Silas creek pkwy doing67 in a 45 by accident.

This is my first offense in any traffic incident, my reasons were stress & sick stomach made me not realize I was going that fast. I did end up having to pull over & vomit before I got home, I think I ate something bad....

How much trouble am I in & is there any way to fix it?

22 over?  That's gonna be expensive.  Wait by the mailbox, you'll be getting mail from a bunch of lawyers that will offer to help you out.

You can go to traffic court, and they'll probably reduce the charge if you agree to plead guilty.  You'll have to pay a fine and you'll get points on your license (causing an increase in your auto insurance).


















 

Yep. The offers will come. Not sure of your age, but that'll make a big difference as far as insurance goes.

When I got my first one, it was 82 in a 55. I was 18, so my dad handled most of it. When we went to visit the DA, his first statement was he was surprised I still had a license. They can actually take it for 15+ over the limit, or so he said. We paid a fine and had it reduced to 9 over the limit and a prayer for judgment, so it didn't affect my insurance at the time. You used to get one PFJ every three years, and as long as no second ticket in that timeframe, the first one dropped off. If you got a second one, they now both count.

For me, the second one was about two months later and harder to explain, as we lived in Charlotte and I was in school at NCSU. The ticket was around 1p on a Monday, somewhere outside of Asheville. So yeah, not exactly in class at the time.

The funny part was about 2 years later when I got two tickets 10 days apart. I got so many pieces of mail my mom thought they were job offers. Nevermind I was in Engineering school and still a junior.


You can either:
1. Go talk to the DA ahead of time and see what options you have.
2. Pay an attorney to handle it.
Ok...so third option is to start with #1 and decide on #2 depending on how the talk goes


Your best choices will probably be:
1. Try the PFJ route
2. Get the ticket reduced to something that doesn't have a MPH attached to it. "Exceeding a safe speed" is fewer license and insurance points and still a moving violation (it could be 20MPh in a parking lot). The better option is get it reduced to something like "Improper Equipment", which is a non-moving violation. (The "no speed associated" is important because two tickets that are 15+ over in a year can cause you to lose your license).

With the lawyers, it's just a scam for money between them and the courts, but it's the easy route. They can usually tell you up front what they can get it reduced to. It'll cost you a couple hundred bucks, but that's cheaper than increased insurance for 3 years.

I've done all combinations of my two 1/2 lists up there. Had 7 tickets on my record at one time. Paying $250/month for my car and $320/month for insurance. So...do as I say and not as I did, and use this as a learning lesson.

(That was all between 18-23...got my CDL at 24 to drive buses at church, and definitely changed my driving habits at the same time)

If its your first ticket in (I think) five years all you have to do is say I want to go to driving school.  That will reduce the ticket to improper equipment and that doesn't affect your insurance.

I just went through this three months ago (46 in a 25).  I still had to pay the fine but not until I went to driving school (around $300 but that included the driving school). Good luck and its not a big deal.

The more egregious the violation the less likely they are to negotiate, especially with you, with your attorney may be a different story, use one with an office in Forsyth, they probably know the magistrate better than someone from a surrounding county, otherwise you can probably just shop by price, traffic does seem largely cut and dry, unless you do something incredibly stupid. I know one very well if you'd like a recommendation.
At least you weren't in the 35 stretch.
If you'd vomited on the officers shoes perhaps they would've believed your story, play up the ailment next time.

If you don't have an attorney call your insurance agent and he will know one that can get you off with an improper equipment.  My son got one for 82 in a 60 in Ohio and the attorney I got up there got him an improper windsheild wiper.  I don't know any attorneys up your way.

I would do one of two things.  1) Talk to the DA's office and see if you can take the defensive driving course for a reduced charge or 2) Choose one of the lawyers from all the letters you'll be getting.  1 will be cheaper but 2 will require less of your time.

I got pulled over and given a ticket last march on the way to the OBX.  Trooper wrote it fro 70 in a 55.  Called the DA a few weeks before my court date, asked if there was a way to settle this over the phone (court was 3 hours each way from where I live), she said no problem, reduced it over the phone to improper equipment and all I had to do was mail in a fine.  No points on my license, no insurance increase.  Pretty easy.


First speeding ticket BTW

The only time I speed on silas creek is when I try to jump the hill in front of the Jeep dealership!

Holy airtime, Batman!  Back when I was young and dumb, I hit that one on my final run at 90 on a '90 FZR 600.  I landed pretty much right in front of the Jeep place.  Coming west from downtown on First Street was a real pucker factor jump, too.  

It's a real wonder that we're not dead.

its not as good as it used to be. They repaved that intersection a few years ago and the air time is nowhere near as good.

what used to be real fun was catching air on First street headed west towards the new ball park from Cherry St., well until those two dumbass kids killed themselves by hitting a light post at the bottom of the hill.

OP, update?

No updates until august.

But you have an attorney, right?

In NC if you're doing 20+ in a speed zone below 55 it could be trouble for your license.  Be sure to touch base with an attorney who handles speeding tickets and knows when how to weigh and advise for PJC or IE or reduced charges and how they affect licensure as well as court ramifications, insurance and future possible tickets.

I haven't done traffic in quite a few years and that was in the Hickory area...

Yep.  Or they can convert one speeding ticket to two or three parking tickets instead.  At least that's how they do it in upstate NY.  Why would NC be any different?

I do have an attorney & have followed his advice.

Is that the real Ajax72? I though he was just an urban legend.

The least you could do is accept IMs here.

You got the best of me, friend.  But please forgive my bad memory.

Probably the effects of too many loud noises, the smell of gunpowder, the after effects of the Bethlehem restaurant coffee, and being exposed to the rest of us that went shooting in the remote  field north of the bridge.

Ring any bells yet?


Sorry for the hijack op.

Was reduced to non-moving violation. No points or insurance hikes.

Incidentally my attorney also handles cases of justifiable homicide.

Thanks for posting that, you saved me  about a screen's worth of text explaining the process and system to try and help you through it all. Now you know first hand about the scam.

If you don't mind would you post what your court cost was for and which court , city, county or state traffic? It would be interesting to compare which areas are charging what.


When you think about all the multiple traffic courts in the all towns and cities, then 100 counties tat we have and finally the state's branches , things add up fast. All those town/City Street officers,  the County Police, Sheriffs(varies by county on levels) the State Troopers and then the DMV's Enforcement Troopers which usually targets truckers and those numbers will scare you for the  amounts of fines....  Don't forget  to factor in the extra special  'insurance companies funded overtime traffic enforcement programs(for safety they claim but funny how they profit from tickets, a conflict of interests... and when has the insurance companies cared about people suffering? Because hospitals tell another story....) for holidays and party dates.    Aka big money surge to the coffers, and its '...for da children....' even at 1am.....


Did you have to physical appear before the judge?"  Because if so,  what you saw was one of several sessions  in just one day which is  happening in multiple court rooms,  all day, every week day ,all year long all over this country from all these various  sources. That doesn't include the people that pay the fine by mailing it in,  instead of trying to plea for a reduction. Which they get hit worse from all angles for doing that.
The sheer volume of cash coming into  that system is astounding, although it begs  the question with all that revenue, where does it all go? Why do we need toll roads? Traffic tickets and court fines have covered our road way development just like that gasoline tax which is around 37.5 cents per  gallon in my county last time I looked.

Hope you grace through the period of time until those non moving violations fall off because officers can still see them and know what they mean. Which effects if they let you off with warnings.

Glad to hear it turned out great with no points and no insurance rate hikes.  Even though it cost you and they still got your money.....