<p>Just be glad that Mike Nifong (notorious Duke Lax case DA) is no longer in charge of traffic court prosecutions in Durham.</p>
<p>In my S’s case he was driving a new (to him) truck. He wasn’t used to the 8 cylinder power. Like Jack said, people will fly. S said he only got caught because the State Trooper had to pass around him (S was driving in the left lane even though we have repeatedly told him it was not a cruising lane) while in pursuit of another truck that had just blown by S (who was going 80).</p>
<p>According to the NC DOT site:<br>
Suspensions & Revocations</p>
<p>In addition to criminal penalties that the court might mandate, conviction of certain traffic offenses will result in the loss of your driving privilege.</p>
<p>Your driving privilege will be revoked for at least 30 days if you are convicted of:</p>
<pre><code>* driving any vehicle more than 15 mph over the speed limit, if you are driving at a speed higher than 55 mph.
</code></pre>
<p>Your driving privilege will be taken for 60 days if you are convicted of:</p>
<pre><code>* a second charge of speeding over 55 mph and more than 15 mph above the speed limit within one year; or
- speeding plus reckless driving on the same occasion.
</code></pre>
<p>Suspensions & Revocations</p>
<p>In addition to criminal penalties that the court might mandate, conviction of certain traffic offenses will result in the loss of your driving privilege.</p>
<p>Your driving privilege will be revoked for at least 30 days if you are convicted of:</p>
<pre><code>* driving any vehicle more than 15 mph over the speed limit, if you are driving at a speed higher than 55 mph.
</code></pre>
<p>Your driving privilege will be taken for 60 days if you are convicted of:</p>
<pre><code>* a second charge of speeding over 55 mph and more than 15 mph above the speed limit within one year; or
- speeding plus reckless driving on the same occasion.
</code></pre>
<p>Thanks, snowball. I’m sure I’ve been stopped for speeding in the past in NC (though not in recent years). I paid the ticket, never went to court, and never got my license suspended. This must be a new law. Still, at most, it looks like the niece’s license would be revoked for no more than 60 days. I doubt that will happen, though (especially if you hire a lawyer and take it to court).</p>
<p>Get a lawyer! The best lawyers will probably be those who solicited you by mail as this is their specialty. Without a lawyer, your best strategy is to cry alot and try to pass out in court.(I’m not kidding!) Even paying an experienced lawyer will be a trivial sum if your daughter later applies for bar membership, a security clearance or a job. Many,many,many job applicants are rejected due to driving records. And do not comfort yourself by saying that it will disappear in 3 or 5 years as many states allow employers to ask questions in the time form of “ever”. Get a lawyer!</p>
<p>Just spoke to my niece-she is fretting about the lose of her license. What will she do about working and her internship are her biggest worries right now. If she does end up losing her license, her mother will be driving her around during that time. If a lawyer can’t help her lessen the charges, they would like to see if maybe the suspension can be delayed until the fall when she is back in school. A car would not be a need during the school year, just a want. The summer without a license would be hard on the mom as well as my niece; why is it the mom always gets punished for everything? </p>
<p>I am just glad I can help my family with this in some little way. They are not big computer users so any information I can find for them I believe is a help.</p>
<p>North Carolina can only suspend your driving privileges within its own boundaries. If she doesn’t live in NC, who cares? Can she just send in the fine payment and be done with it, without a court appearance?</p>
<p>Art- There is no fine at this time, just a court date. As far as a suspended license, NC will report back to her home state and they will most likely do the same. I am not 100% sure about this, but that is what it sounds like. Once they hire a lawyer they will know more.</p>
<p>I guess NC is pretty strict? I was going, according to the speeding ticket, “100+” in a 55 in New Jersey. That coincided with a reckless driving ticket and a “driving after midnight” ticket as I was only 17 at the time. Needless to say, I showed up to court with my dad, talked to the prosecutor, 12 points down to 2, and a $500 fine. Not bad, considering my points just went away in february.</p>
<p>You’re right jags, that sounds like a small sum to pay for going almost twice the posted speed limit. I sincerely hope that you don’t speed like that anymore because that is too fast to be safe. I’ve admit to consistently going over the speed limit but I don’t think I have ever gone over 80 miles an hour. When I realize I’m going that fast, I immediately slow down and not because I thought I might get a ticket, but because I knew it was an unsafe speed.</p>
<p>I didn’t study physics in high school, so I was really surprised the facts were explained to me about the distance it takes to stop a speeding car vs. the distance from which you can see an obstacle (especially at night).</p>
<p>Above 80 or so, by the time you see what’s ahead of you, it’s already too late to stop.</p>
<p>jags would you do me a favor…pm me next time you go out for a drive. Give me enough time to call my family to make sure their off the road too.</p>
<p>So what did lawyer say?</p>
<p>My brother spoke with the assistant to the lawyer and have sent a copy of the ticket, a copy of her driving record from the local DMV, and a one time fee to hire the lawyer. My niece needs to complete a defensive driving course that she can take in her home state; she does not need to go back to North Carolina to complete that. The lawyer will get the court date extended to give my niece time to take the driving course and get the certificate mail to the lawyer. She will not have to attend court, the lawyer will go for her. As far as what the lawyer can do for her, there are no promises; most likely have the speed dropped to a lower speed and I am not sure about the reckless driving. I am thinking if the speeding ticket is lower that 15 miles over the speed limit, then the reckless driving would go away as well as those are charges giving for going 15 or more over the speed limit.</p>
<p>Snowball - Good luck to you and your niece. It sounds like it will all work out, although it’s not fun. I’m in Va and do lots of driving down to NC and up to NY. NC is famous for “work zones” with no apparent work occuring and cops looking for those oos plates. I’ve found myself at that upper 80 range without even realizing it - the cars fly and one gets in the zone of just going with the flow. No matter what happens, look at it this way, it’s always possible that absent this “scare” (for she will drive slower and be way more attuned to her speed for a good long time to come because of this incident) she would have been speeding at another point in time that could have led to an accident and not just a ticket and maybe this will prevent that from ever happening. Things happen for a reason and we can’t always see the big picture.</p>
<p>SNOWBALL - the lawyer should be able to get the speed reduced to 9-15 miles over the posted limit - which will null the reckless driving charge - and there will be a fine to pay - if a Prayer for Judgement is used in NC - it is like a probation type of thing - can only be used once in 3 years. Your neice will not be loosing her liscense - but will be paying a fine for sure. Good Luck</p>
<p>My niece is aware there will be a fine to pay as well as court cost. She is in the process of looking into working at her unpaid internship for less hours and her paying job for more hours! This wasn’t how she expected her summer to work out, but she will do what she has to do. Right now she know of $475 she is out of pocket, now she will wait and see what the fines/court fees are. As far as her car insurance, her father pays for that now and I don’t know what he will do if they are increased or not renewed.</p>