I got one last month in VA. Was driving fathers new work truck that I was not familiar with, and speed limit dropped from 35 to 25 before I went over the hill. Cop sitting there waiting on the other side. 42 in a 25. No tickets in just over 3 years. Should I call and see if I can get it reduced or just say fuck it and pay it? I am not going back up there to deal with it, but at 17, should I try to get a drop or something?

8/1/2008 5:33:46 PM

call a lawyer

nobody cares that you weren't familiar with the truck. even the fact that the speed limit changed and you have a clean record are important only because that gives them an excuse to drop it to 9 over or some sort of non-moving violation.

they mostly just want your money. they're going to get some of it one way or another. there isn't going to be any trial or anything...the lawyer isn't going to spend hours preparing and pleading a case for you...you just need him because (a) it's a good old boy's club, and (b) he'll keep continuing the case and being an asspain for them if they don't cut you a break, and it's no big deal to him--he's gonna be at the courthouse anyway, unlike you.

[Edited on August 1, 2008 at 5:55 PM. Reason : asdfasd]

[Edited on August 1, 2008 at 5:56 PM. Reason : stupid fast driving tax]

8/1/2008 5:52:03 PM

lawyer up!

8/1/2008 6:01:49 PM

What they said ^ ^^

8/1/2008 6:30:45 PM

this thread title is the story of my life.

yeah, va dmv reports to nc dmv so i would definitely see about a lawyer. even a lawyer is going to have a bit of a hard time getting that one thrown out or reduced to a non moving violation, though. it's a bad ticket because of the speed zone you were in, wouldn't be so bad if it was 72 in a 55 or something.

so... first, i would call the da's office for the county and speak to someone. a lot of times they'll go ahead and reduce it to 9 over or something over the phone and you just mail in your payment. everyone wins. you get the charged reduced and don't have to deal with a lawyer or going back up there, the da's office/court gets a case off their calender, and the county/state gets their money. be apologetic and explain to them you are from nc and were just passing through. DO NOT bitch or make any excuses about it though, or otherwise infer that you shouldn't have gotten a ticket. you were in "their" territory, keep that in mind. don't openly admit guilt, either (at least not until if or when you're made an offer). if that fails, get a lawyer.

8/1/2008 6:51:59 PM

^ Yep.

Also, sometimes states that DO report to NC don't report everything to NC.

I can't remember the specifics, but I know this was the case in SC, at least a few years ago. I think it might've been <15 over doesn't get reported to NC, but I can't remember. At any rate, the ticket I got down there never got reported to NC (I already had tickets on my record, so even a 9 over ticket would've meant an increase in insurance.)

8/1/2008 6:55:42 PM

sc doesn't report to nc (unless something has changed recently), but nc insurance companies do sometimes search sc records because of that.

8/1/2008 7:15:48 PM

How much will it run me to lawyer up on them if I call and get the cold shoulder from the DA's office?

8/1/2008 9:08:01 PM

i thought all states began communicating now?

maybe i misunderstood.. I know my mom works for a lawyer and about a year ago she said they had a shit load of tickets from years ago come in from all kinds of weird ass states and it was a huge fiasco. Maybe that was just one or two states or something but seemed like a big deal to a small office at the time...

8/1/2008 9:24:37 PM

they all communicate for the purposes of unpaid fines and failure to appears, but not for license or insurance points. for example, if you get a ticket in california and think you can just not pay it because it's on the other side of the country, you'll find your nc driver's license suspended until the matter is settled.

not sure why a nc lawyer would be having anything to do with out of state tickets at all in the first place? most are only licensed to practice within the state they reside...

[Edited on August 1, 2008 at 9:31 PM. Reason : .]

8/1/2008 9:30:54 PM

^^^ $250 is fairly standard.


What I've always wondered, and should probably call and find out, is my situation...I live in NC, but have a FL driver's license (active duty military). Right now, I have WA insurance through USAA...I'm supposed to change it to NC, but I wonder if I could leave it as WA and never have tickets reported from NC or SC?

8/1/2008 9:44:14 PM

being unfamiliar with a street and missing a posted speed limit sign is understandable...but...

Quote :

"I got one last month in VA. Was driving fathers new work truck that I was not familiar with,"

I never quite understood this excuse. I mean...all street legal cars have a gas pedal, a brake pedal...some even a clutch. And they always have a speedometer.

8/1/2008 9:53:19 PM

No shit but when you from driving little 4-cylinder stick shift pickup truck to big ass new Chevy V-8 that I ran to the grocery store on which was 2 miles down the road, it is somewhat different. My little truck takes FOREVER to get up to speed, but that thing can obviously get up pretty quick.

Again that wasn't the big issue, I was still assuming the speed limit was 35, which would mean I was only speeding 7 miles over. I always do 7-9 over, but not 17 because of this exact reason. The truck wasn't an excuse just a contributing factor in my fucking up.

8/1/2008 10:09:04 PM

^^^you are "supposed" to notify your insurance company if you've moved to a different state, especially if they don't provide coverage to residents of that state (obviously a non issue with usaa). however, you shouldn't have to worry about tickets here showing up on insurance unless usaa checks dmv records. which, they very well might since such a large chunk of their stuff is active duty military.

you can take advantage of a lot of shit being military, though... such as keeping your license in florida, registering things elsewhere, etc.

[Edited on August 1, 2008 at 10:09 PM. Reason : .]

8/1/2008 10:09:43 PM

Quote :

"not sure why a nc lawyer would be having anything to do with out of state tickets at all in the first place? most are only licensed to practice within the state they reside..."

people were out of state and shit was showing up on their (non-nc) license from NC (LE) from years ago

i misunderstood the situation..

[Edited on August 1, 2008 at 10:39 PM. Reason : years]

8/1/2008 10:39:00 PM

^^ why might i not have to worry about tickets?

also, could I get insurance through someone besides USAA to take advantage of this if USAA is a step ahead of me on that one?

I love USAA, and would use them for everything else, but if I can get away with not having my rates hiked for speeding tickets, I'd get insurance elsewhere.



...and yeah...I'm a FL resident with FL driver's license. I don't have to pay state income tax (FL has none), and they don't have vehicle inspections (if I want to do anything that would cause a vehicle not to pass in NC, I'll just register it in FL and not have to worry about it).

[Edited on August 1, 2008 at 10:46 PM. Reason : asdfasdf]

8/1/2008 10:46:09 PM

^^ahhh, yeah that would make sense. i thought you meant nc clients with out of state tickets. could have been people that hadn't paid their fines here after the state reciprocity legislation went into effect. also, fta's in nc result in arrest warrants being sworn out, so it's not like people can just say "oops" and pay their fine, usually takes a lawyer to get the warrant withdrawn and make arrangements for a new court date or otherwise settle the case.

^i meant not worry as in have them show on your florida record and your insurance, not as in not get them. i'm not familiar enough with all the insurance companies and how they operate that i'd want to hazard a guess as to it being beneficial to switch. i would say that you should probably research companies that offer coverage to florida residents and will cover any accidents in nc and other states, but they don't offer insurance to nc residents. this would probably require you to register any vehicles in florida as well.

[Edited on August 1, 2008 at 10:53 PM. Reason : .]

8/1/2008 10:47:04 PM

You know what really pisses me off?

Well, first of all, it pisses me off that insurance companies raise your rates for speeding tickets. Why? They figure that if you're driving faster, you're more likely to have a wreck and cost them money.

Neither insurance companies or cops/courts account for what you're driving (doing 20+ over in my Evo or on my GSX-R was much different than doing it in my 3/4 ton Ram). That frustrates me some, too.

...but what REALLY pisses me off is insurance companies offering "accident forgiveness". They'd better offer some "speeding ticket forgiveness", too, beyond 9-over being waiveable. You mean to tell me that they will charge you more for speeding because you might be more likely to get into a wreck, but if you FUCKING GET INTO A WRECK, THEY SHRUG THEIR SHOULDERS AND SAY, "EHH, WHATEVER. WE'LL LET IT SLIDE, THIS TIME"?


___________________

yeah, that's what i mean. i wonder if i could get a NC-only insurance company for my auto policies, keep my FL license, and never have anything show up on my insurance?

[Edited on August 1, 2008 at 10:52 PM. Reason : asdfads]

8/1/2008 10:51:11 PM

i got a speeding ticket in VA (14 over in a 55), and hired a local small town lawyer who needed to have a meeting with me, and wanted me to show up for court with him for the ticket, and finally did NOT get it reduced or anything. Paid the fucker 250 plus I had to pay for the ticket and court costs, and it went on my insurance.

i was so fucking pissed.


(this was back in 2004)

[Edited on August 2, 2008 at 12:21 PM. Reason : ]

8/2/2008 12:19:14 PM

Just want to check, do you know if this is fucking true:

Quote :

"The North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles will suspend your North Carolina drivers license if you are are convicted of a speeding ticket in excess of 15mph over the speed limit in any state."

Is this true? I could lose my fucking license for this stupid ticket in VA?!?

8/5/2008 8:24:45 AM

Meh, it won't happen. It'll get dropped down to a lesser speed. I got pulled for something like 107 in a 70 and still kept my license

lawyers ftw

8/5/2008 8:32:27 AM

Should I try to get it lowered or PFJ this thing and save the cost of a lawyer?

8/5/2008 9:00:04 AM

I say just get it reduced yourself and take your lumps. It could be a lot worse man, trust me.

8/5/2008 9:02:40 AM

Ah shit, I ain't as worried now. That other site wasn't completely accurate. The 15 over = suspension is only if its in excess of 55 mph. In my case it don't apply.

I ain't too worried about "taking my lumps" as you say. I fucked up and understand its the price you pay. I just didn't want to lose my license in NC, seeing as how I live 30 miles from work!

8/5/2008 9:04:55 AM

haha yeah.. you could have my driving record and pay more in car insurance then it would cost to finance your car for 4 years.

8/5/2008 9:17:59 AM

I have gotten numerous tickets, 15+ over, in excess of 55 and I think I lost my license once because of it- and that was my first ticket ever at age 17.

8/5/2008 9:19:02 AM

i have had a total of 11 tickets, 3 went to court, and 0 went on my record

8/5/2008 9:36:59 AM

I need to add mine up.. I'm sure bbr has me beat but I've gotta be somewhere close to ^

I had one careless/reckless ticket I couldn't get dismissed entirely but I got it down to something that didn't really make a difference. Doing a doughnut in front of a cop=bad idea

8/5/2008 10:15:00 AM

So just call them up and give them the case # and say, what? That I want to see if I can get the ticket reduced and just pay it off to avoid the whole court matter? Should I mention that I am concerned about losing my license in NC for the 15 over thing and not mention the "if its over 55" clause? Not sure how to approach this and don't want to sound too nervous or like a douchebag or whatever.

8/5/2008 10:25:53 AM

Quote :

"sc doesn't report to nc"

they did to me in 01 or 02

78 in a 55 zone

go screwed by 20.16 (a) (c) about the greater than 75 in a speed zone less than 70 for a violation in a different state

took 2.5 years to show up but it did

8/5/2008 10:41:36 AM

Quote :

"i have had a total of 11 tickets, 3 went to court, and 0 went on my record"

I guess lawyers must have a substantial bag of tricks up their sleeve if they've been able to get that many tossed out (though how many of those were before improper equipment was no longer a way out in NC?) Of the 4 tickets I've had, I only got a laywer for the most recent one, and they said the best way out would be to use the available PFJ, presumably because it would be the easiest for all parties. So if I get another one before 3 years is up, I should hope they have other ways to get things thrown out as I do not want the insurance hit from 2 tickets at once appearing (actually they'd probably just drop me, which would be even more fun...)

8/5/2008 10:43:07 AM

Stay the hell out of Virginia if you can help it. There's a reason radar detectors are illegal there - too much revenue to lose. Next time I have to drive through VA I'll drive like an old geezer.

8/5/2008 10:43:37 AM

anyone got any advice on running a red light ticket?

this one is my first of this kind. 50 fine??? ouch

the fucking cop was in front of me pulling up into a median to talk to a homeless person begging at the intersection of HWY 54/Chapel Hill Rd and Cary Parkway. That light changes pretty quickly so i proceed through the intersection looking into my rear view at the cop instead of the light
about the time i looked up ... the light was red and i was well into the intersection so i kept going
stupid me

the cop asked me if i really just ran a red light in front of him and i told him that i was busy watching him since he was running lights and i didnt know if he was going to be getting back in the intersection and it was very distracting but he gave me a ticket anyways...fucking morrisville cop can eat shit burgers

8/5/2008 10:46:51 AM

I got a ticket in Ohio last year. 82 in a 65. Paid the $125 fine, and my insurance never went up. Strange, but I'll let it be...

(I live in MD)

[Edited on August 5, 2008 at 11:33 AM. Reason : ]

8/5/2008 11:33:21 AM

^^ hmm well you could always try the ole' "i had trays of food in my car and i couldnt stop in time or else they would have gone every where" method.

it'll work for red light camera tickets

8/5/2008 12:35:27 PM

got another one 2 days ago.

86 in a 70 on I-65 in Montgomery, AL.


anyone know who to call to see if AL will report that ticket to NC? If they don't, I guess I might as well just pay it instead of lawyering up.

9/8/2008 10:55:14 AM

how many is that for you?

sadly i bet my insurance is still higher.

9/8/2008 10:56:14 AM

shit, i don't know. i think the only one on my record is just a 9-over ticket. i think the rest have been dismissed/reduced to non-moving violations/been over 3 years ago.

This is the 4th ticket in the last 12 months, though!

my insurance is less than $300 every 6 months, i think. it's just liability on the Ram and the SV650.

[Edited on September 8, 2008 at 11:01 AM. Reason : ASsdSAD]

9/8/2008 11:00:47 AM

hahah mine is 200/month just on a 1999 Jeep Cherokee

9/8/2008 11:17:16 AM

for liability only, or do you have comp/collision?

what in the hell did you do? DUI? Pass a stopped school bus while running from the cops?

9/8/2008 11:56:11 AM

you should look into tossing that jeep

they are expensive to insure

get a honda or something

9/8/2008 12:00:52 PM

ours is $500/month, liability only

9/8/2008 12:31:10 PM

9/8/2008 1:12:13 PM

Quote :

"DUI"

[Edited on September 8, 2008 at 1:21 PM. Reason : ^^^^]

9/8/2008 1:21:15 PM

theDuke, damn near EVERY state reports back now. Don't chance it

9/8/2008 1:32:38 PM

yeah, that's what it sounds like to me.

i figure i'll call the DA's office and see if they'll give me a non-moving violation instead of me hiring a lawyer, since i'm deploying in 2 weeks and won't be in a position to deal with it until the spring.

otherwise, i'll hire a lawyer.

9/8/2008 1:34:02 PM

The guy before me on my last speeding ticket court appearance used "dude... i've just been driving a hummer 85 mph across the desert everywhere i go... i'm sorry i forgot i'm back home and can't just floor it everywhere" i think that's honestly the best excuse i've heard yet but the da didn't like it.

9/8/2008 2:11:45 PM

Holy shit yall. You guys must have done some SERIOUS shit or have some ballin' cars to have to pay $200-$500 mo. for insurance.

I got caught 3 years ago (just dropped off actually) for a 106 in a 60 (followed by 2 more tickets the month after for excess of xxx mph). I've been paying ~$60/mo. liability only on the porsche and the mx3 for the last 2 years. I was considering getting an Elise so I called in about that too. It was only going to be ~<$90/mo. more for full coverage ($250 comp/$500 coll. deduct.) for the 2005 Elise. Add liability for the other 2 cars and it's no more than $150/mo ... just saying... I guess I have the hook ups. Who are you all going thru? Maybe we need an insurance thread...

3 of mine are on record, but as dropped... I can see the charges on the insurance paperwork but they don't count against me. Now they are gone forever yay


[Edited on September 8, 2008 at 2:23 PM. Reason : .]

9/8/2008 2:17:23 PM

ours will go down drastically in the next few months when a few things fall off.

we have 5 cars on there, so that might have something to do with it

9/8/2008 2:23:01 PM

Quote :

"Holy shit yall. You guys must have done some SERIOUS shit or have some ballin' cars to have to pay $200-$500 mo. for insurance."

Right on both counts.

9/8/2008 2:42:26 PM