The Dreaded Speeding Ticket/What Now?

No one likes to be stopped by the sound of sirens with the blue lights pulling in behind you on the highway.  At some point, there is great likelihood that you may find yourself in this situation.  This short article will attempt to explain what you should do after receiving a ticket for speeding or other traffic offense. 

• Most traffic offenses are categorized as ‘moving offenses.’ Pleading guilty to a moving offense in North Carolina will result in points on your driver’s license and/or insurance points, which can ultimately significantly negatively affect the cost of your automobile insurance. 
• Some traffic citations you receive will give you the option to avoid the Court process by paying the citation. However, simply paying the citation will result in a technical plea of guilty to the moving violation, wherein you will be surprised with an insurance hike.  Thus, the best option in most cases is not to simply pay the ticket in advance.
• A good option is to hire an attorney to handle the traffic citation for you. If you do, you will likely avoid having to go to Court, and through the attorney’s experience, s/he can based upon many factors attempt to get your citation reduced from a ‘moving’ violation to a ‘non-moving’ violation. 
• Offenses to which you plea guilty to a non-moving violation do not result in insurance points assigned to your automobile insurance, thus no increase in your insurance will occur.

If you find yourself with the blue lights behind you on the highway, remember the pointers above.  If you need the assistance of an attorney, we would be glad to help you through the process and will work hard on your behalf to seek the best possible outcome in your matter.