If you have been charged with speeding in North Carolina and given a ticket, you may be wondering how to proceed. Although it may seem easier simply to pay the ticket, doing so may have consequences of which you are not aware. Paying a speeding ticket is essentially admitting guilt to the offense of speeding. This opens the door to high fines, increased insurance costs, and points added to your driver’s license. Depending on the severity of your speeding violation, your driver’s license may even be revoked. It is also important to consider the long-term impact that adding points to your license could have in the event that you get another ticket. In short, the best option is to fight every ticket every time. This is true, particularly if you were not speeding or have a defense.
Defenses to Speeding in North Carolina
You may be surprised to learn that there are a number of defenses that can be used to overcome a speeding violation. While the information below is intended to be general, a North Carolina defense attorney can help you determine the best defense for your particular situation. If you would like more personalized information and a strategy tailored to your case, schedule a consultation with Coastal South Law Firm.
You were not speeding. If you were not speeding, it is important to assert that and try to establish it with evidence as best possible. Radar guns are not always accurate. They can be thrown off by shiny surfaces, incorrectly calibrated, or even accidentally pick up the speed of another vehicle. Additionally, you will notice that many times when you are pulled over an officer will ask you, “Do you know why I pulled you over?” Most of the time they do this to get you to admit that you were speeding because they do not actually have proof. If you were using a GPS at the time that tracks speed, you may also be able to get a report from the GPS reflecting that you were not traveling over the posted speed limit at the time.
No posted speed limit. If the speed limit was not posted, or if a speed limit sign was obstructed by trees, foliage, or other obstacles that would have made it impossible to see, this can be a defense to speeding. If the sign was obscured or blocked, having a picture or evidence of this fact will be helpful. It’s important to note though that even unmarked roads have default speed limits in North Carolina, so not being able to see the speed limit will not help you if you were still traveling faster than could reasonably have been believed to be legal.
Necessity. This defense is not as broad as you might think. For instance, rushing to a meeting to avoid being fired or even rushing to the hospital after hearing a loved one was injured would likely not constitute necessity. However, in certain instances depending on the nature of the emergency the judge may still reduce the speeding offense. Necessity is intended to apply to situations where you had to speed to avoid a serious accident or debris on the road. It may also be found to apply in situations where you were about to be sick and had to get over to the side of the road.
Talk to a North Carolina Speeding Ticket Attorney
If you have been issued a speeding ticket in North Carolina, the best thing you can do is try to fight it, and the experienced speeding ticket attorneys at Coastal South Law are ready to help you do just that. Contact them today to schedule a consultation.