Anyone charged with a speeding offense should contact an attorney before disposing of the ticket in order to minimize the risk of a vehicle insurance rate increase as well as the possibility of a license suspension. For the good driver who occasionally gets a speeding ticket:
- NC's Safe Driver Incentive Plan provides that a first convictions within a three year period for speeding 10 MPH or less over the posted speed will not create any grounds for an increase in insurance premium points. This provision does not apply in certain circumstances where the driver has had an accident in the three year period or where the violation of speeding occurred in a school zone. A prior violation in which the driver was granted a PJC during the previous three years would not affect this provision.
- Most prosecutorial districts have a policy whereby violations of up to 20 MPH, and sometimes 25 MPH, over the posted limit are regularly reduced to nine over the speed limit in order to allow first time speeders the opportunity to benefit from the Safe Driver Incentive Plan.
- Some counties, such as Wake, are requiring young drivers under age 18 to attend four hour driver education classes in order to "earn' a reductions in their speed.
- In some counties other than Wake, prosecutors plead down speeding offenses to "improper equipment" violations, which are non-moving violations for DMV purposes and do not affect vehicle insurance.
Contact The Law Offices of Brad Sahl, P.C. today for a free consultation.