The most common traffic ticket in Mecklenburg County is a speeding ticket. More speeding tickets are written than any other type of moving violation in Mecklenburg County. Speeding tickets frequently carry with them mandatory court appearances. However, as in most other moving violations, our lawyers are able to appear on a client’s behalf even for a mandatory court appearance.
While each speeding ticket is different, determining whether there is a mandatory court appearance requires the attorney to ask about the specifics of the speeding ticket and your prior driving record. A common example deals with charges greater than 15mph and driving faster than 55mph (or if speeding greater than 80mph) These tickets carry with them a mandatory thirty-day suspension for the first conviction and a sixty-day suspension for the second conviction. A general rule of thumb is if the ticket is one wherein the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles could suspend your license, than a Court appearance is mandatory.
How the ticket will affect insurance is a common concern. A general rule of thumb is: the higher the speed the larger the increase on your insurance, however, this is dependent on the posted speed as well. In general NC uses 55mph as a measuring stick to determine insurance points. For example, two insurance points are assigned for speeding greater than 10mph over the posted speed, provided the total speed was in excess of 55mph. However, only one insurance point is assigned for speeding 10mph or less when the speed limit is less than 55mph. One point on your insurance carries a 25% surcharge on your insurance compared to two points which carries a 45% surcharge.
Many clients contact us after a speeding ticket has been handled improperly. A common example is using a PJC which is not recognized by your insurance. In those cases our lawyers can file a motion with Court to reopen the mishandled ticket and handle it properly. In other cases, our lawyers can get our clients a limited driving privilege. The privilege is limited in duration not to exceed 12 months.
Please contact one of our traffic lawyers to discuss your speeding ticket or limited driving privilege.
