Charlotte Speeding Tickets
Speeding Tickets in Charlotte NC

Speeding tickets are some of the most common traffic charges in Charlotte. The police are everywhere, and they are always keeping their eyes open for speeders. Speeding tickets are easy money for the city and Mecklenburg County. The fines pay for a lot of city bills and salaries. Some people even think the police have some secret quota to meet. There may not be a quota system, but the police certainly do write a lot of speeding tickets here everyday. We are Charlotte speeding ticket attorneys and are here to take away the inconvenience of getting a ticket.

Try Not to Worry. This Is What We Do.

When you get a speeding ticket or other traffic violation, you are going to receive between a large number of unsolicited letters in the mail from lawyers seeking to represent you. If you search for help on the internet, you will find a number of specifically targeted websites just like ours. The difference in our approach is that we are not going to try to scare you or make dire predictions. Let’s be honest. Unless you already have a bad driving record, a simple speeding ticket is not a big deal. It is more of a pain than anything else. No one is going to jail. You will face higher auto insurance rates if you just pay the ticket. Try to relax. We are here in Charlotte, and we do this for a living. We’re going to make this process easy for you.

What Are Your Options?

In most speeding ticket cases, you typically have a number of options available IF you have a good driving record. A good driving record generally means you have not had another traffic offense or infraction for the past three (3) years. We will need you to get us a copy of your driving record. It is readily available online through the NC Department of Motor Vehicles. If you are visiting or just moved to Charlotte from another State, we will need your driving record from that area. Again, don’t worry. If you would prefer for us to get your driving record, we will be happy to do so at cost. Once we have that information, we can then negotiate with the prosecutors on your scheduled court date. Of course, if you hire us to represent you, we will go to court in your place. You will not have to fight Charlotte traffic, pay for parking, and then stand in long lines waiting for your case to be called.

Improper Equipment (IE)

Many times, this is your best option and is one of our favorites. If you have a good driving record and the pending charge is just ordinary speeding (not in a school or work zone), the “improper equipment” plea is just what you want. This is a non-moving offense, so there are no resulting points on your driving history. Consequently, there should be no increase in your auto insurance premiums. You pay a fine and court costs, and you are done. Keep in mind that this reduction is only available as a practical matter once every three (3) years, since this is how long most offenses remain on your driving record.

Prayer for Judgment Continued (PJC)

This is another good option for those individuals with relatively good, but not totally clean, driving records. We can handle this matter for you, and you usually will not have to appear in court. A prayer for judgment continued basically means you plead guilty to the charge, but aside from the court costs, you typically do not have any points on your license or insurance. If you have no other traffic tickets or infractions for the next three (3) years, the charge is dismissed.

Traffic Classes

This option is worthwhile but does require you to participate.  This requires time, but is an option that can help you avoid charges on your record.

Ticket Reduction

Sometimes in cases with Excessive Speeding that could result in immediate license forfeiture, the best way to handle the ticket is to simply have the speed reduced.  while there will still be license and insurance points involved, the person could still keep their license.

Speeding Ticket Process Explained

Depending the speed and the speed limit in the area, you may be facing different levels of punishment.  The number of insurance and license points you are assigned, as well as the fine that is imposed, is based on the level of your punishment. In some cases, it may be possible to plead the speeding ticket down to a lower level of speeding, thus resulting in a lower punishment.  In other cases, a Prayer for Judgment Continued may be appropriate, but this is not available when charged with speeding in excess of 25 miles per hour over the posted limit.

Each level of offense has different drivers license points and insurance points. Normally, getting 12 drivers license points within 3 years results in your license being suspended. Getting 8 or more points on your license within 3 years of your license being reinstated will result in your license getting suspended again. A conviction for certain speeding offenses can result in immediate license suspension. If you get 7 points, you may be required to go to a driving improvement clinic.  Successful completion of the clinic will result in 3 points being taken off of your license.  If you are convicted of speeding in excess of 75 miles per hour, in an area where the speed limit is less than 70 miles per hour, your license can be taken immediately. Likewise, if you speed in excess of 80 miles per hour in an area where the speed limit is 70 miles per hour, your license can be taken immediately.

There are various levels of speeding charges such as 0-5 over, 6-10 over, 11-15 over, and 16-20 over.  Using this system of speeding charges, your speeding ticket may be negotiated down.  This will result in lower penalties for you.  There are other types of speeding tickets as well.  One example is speeding in a school zone.  If you speed in a school zone, you are facing an additional $250 penalty on top of the underlying speeding charge.  Further, it results in 3 points on your drivers license.  Understandably, this sort of speeding ticket may be harder to deal with, since prosecutors may not be as willing to negotiate when the charge is one in which a child’s safety may be in question.

Failure to Reduce Speed

If you are involved in an accident, you may be charged with failure to reduce speed. This ticket is quite frequently given no matter how trivial the damage from the accident, and it may be given even if you were following the speed limit. For instance, if the car in front of you stops very quickly, and you are unable to stop in time to avoid an accident, you may be written a ticket for failure to reduce speed.  If you are in an accident, you may be faced with the hassle of dealing with insurance, while at the same time having to worry about your tickets. Let us worry about your tickets so your stress will be reduced. You have enough to worry about if you have been involved in an accident. You may have to deal with your own injuries, or damage to your own car. Either way, you should not have to think about a traffic ticket, or worry about getting to court to have it resolved.

It is common practice for the officer to ticket the driver that hit the vehicle in front of him or her. The officer does this to make sure that the accident is fully documented, and to ensure that the drivers involved in the wreck are compensated for their injuries and personal property damage. The Assistant District Attorney can use this charge as leverage to make sure that the driver determined to be at fault will pay for the damage to the other vehicle.

What You Need to Do Next

The next step in this process is a choice. We explained above what to expect and in many cases, what you can do to help yourself. What we offer you is the convenience of having our firm take care of your ticket and minimize the hassle of having to do it yourself. Our attorney fee allows you to avoid wasting a morning or afternoon waiting in line to resolve your ticket. And, if you try to pay online through the court, you can make an error or the court may miss something. Better to have a law firm make certain everything is done correctly, and you won’t have any problems in the future. Give us a call or email us. Let us take it from here. This is what we do. We will be honored to represent you in this matter and let you get on with what you do.