people in danger when he drove at speeds over 90 mph. Many would disagree with the position of the police department. Meanwhile, the husband has a court date. I imagine he will be taking the baby with him.

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No Need 2 Speed Over Thanksgiving Holiday

With Thanksgiving around the corner, many of us will be getting in the car, ready to travel the interstates of North Carolina. The North Carolina Highway Patrol is currently running a campaign called "No Need 2 Speed" through the Thanksgiving holiday. So if you are traveling down the interstate and not sure if there is a police car behind you, I would assume it is. I'm not sure if Booze It or Loose it is still going, but plan on many police on the roads. Troopers are stepping up patrols on the interstates throughout the state. If you do receive a traffic ticket, be advised that simply paying off the ticket can result in a suspended license very quickly. An attorney can help you reduce the impact of the ticket.

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Mecklenburg County Defensive Driving School- A Fox News Story

Did you recently get a speeding ticket in Mecklenburg County? Did the police officer tell you to take traffic school and you would be eligible for a Prayer for Judgment Continued? The website for the traffic school that the Mecklenburg County District Attorney mandates is located here. There is a lot of controversy recently about this policy. According to the Fox News report last night, many people are questioning the whole process. Here is the link to the article and video- it's worth watching, especially if you have received a traffic ticket recently in Mecklenburg County. 

I have written prior posts on how quickly your license can get suspended in North Carolina. Before you do anything, I always recommend speaking to a lawyer before you pay your traffic ticket. Traffic school is not always necessary.

A Week In Review

1. Under the campaign called Operation Slow Down/No Need 2 Speed campaign, state law enforcement cited 15,789 motorists for vehicle code violations from March 29 to April 4. A total of 61,766 traffic and criminal citations were issued. You can read the Charlotte Observer article for a complete breakdown of the citations. Court costs in Mecklenburg County are $130. This does not include the additional fine associated with the violation. Assuming only half of those people cited for only vehicle code violations, not any of the other offenses, pled guilty, the state would receive $1,026,285 in revenue from court fines for a one week period.

2.  The Time Warner Arena is only 5 years old, but the roof that was supposed to last 15 years is leaking and going to cost $500,000 in labor to fix. According to WCNC, even though the roof is still under warranty, the cost of labor is not covered so taxpayers are forced to pay the money from an arena repair fund. If the repair fund runs out, there is always Operation Slow Down revenue to help pitch in.

3. According to Associated Press, a person was detained at the California Mexico border after he attempted to cross the border with several lawnmowers in the back of his pick up truck. The lawnmowers were filled with 53 pounds of grass, but not the type of grass from cutting your lawn. The unnamed individual has been booked into a San Diego jail under drug trafficking charges.

4. A Massachusetts man was sentenced to two days in jail for a DWI. However, he will be returning to court shortly after his release after two days to face a new DWI charge. According to the article, he allegedly arrive at the jail intoxicated and let police officers know that he drove himself to the jail.  He was subsequently booked for a second DUI charge.

5. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens did announce his retirement this week. I wrote about this impending announcement last week. Let the political showdown begin on CSPAN.

The North Carolina mom's traffic ticket story- two years later

My busy friend was not aware that an attorney could of gone to court for her, appeared for her, and negotiated the ticket with the prosecutor or judge. Many times the District Attorney's Office will lower the mph violation or cite you for a non moving violation that won't affect your insurance premium. On some cases they will allow you to go to a defensive driving school. There were many options available to her that she simply didn't know about. Moreover, she could of taken care of this without ever have gone to court.

Almost two years later now, she is cited in York County for speeding 9 miles over the speed limit. How many times do you drive 44 mph in a 35 mph. York County recently enacted a Traffic Education Program. Depending on a number of factors, including the severity of your ticket and your driving history, you can go to a 4 hour course and get your ticket dismissed. You must, however, qualify for this program. If you don't automatically qualify, an attorney could possibly assist getting you into the program. Moreover, an attorney can advise and negotiate on your behalf.

The bottom line is that we drive every day and take for granted how difficult our daily lives would be without a drivers license. I have represented many clients accused of driving while license revoked; you do not want to be cited for this. Not only would you have a criminal misdemeanor pending, you now have the DMV controlling your ability to drive. This creates a hornet's nest that the average law abiding citizen cannot imagine, putting aside the issue with maintaining car insurance.

So should you hire an attorney- Yes. In most cases the attorney will appear for you. You never have to see a courthouse. You have to ask yourself how much your time is worth and how competent you are in criminal law.

A Carolina working mom traffic ticket story

A friend of mine recently called and said she received a ticket in York County, South Carolina. She wanted to know what her options were. Almost two years ago she recieved a ticket in Gaston County, North Carolina. Being a busy working mom with two kids and under time constraints, she just sent the money in for the Gaston County ticket. Her insurance immediately went up; her insurance company told her that the increase was due to her admission of guilt to a speeding violation that was over a certain miles per hour. This is a person with a very good driving record! Many blogs can be written on the various reasons insurance companies raise your premiums.

However, the DMV did not suspend her license. This brings up another point. When you get a moving violation, not only do you need to be concerned with your insurance premium, but also what the DMV will do with your license. They can suspend your license in North Carolina for violations which many would view as minor. For example, the NC DMV can suspend your license for driving 15 mph over the speed limit when driving at a speed higher then 55 mph. So, if you are leaving Charlotte to head for the beach for the weekend, your license could be suspended if you are caught doing 70 mph on the Interstate. Some police will also cite you for reckless driving.

Do I need an attorney for a traffic ticket in Mecklenburg County?

The most common question asked when a person receives a traffic ticket is "Do I have to hire an attorney?". Do you have to hire an attorney- No. Should you hire an attorney-Yes.
Traffic laws have become incredibly strict in recent years. Every violation is assigned a point value. Point value is one of a number of factors that determine whether your insurance will increase or whether the DMV will suspend your license. For example, in North Carolina, a person's license will automatically be suspended for thirty days if convicted of driving 15 mph over the speed limit. Here is the link to the North Carolina DMV handbook. You will be shocked to see how easily it is to have your license revoked.
http://www.ncdot.org/dmv/driver_services/drivershandbook/Chapter3/Suspensions.HTML