NC speeding ticket guidance

Guys, I would love to get your help and guidance. My wife got a speeding ticked while driving through our neighborhood today. She's pretty annoyed as she says that there's no way she was doing the speed she was cited for, but the cop admitted he was there to make examples of people because there have been complaints. I would appreciate any guidance and attorney recommendations. Thanks!

Don't have specific advice for you or your wife, but was she nailed with the cops radar gun, or did the cop 'witness' her speeding? What is the posted speed limit? So much for Southern hospitality,eh?

Since you're in NC you're about to get quite a few advertisements for attorneys in the area. I'd talk to a few and select one that says they can reduce the points to zero and pay a small fine. I had an issue a few years ago while driving through the Charlotte area. I paid the attorney and it all went away. Good luck. -Shawn

She's going to call some attorneys today and get some advice. I've not seen the ticket yet, as I'm away on business and she's vague on specifics. She said something about "probable cause" which suggested it was an observation, but also she said "R-36S", which could be radar. I'll be back home on Friday and will know more then. Her ticket was for 36 in a 25 zone. She stated that was higher than she was doing.

There have been several speeding related threads of late ... I'm starting to feel like the only rube in the world who just pays the ticket. I don't get many. Maybe one every 5 years or so. For $100+- ticket -- I just want it done. My testosterone level has fallen to the point where I can't get riled up about truth and justice over a moving violation. No knock on the William Wallace's who stand and fight. That's important in some cases. But the hassle vs. cost ratio just never works out for me, regardless of points.

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The problem is the cost of a ticket is no longer just the $100 cost to the courts. It now always involves an increase that is exponentially higher in the form of insurance increases. So even an innocent little mishap ends up costing you thousands in the long run. Even if you're guilty it's worth fighting so you don't get screwed by your insurance provider.

Here in MA the ticket impacts your insurance for quite some time (5 years). That adds up to enough worth fighting for in my book.

Send in the ticket not guilty. Show up at court and ask to plea-bargain it down to a non-speeding violation so it's not reported to the insurance company. Then pay the $150 "driving tax", go home, and put it behind you. Them's the breaks... doesn't matter if she was really speeding or not. Doesn't matter if it's fair or not. It's a revenue stream for towns. Understand that it's just a monetary transaction and not a personal attack on your wife's driving.

Maybe it's my insurance company, sloppy police reporting or divine intervention but I've never seen an increase on my insurance for a minor moving violation. I agree that if there is a long-term thousand dollar-plus cost to this, then why not fight. But most companies have a ticket forgiveness policy, especially for long-term clients. Usually the first ticket in a three-year period does not trigger a rate increase (says a relative who works for State Farm), unless it's a DUI or otherwise quite severe. If doing 10 mph over results in thousands of dollars of additional insurance costs, that seems like a trigger to look for other providers. I'm not sure an insurance company would want to do that. Who knows?

A good traffic atty knows the DA in Wake County and will negotiate the deal down to less than 9 over, a non moving violation, or get it completely wiped out if she has a clean record. Email me - I have a name or two who can help you (just dealt with this in Chapel Hill for one of my kids). [email removed]

A more local perspective... If it is her first violation then it is no big deal. She should go to the Wake court house at the appointed time and stand in line. There is no actual court appearance. The writing magistrate will take a look at her record and then, most likely , write it down to less than 11 mph over. She will then owe court costs of around $100. No points. If she has another recent violation then all bets are off. But the reality is this is an assembly line system. No big deal. A Wake County lawyer will charge you about $300-400 to essentially achieve the same outcome. And a caveat... there are no guarantees, from either my advice or from a lawyer.

Thanks guys. I appreciate the guidance. In over 20 years of driving this is her first ticket and she is pretty upset. You are correct in that this is more about revenue and punitive impact. Any points is an automatic insurance increase of 45% and that's just disproportionate to the offense and particularly painful on a household of 3 high end cars. I am in favor of responsible driving and appropriate speed limits, but nowadays I see a total lack of proportionality in speed limits (artificially too low), punitive enforcement and taxation. It's just wrong and no surprise that people get pissed off and fight the tickets.

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A 45% automatic increase for an 11 mph moving violation? That was a time bomb waiting to go off. Time to call GEICO!

GEICO is the last insurance company that any enthusiast should have. I remember when they would closely question prospective clients about radar detectors. If you had one you had to prove you disposed of it to get coverage. Granted, that was in the late 1980's, but no cute lizard will make that go away.

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Geico is the worst. They will cancel your insurance if you get two tickets within three years.

Sorry -- not advocating for GEICO or any insurance company. Just used that as an example. Fill in your favorite.

I almost lost my license several years back here in Tx due to too many speeding tickets and our insurance didn't go up at all. (I was on the road a lot) It has made me a very loyal customer for sure. I have had a few since then and still no increase. Even got a fantastic rate on the p-car.

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Eric, thanks for the offer. My wife called a few attorneys today and found someone she was comfortable with. Let's just hope she found someone competent that can make the points go away. One comment that the attorney made was that NC police are notorious for pushing for the highest speed possible on the tickets and that it's rare that they give anyone a break. Looks like I'll be investing in radar detectors for each car when I get home tomorrow.

The attorney is the way to go and they should be able to make the whole thing go away with no impact on her driving record and a few funds from your Porsche Mod account.

This has become a really interesting thread ... On one end we have someone with a minor 11 mph over moving violation and a clean record facing an immediate 45% premium increase ... And the need to hire a lawyer. On the other end some folks who have had multiple and/or occasional tickets and absolutely no impact... Two polar opposites .... Would love to hear from an insurance expert. Is this a state issue, a policy issue, a reporting issue or a combnation thereof.

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Yup, just shows how screwed up NC is. Our impression since moving here recently is that it's a nanny state - we have rules for everything and they don't improve the place.

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I have to disagree. Having lived all over the US and in Europe, I find that the South in general, and NC in particular, is a pretty open and fair place. The police and legal systems/requirements are child's play compared to states like CA, NY and NJ. And insurance premiums here are about as low as they get anywhere in the country. The state's insurance commisioner is famous for denying requests for rate increases. The new Republican state assembly is trying to undo those regulations to let 'market forces' prevail. While I am all for free enterprise, I really hope that effort fails. Now, it is the South, so there are the old-time speed trap towns here and there. But overall, I find it to be a great place to live and to drive. And as for Wake County, and Apex and Cary specifically, the police are a bit overzealous, particularly in Cary. But I think they are just trying to keep the rest of us safe from all the idiot Northern transplants flying around town in their SUVs and minivans trying to get their precious above-average children from play date to soccer practice (the joke is that Cary is an acronym for "Containment Area for Relocated Yankees"). An honest local speeding in a Porsche rarely has to worry. Just don't leave the front NY license plate on the car

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Just to make sure NYers feel at home our cable service recently added the NY1 news channel to the cable lineup! I can't complain too much though because I did live in New York for six years before moving here.

One other option to try...it takes no lawyer...is to call the traffic court and request "deferred adjudication". Essentially you end up paying the fine and if your wife does not get another ticket for some period of time (6 months to a year) then the original ticket never hits the books. This offer is often accepted when someone has no recent tickets on their record. If NC is interested only in revenue and if they have a deferred adjudication program, this may be the way to go. Good luck.

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Clayton C ary L ike A rea Y ankees are T rying O ut N ow I moved to Clayton, NC 10 years ago (from NYC), I have had 3 speeding tickets, they have all been over 3 years apart. I show up, ask for "Prayer Judgment" (or something like that) and 2 of them got "dismissed" with a 100 dollar court cost. Now, do not get another one within 2 years, or they both count. The last ticket (about 2 years ago) really made me angry, the idiot told me: "You know why I stopped you?".....No..... "You look like you where going fast".....really?, and how much is that over the speed limit?...."I do not really know, but it was about 20 over"....I started laughing...he wrote me 20 over (85MPH). That day I was doing 60 on a 65...but was driving a convertible with the top down. Went to court, told the judge the story (with a piece of paper dated the date of the ticket, I wrote the conversation with the cop when I got home - as evidence). Judge looks at me, looks and asks the cop "..do you recall this conversation?.."no, but he looked like he was going fast"...and then the judge states "ticket is dismissed"....no court costs, but spent the whole morning in court. The ADA was an ash hole too, as he did not want to drop (not prosecute) the ticket when I approached him to explain the cop himself stated he did not know what speed I was going. The cop is from the town of Knightdale, and usually is parked under the bridge on 64 and 540

Let's just say I've paid my fair share of funds to a few select attorneys, mostly in NC (Mecklenburg County/Charlotte area, Guilford County/Greensboro area, Wake/Orange County Chapel Hill/Raleigh area; and of course, all places between Charlotte and Myrtle Beach). I have NOT walked away with freebies in each case, no jail time, no loss of license, some great outcomes where none expected, but I have had to pay the piper for a few. The sucky part from insurance is if my kid got a ticket in a honda, the insurance rips my Porsche premium. Yep, they take the highest rated premium vehicle, and attach the massive increase to that one, along with all your other vehicles. However, having a top notch insurance guy in the fold really helps. As does a few well-placed legal friends. Beyond that, I don't screw up in city street driving, it's typically freeway, minimal traffic, and WITH radar. One of the pressing issues is whether the ticket was issued by local police, or hwy patrol. Outcomes are usually different with locals than with the state boyz.

Last ticket I had the judge in Asheboro publicly and loudly thanked me for being so polite to the officer that ticketed me on US64 in Ramseur - apparently a well known speed trap except by me. The judge made his statement not for my benefit, but to make a clear point to the 100's of yokels in the courtroom behind me. Court costs and no points. Obvious lesson: always be polite to the cops and wear a tie to court, but not a fancy suit.

My insurance agent got a speeding ticket and he obviously didn't want to have a speeding ticked on his record. So his lawyer found a non moving violation to plead guilty for. The speeding ticket was 125.00 and he pled guilty for "excessive noise" for a 150.00 fine. In the end it's all about the money.

My wife was very polite about it. The LEO basically said that she was getting a ticket to make a point. Idiot. I just spent $300 on a radar detector for her last night. The stupid thing is that out of the two of us she is the slower driver and rarely pushes speed limits. I'm actually also a little annoyed at the attorney she has selected, as he is just going to argue it down to <9mph so there are no insurance points. I would have preferred him to push for a non-moving violation and a fine, but my wife is so upset by this issue that she will not push for that. The attorney acts like there's no consequence to <9mph ticket, but the reality is that is we change insurance in the next few years she will be asked if she has a ticket on her record and we'll still get dinged on rates.

Insurance agents are real people, too. They know everyone speeds- and I do mean everyone . A single ticket after decades of driving, and it's <9mph over? That's pretty much frameable proof she's not an excessive speeder. FWIW, my wife and I have each averaged a ticket every 2 years or so, always for 10-15mph over, because we typically cruise at 70mph on the highway, just like everyone else. Our insurance rates went down when we married and hit certain age brackets, but have never risen due to a ticket.

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This has worked for my wife twice. The city wants their $, which is fine. She did not deny speeding (we believe in telling the truth), but asked for a non-moving violation and to pay the same fine to the city. City gets their revenue and insurance rates don't go up. The only one getting the shaft is the insurance company.

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Hey Wellardmac Don't worry the 996 is no longer considered a high end car My $0.02 worth just pay the lawyer, I know it sucks, it'll all soon be over. My insurance company forgives the first speeding infraction if <10 mph. Also best bet is to buy insurance through a broker, always a good sounding board when discussing your latest infraction Hope to see you at coffee soon. Bruce

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Bruce that was just cold, man.

I was actually thinking more of my M3. As for coffee - it has just been a busy summer. My family is soaking up my time while the weather is good. I'll try and make it again soon.

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I know that we should be able to get it reduced to <10mph and it will not impact the current insurance. My hope is to reduce it to a non-moving violation so that we don't get dinged when we change insurance companies.

Well, the update is that Wake County does not offer non-moving violations, so we'll have to go with the plea for <9mph.

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This is just not a big deal. If your record is clean they will write it down and you will pay court costs. No insurance notification. Deep breaths.