Keep in mind that officers are:
The tickets are handled in court by the district attorney not the officer.
The only advice you should accept is the one given by a lawyer.
saving money on car insurance
One of the most important things I do as an attorney is to assist clients in mitigating the affect of a speeding ticket on insurance.
When I interview my clients I always try to find out four things;
1) What the new ticket is for;
2) What other tickets the client has been convicted of;
3) The convictions of all drivers on the insurance policy; and
4) the insurance renewal date.
All of this information is essential in order to determine the best way to handle a ticket. Take a stop sign violation for instance. If the ticket does not involve an accident then the best outcome is normally to use a prayer for judgment. However, a prayer for judgment is only available to one member of a household every three years. Therefore, if anyone else on the policy has used a prayer for judgment in the past three years then that option would not be available.
The insurance renewal date is also very important and is often overlooked by less experienced attorneys. The reason for this is that insurance rates do not adjust midterm.
When the insurance renewal date arrives the insurance company checks the records of the drivers on the policy to determine whether a rate adjustment is appropriate. As such, if the case can be continued until after a renewal date then this may solve a problem such as prayer for judgment availability or tickets within the three year experience period.
If you need help with a traffic ticket please give a call for assistance.
Speeding in a School Zone Raleigh Wake County
One of the more difficult cases that I handle is the speeding in a school zone ticket. This charge is governed by NCCGS 20-141.1 which imposes a mandatory $250.00 fine plus court costs in the event of a conviction. A speeding in a school zone will also cause an insurance increase no matter what the speed or zone. For instance, a first time offender convicted of speeding 30 in a 25 mph school zone will cause an insurance point whereas a first time offender found responsible for speeding 30 in a 25 non-school zone will not. In most of these cases I attempt to use a prayer for judgment which will be allowed by some judges as long as community service is performed. I also will look at the way the ticket is written and whether or not the school zone was clearly marked or indicated and was visible to the driver. These can lead to defenses that may be an option in the event a prayer for judgment is not available.
Many of my clients do not understand the potential affects that a seemingly simple traffic ticket could have on their license privilege. There are many speeding violations that could result in a suspension in the discretion of the NC DMV. Believe me, no one wants the discretion to suspend a license to be left in the hands of the DMV. For instance, if one is convicted of speeding over 55 mph twice in a 12 month period their license may be revoked. The important dates to look at are the first conviction date and the OFFENSE DATE of the second conviction. As a result, one cannot simply continue the second violation until after 12 months from the earlier conviction in order to avoid a suspension. Another common possible suspension violation is speeding over 75 when the speed limit is 65 of less. In these cases it is very important to hire an attorney. Although a limited privilege may be available in these circumstances those can be very expensive to maintain and are “limited” in scope.
