<p>My niece received a speeding ticket yesterday on the interstate in North Carolina. She was clocked going 25 over the speed limit and I believe was ticketed for reckless driving and speeding; or maybe it was just the reckless driving. North Carolina is not her home state; she was going to visit friends at school. This is a good kid, 20 year old full time student with a job and internship this summer.</p>
<p>My brother seems to think his daughter will lose her license as they knew another child that lost his license going 25 over in another state. My niece has a court day during her exams. Do you think they can get the date change, or is it just tough luck? They can not send my niece alone to make the drive back to NC; if they suspend her license she will not be able to drive home.</p>
<p>Should they get a lawyer to help handle this as it is out of town? Is 25 over the speed limit an automatic suspended license in North Carolina? Does age play a part in the decision?</p>
<p>Sorry for all the questions, but they are really worried about her license. She said she really didn't realize she was going that fast as she was going down hill. If she drives like my brother, then I am sure she drives above the speed limit on the interstate, but not that fast. I have driven with her before and found her to be a good driver, not that it really matters where this is concerned.</p>
<p>Any help or words of wisdom would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Snowball, I found some links to NC lawyers offering a free initial consultation to help you decide if you want representation. I would get it, because this is what the NC handbook has to say:</p>
<p>
[quote]
Your driving privilege will be revoked for at least 30 days if you are convicted of: driving any vehicle more than 15 mph over the speed limit, if you are driving at a speed higher than 55 mph. </p>
<p>Your driving privilege will be taken for 60 days if you are convicted of:
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.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Good luck. And I hope this really is just a one time circumstance. I passed two fatal accidents on my way to and from work this week alone, both of them likely due to speeding.</p>
<p>I got one last month in NC on the interstate. I thought I was doing 75 in a 65 zone at 5:30 in the morning. The trooper said 80. Within 3 days I had 10 letters from NC law firms willing to take my case. Since the only thing that will happen to me is a note placed on my instate file,(no points), I just paid the fine. I doubt my insurance co. will do anything because it was my first speeding ticket ever and I have been driving for 35 years.</p>
<p>She can get the court date postponed but she should do it soon. And if she gets a lawyer I do not think I would want one who searched court records for names. Have her parents see if their state has a compact agreement with NC, then call a local atty and see what will happen to her in her home state.</p>
<p>Reckless driving could get you 4 points in NC. Don't know about the speeding. Show up in court, do not be arrogant, humility and remorse is more appealing to the judge. Sometimes the judge will reduce points and give community service, plus pay the speeding fine. </p>
<p>I don't know about most, but definitely tougher than Louisiana. 25 MPH over the speed limit gets you a fine and court costs here, and it definitely goes on your record, but there's no automatic suspension like the NC handbook says.</p>
<p>You should check to see if a license suspension in NC has any effect at all on the license of another state. It could well not. </p>
<p>Depending on where she was, I think the interstate speed limit in NC is 70mph. If she was clocked at 25mph over, that's 95mph! If this is true it's a good thing she got this ticket - it might slow her down and save her life. That's way more than slightly over and doesn't equate ot getting caught in a speed trap. Of course, I don't have all the facts so I'm just guessing.</p>
<p>My daughter drove from Raleigh to Winston Salem a week or so ago, with a friend, and she is the most careful driver I know. Some cop pulled her over for driving 54 mph in a 45 mph area. I think she'd just come off a busy street, and the speed limit had changed, but she never saw the sign. At any rate, we're <em>still</em> getting letters here from law firms in Winston Salem. Unbelievable. They must be in cahoots. She just paid the ticket, sent in the money, and I think she'll get 2 points for it.</p>
<p>I don't think your niece will lose her license, but she'll definitely rack up some points. I think they disappear after 3 years. If she gets as many as 7 points, she might have to go to a Driver Improvement Clinic(!), which is $50, but then after you attend, they deduct 3 points or something. It's all here. (If they did suspend her license, it would be for only 60 days):</p>
<p>if you are not licensed by the state of nc, i don't see how nc points can be placed against you....i live in illinois, got a ticket in wisconsin--sure, the fine was really, really pricey, but i think the illinois penalties apply to my licensure.</p>
<p>NC is very strange with speeding tickets. Here (NC) one can hire a lawyer and usually on a first offense get a speeding ticket reduced to "improper equipment"---I know makes no sense. Yes, use a lawyer. The lawyer can also appear in court for the client--at least my son got a "improper turn" ticket over Christmas and the lawyer went to court and got it dropped to some nonmoving violation.</p>
<p>My d. was pulled in TN where the speed limit dropped 10 mph and she was still going 5 over the original speed (thus 15 over new posted speed). The police with the radar was at the sign and pulled her. When she called a law office in TN and asked about getting the charge reduced, they just laughed--she attended a driving school and the points were removed.</p>
<p>wbow - I think you may be confusing license points with insurance points. They're not the same thing. It's the insurance points that affect your insurance rates, although there may be some correlation with license points. </p>
<p>I strongly advise the OP's niece to at least talk to a lawyer licensed in NC and experienced in dealing with traffic tickets in the jurisdiction where she received the ticket. Even if she has to pay a lawyer for a consultation, it may well be money very well spent. And at least she'll know what her options are.</p>
<p>This is from the same link I provided. I think most states just report the offense to the home state DMV, but here's what that link says:</p>
<p>"Convictions occurring outside North Carolina may result in your license being suspended or revoked just as if the violations occurred in this state."</p>
<p>That's for a NC license, so you should probably look at your home state DMV rules and see what they say, but maybe she should get a (NC) lawyer.</p>
<p>My S got a speeding ticket on I-85 on his way back to school last Oct. He was going 15 miles over the limit. He looked up a list of lawyers in that county on the internet and hired one over the phone. The county where he got the ticket was over an hour from his school and his court date was during winter exams! The lawyer handled it. He got it ticket reduced to speeding 7 miles over the limit which keeps our insurance from going up. S did not have to appear in court, just paid the lawyer and court costs.
Get a lawyer and ask about Prayer for Judgement.</p>
<p>Lawyer husband just received a ticket near South Carolina/GA line. Going 90 in 70 mph interstate highway. He was just ticketed for speeding but the cost of the ticket was $400, not to mention I don't even want to know about points, insurance, etc. There was an article in our local newspaper about a week ago about how costly tickets were in these areas as well as what a speed trap these areas are. Husband says he doesn't care if he ever drives thru this area again--personally, I think it is his "arrest me red" car! He paid the ticket and is not contesting. If you hire a lawyer, know up front what the fees are and what options can occur with this type of offense.</p>
<p>I've driven over 30 years (NJ and northeast mostly) and the only speeding ticket I ever remember receiving was driving thru NC (with my NJ plates). If I recall the cop was planted right where speed limit dropped abruptly from something like 65 to 45 or so...easy pickin'.</p>
<p>Perhaps the license suspension will only affect her driving in the state of NC and I assume you're not NC residents, which wouldn't be too bad. My D got an underage drinking (not driving) in PA...for 3 months she couldn't drive in PA but (oddly, I thought) was legally OK to drive in NJ, where we live, or anywhere else beside PA (lucky for her the suspension coincided with summer break).</p>
<p>My brother just told me about the Prayer for Judgement; is that what it is really called?</p>
<p>My brother will be looking for a NC lawyer on Monday with the hopes of getting the court date moved and maybe a reduction to avoid her license being suspended. She would gladly pay a fine and attend defensive driving school if she could save her license. If her license is suspended, it would be nice if it could be put on hold until she goes abroad, but she isn't holding her breath on that one.</p>
<p>My niece was going 90 in a 65 although she swears she didn't realize she was going that fast. It was downhill and she thinks she just wasn't paying attention to the increased speed.</p>
<p>The home state is not part of the drivers license compact so other states are not required to report violations, but many do. They will find out next week if NC report back to the home state. Both NC and the home state show a suspended license for reckless driving and/or driving 25 over. It looks like NC is a 60 day suspension while the home state is 6 months as my niece is under 21. As far as the points assigned, both states are similar.</p>
<p>I guess this will be a learning experience for my niece as well as her sibling and my kids. Boy did my kids get an earful!!</p>
<p>Yep, it is really called a Prayer for Judgement. The lawyers will refer to it as PJC. I think the C stands for Continuance. It can only be used if no one else in your family has used a PJC in the last 3 years. With a PJC, it's basically like suspending the judgement in the case.
I don't know if you can get a PJC if yu have 2 charges, reckless driving and speeding. A lawyer may be able to get the reckless driving dropped. I have been told by a lawyer that the reckless driving charge is a more serious offense that carries more points. That's why he advised to just get my S's speeding ticket reduced and save the PJC in case we should need it for something more serious...I have a 17 year old S driving in addition to the 20 year old. Never know what else can happen.</p>
<p>snowball: I looked at that NC DMV link, and I didn't see that the license would be automatically suspended in NC for reckless driving and/or driving 25 over. Are you sure?</p>
<p>In defense of the niece, I can believe--if she was driving a new/smooth riding car, that she got up to 90 without realizing it. People on these highways just zoom by you, and even if the speed is 70--if you go 70--you're in danger of being run off the road. Very easy to drive at 85 with no problem, just to be able to keep up--so it's easy to get up to 90. Way too fast, I agree, but I can see how it happens.</p>