If you have a wreck and the officer thinks it’s your fault, they may give you a ticket for failure to reduce speed, or failure to yield the right of way, or some other “safe movement” violation. Hopefully, the accident is not too serious, and your main concern is whether it will cause your insurance to go up! If you’ve gotten an accident-related ticket, I can probably help you get it dismissed. Usually, I contact your insurance company and ask them to send me a letter stating that they have paid for the damages to the the other person’s car, or have settled any personal injury claim that has been made against you. I then take that letter to an assistant D.A. and usually they will dismiss the ticket. Depending upon how much your insurance company paid the other driver or injured person to resolve the case, that dismissal may keep your insurance rates from going up. If you have gotten an accident-related ticket, please give me a call at 919-683-2175 so we can figure out the best way to handle your specific case.
“Improper Equipment”
Don’t just pay off that ticket! Let me try to get it reduced for you, maybe to “improper equipment.” Read below to find out why, and then call me at 919-683-2175.
Many District Attorneys will allow a person charged with a speeding ticket or other moving violation to plead responsible to the reduced charge of “improper equipment,” also known as “IE.” How is this helpful? Improper equipment is a great result because it carries no driver’s license or insurance points. It’s the next best thing to having the case dismissed. Until a few years ago, improper equipment cases didn’t even show up on driving records — a person could get fifteen or twenty speeding tickets over the course of a few years, and each one could get an improper equipment. Again, this was due to the feedback loop of IE’s not showing up on the driver’s record. When the assistant district attorney (ADA) looked at the person’s record, it appeared clean, even though the driver had had many tickets reduced to improper equipment. So, the legislature changed the law to require cases of improper equipment to show up on a person’s driving record. Improper equipment still carries no points, but when the ADA sees that a driver got an IE a year or two ago, that ADA is not likely to give another one so soon.
As I said above, many District Attorneys will reduce cases to improper equipment. Many, but not all. The most notable exception around the Research Triangle Park (RTP) area is Wake County. Improper equipment is available in Durham and Orange Counties, but not Wake.
When an IE is no longer available, there may be other ways to keep a driver’s insurance from going up, such as “prayer for judgment continued,” which I have discussed in another post.
Finally, some people wonder how it’s right to let someone who is charged with a speeding ticket or improper passing to plead to improper equipment. The simple answer is that it is an outright act of grace or mercy on the part of the State and of the judge, who must approve all pleas. And who among us does not need a bit or grace or mercy at least a few times in our lives? I know I do!
Now, please do the proper thing and call or email me about helping you get an improper equipment! 919-683-2175.
New Court Costs — RE-amended Post!
Here’s my latest experience on court costs. If you plead guilty to a traffic infraction, the basic court costs will be $188. If you plead guilty to a non-infraction ticket, the basic costs will be $190. (How to tell if your case is an infraction or a “regular” ticket? You’ll need to know the file number, which is separate from the citation number. If the letters between the numbers are “IF,” it’s an infraction. If the letters are “CR,” it’s not an infraction. )
If we get your case reduced to improper equipment, which is just about the best break there is, short of dismissal, then there will be an extra court cost of $50. If the judge wants to (but they usually don’t), he or she can also add a fine.
Finally, let me warn you about the “late fees” that came into effect in August of 2011. If you miss your court date by more than twenty days, you will be charged a $200 late fee! Occasionally, we can get those forgiven, but just be aware of that if you’ve got a pending ticket.
Have a traffic question? Give me a call at 919-683-2175.
Areas I Cover
I prefer to stick with Durham County and Orange County. My office is a one-minute walk to the Durham County Judicial Building, and I can easily drive over to Hillsborough, the home of the Orange County Courthouse. Some of the communities in Durham County are Timberlake, Rougemont, and, of course, the City of Durham . Orange County has Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough, plus a few other crossroads. Major roads that go through the area include I-40, I-85 and Highways 15-501, 147, 54 and 55.
How much are the attorney’s fees?
I have always had the goal of charging traffic fees that anyone with a car and a driver’s license could pay. Having said that, the fee varies with the case. For example, the fee would be less for a “basic” ticket (such as 68 mph in a 55 mph zone) than it would for a more serious case. An example of a more serious case would be one in which the speed is high enough to suspend your license. The fee also is higher if there is more than one charge arising from the same incident. I charge for mileage if a ticket is in Wake County.
My fee does not include the court costs or any fine. Often the amount of the court costs and fine will be written on the back of the ticket. However, those amounts, especially the fine, may change depending upon how we resolve your case. The amounts that may be written on the ticket assume that you plead guilty as charged. If I get the charges reduced the fine may change. If we resolve your case using a prayer for judgment continued (PJC), there will be no fine, only the court costs.
“Points”
Have a traffic ticket? Please call me now at 919-683-2175 for a free consultation.
People often ask, “How many points will I get for this?”
There are two point systems that apply to traffic cases. There are driver’s license points and insurance points. Driver’s license points result from convictions of moving violations. If you get 12 driver’s license points your license will be suspended.
Insurance points are another matter. Just one insurance point will cause your insurance rates to increase 25% for three years. The charging of higher rates for people with traffic convictions is part of North Carolina’s Safe Driver Incentive Plan. Click here for a chart that lists how many insurance points apply to each type of conviction and the resulting insurance rate increase. There is also a brief description of a couple of exceptions that apply.
Please call me now at 919-683-2175 for a free consultation.
Background on Traffic Cases
Have a traffic ticket? Please call me now at 919-683-2175 for a free consultation.
Some background information about traffic cases:
Most tickets will cause your insurance to go up. The amount of the increase depends on the ticket. For example, driving 68 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone would result in two insurance points, which would mean a 45% increase. Driving 78 mph in a 65 mph zone is more serious, and would result in four points, and in an increase of 80%. Usually, I can get these types of charges reduced so that your insurance does not go up as much or not at all.
Some tickets will cause your license to be suspended unless they are reduced. The most common type of suspension occurs when both of these things are true: You are driving over 55 miles per hour and, at the same time your speed is more than 15 miles per hour over the limit. For example, a charge of 74 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone would result in a thirty-day suspension. Again, I usually can get these cases reduced to prevent the suspension.
Please call now at 919-683-2175 for a free consultation.
