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This past weekend I received a reckless driving ticket going 87 in a 65 in on I-85 in NC. I haven't had a ticket in over 5 years and now I have to appear in court! I have no idea what to expect and I am really nervous. Has anyone ever been through this and can let me know what to expect as well as any pointers? Thank you in advance for your input!
There are those who will disagree with me, but spend the $$ and get a traffic attorney. They can likely get it pled down. You still spend money, but save points on your license and keep your insurance premiums down.
Hopefully someone will have a recommendation for you. I don't have a name of one.
Just out of curiosity, were you driving faster than 87 and the cop dropped it down to 87, or were you actually driving 87 and just got nailed?
I got nailed. He was in an undercover cop car and followed me for a long time before pulling me over. I couldn't believe he was a cop- it was a tan older car. He nailed me for the fastest speed he clocked me at. I usually don't drive that fast but that was my first time driving on I 85 and I was cruising along with traffic. (I know, excuses excuses excuses) I live just over the border in South Carolina. How do you go about getting a copy of your driving record?
You could luck out with the fact that sometimes NC and SC don't let each other know about tickets. You will get about 20 letters from different lawyers in the next week or two. I would strongly suggest selecting one and paying them for their services. Should cost a few hundred bucks, but worth the points on your license and possible your insurance not being notified.
You're definitely gonna want the traffic lawyer. In NC if you're ticketed for anything over 80 mph they'll suspend your license. If you can plea it down to 79 mph, you won't lose your license (as I understand it).
I had a friend get ticketed back in May for doing 84, and he was actually able to call someone, honestly can't remember who, someone in the traffic court system. He did have to go out to the court house and speak with someone directly. But he said he was an out of state motorist on vacation and wouldn't be able to make it down and just kinda gave them a sob story and they said they'd reduce it down below 80 and he'd have to pay the fine and I think a couple of points. So you might want to try that first to see if you can get lucky.
Get a traffic attorney. it will probably cost you $150 for the attorney, and will have to pay a court fee of $120, but in the long run it will be worth it, (and might be less than the fee on the ticket itself). Most attorney's are going to be able to reduce the ticket...the court does not WANT to spend their resources fighting a speeding ticket. Your attorney will likely push off your court date until a favorable DA is on the docket...they will cut a deal with that DA out of court, and it will be a done deal. My guess is you received two trafic infractions...speeding of 87 in a 65 AND reckless driving (which you received by default because of your speed). Generally, your attorney will try to remove alltogether the more serious of the two, and have the other reduced. I was in the same situation, 83 in a 55 on i77 south, on my way to a job interview (I got the job).....the reckless was dropped, and the speeding was reduced to 64 in a 55....message me if you want the attorney's info. Good luck.
I am gonna agree w/ all the posters who have suggested getting an attorney. All I can say is - if it were me or one of my kids - I would be getting an attorney.
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