#improper equipment

Traffic tickets surplus be the most plaguesome experience, and particularly hand that you don't want to endeavor. The undamaged experience is humiliating. You have to call out pertinent to mystery and make up an excuse that your sick, a loved amalgamated has passed, or worse, not ever admitting that you are going to court. And why is that? Most people just fail of to lay down the sane contrivance behind them. However, tickets can turn into points on your driver's license, ascension deductible costs, an monotonous the worse for, a revocation as regards your driver's indulgence. This is why you and me should not hesitate to hire a Raleigh Traffic Attorney.<\p>

By hiring an attorney, that them are pleased with regarding course, these court cases can be handled in an au fait manner. Even after all sure as fate cases are handled differently ex others, a improper equipment charged compared to a Speeding permission beef for example, the taking possession of an attorney can assure that you are going to get the power structure outcome for your semiotic case. An improper equipment torse, crescent a non- moving breach of faith, at one point in ahead of time absolute carried a lowly fine above the turn off for a sound-minded speeding ticket. However newfashioned as of August 1, 2011, a $50 cargo was added to this small blissful. So the time being Middle atlantic Carolina Drivers must pay the overage amount insofar as a non- unsettling violation. It is important to understand which jurisdiction deal defendants to plead to a non-moving diversion charge. In Sleeplessness County, for example, this Raleigh DWI Attorney understands to the most in relation to his knowledge that defendants are not professed to plea headed for a non- inner-direction improper equipment accusing. <\p>

It is of my understanding that because people wish to end this process as an example raw nerve as possible they decide to pay the fine so that they will not beat upon pop up in eminence grise. This is the complete perverted way to go about this charge. In fact not an illusion is cheaper to better a lawyer and you will not have to worry in reverse your insurance charges hand of death up. Plus, the points aplomb never be there added to your license. <\p>

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Drivers are often urged to share the road.  I sometimes wonder if bike riders believe they have to share the road with drivers based upon my recent experience with trying to get around three bikers riding three wide on a back road last Saturday.  Here is a great review of the laws and how they pertain to the rider and driver.

By Shea Denning

Most avid bicyclists have more than one tale of a close encounter with a motorist who does not care to—or does not know how to—safely share the road with a bicycle. The News and Observer reported here that a group of Orange County cyclists accused a pick-up truck driver of intentionally slamming on brakes in front of the group as they were driving down a rural two-lane road in June.  One of the cyclists fell from his bike and was injured, though not seriously. The cyclists pressed charges. Video footage recorded by a cyclist in the other Orange County depicting his close encounter with a pick-up truck and a Gatorade bottle hurled from its passenger window went viral in July. In the California case, the sheriff’s department recommended charges against both the truck passenger and the bicyclist, who was suspected of using offensive words in public that were likely to provide a violent reaction.

For their part, motorists complain of cyclists who ignore traffic laws and act oblivious to the presence of larger motorized vehicles, making it difficult to drive at a reasonable speed and avoid a collision.

Whether they like it or not, motorists and bicyclists have to share space.  Below are some of the rules they must follow.

Cyclists. Bicycles are vehicles for purposes of the state’s motor vehicles laws; thus, their riders generally are subject to the rules of the road and other provisions of Chapter 20.  G.S. 20-4.01(49).

This means that bicycles ridden on public streets and highways must be ridden on the right half of the roadway or in the right-hand lane of a multi-lane road if proceeding at less than the legal maximum speed limit (G.S. 20-146); bicycle riders must stop at stoplights and signs (G.S. 20-158); and bicycle riders may not pass vehicles on the right, unless the bicycle is being ridden in a separate lane (G.S. 20-149(a)).

In addition, bicycle riders, like other drivers, must signal before starting, stopping or turning from a direct line or changing lanes on street, highway, or public vehicular area—if the operation of any other vehicle may be affected by the movement. G.S. 20-154.  Hand signals as described in G.S. 20-154(d) suffice, and must be given continuously for the last 100 feet traveled before the stop or turn.

Motorcycles may be driven two abreast in a single lane, see G.S. 20-146.1, but no provision specifically authorizes—or prohibits—two-abreast cycling.  NC DOT punted on the issue in its 2004 Guide to NC Bicycle and Pedestrian Laws, noting the importance of riding “responsibly and courteously, so that cars may pass safely.”  (The guide is excellent, but it is out of date. One of the most notable changes is the amendment of the impaired driving statute, G.S. 20-138.1, to eliminate the exception for bicycles.)

Some provisions of Chapter 20 single out bicycles. G.S. 20-129(e), for instance, requires that bicycles used at night be equipped with a lighted lamp on the front that is visible from a distance of at least 300 feet and a reflex mirror or lamp on the back, exhibiting a red light visible from at least 200 feet. G.S. 20-171.2 prohibits bicycle racing on a highway unless the racing is part of an event approved by State or local authorities. The Child Bicycle Safety Act requires, while riding a bicycle on a public roadway, public bicycle path or other public right of way, that persons under 16 wear a helmet; that bicycle passengers who weigh less than 40 pounds or are less than 40 inches tall be seated in a separate restraining seat; that no person who is unable to maintain an erect, seated position be a passenger in a bicycle restraining seat; and that all other bicycle passengers be seated on saddle seats.  G.S. 20-171.7.

Motorists. Drivers of motor vehicles are, of course, subject to a host of rules set out in Chapter 20 of the General Statutes.  The rule most often implicated in connection with cyclists on the public roadways is the requirement that the driver of any vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction (1) pass at least two feet to the left of the vehicle being passed and (2) not again drive to the right side of the highway until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle.  G.S. 20-149(a).  Drivers may not pass another vehicle proceeding in the same direction upon the crest of a grade or upon a curve in the highway where the driver’s view is obstructed within a distance of 500 feet.  G.S. 20-149(b). These rules do not apply on a street or highway that has two or more lanes of moving vehicles in each direction.  G.S. 20-150.1.  Presumably, the reference to “lane” in G.S. 20-150.1 encompasses lanes designated for bicycles.

In addition, the driver of a vehicle emerging from or entering an alley, building entrance, private road, or driveway must yield the right-of-way to any person riding a bicycle who is approaching on any sidewalk or walkway extending across such alley, building entrance, road, or driveway. G.S. 20-173.

Additional Precautions.

NC DOT offers these tips (among others) for drivers who encounter cyclists on the roads:

1. Wait until the cyclist has cleared the intersection before making a turn to the right or left.  The most common error for an automobile driver is to make a left turn directly into the path of an oncoming cyclist without seeing him until it is too late to stop.  Don’t make a right turn in front of a bicyclist you have just passed.  He or she may be forced to stop quickly and could lose control of the bicycle, causing a crash.

2. When passing a cyclist, slow down and make sure the rider is aware of your presence.  Leave plenty of room between the rider and your vehicle.  If there is no room to pass because traffic is approaching, wait until it has gone by, and then pass.

Drivers and cyclists might also do well to heed the timeless advice of Bill and Ted. (Or was that Abraham Lincoln?)

www.kisslinglaw.com

In most cases if you are given a traffic citation when you are involved in an accident, an attorney can get the charges dismissed if your insurance company pays the property damage for the other vehicle.  The charges are typically for Failure to Reduce Speed, Unsafe Movement and other infractions.  Sometimes, the officer will charge you with Reckless Driving when it is a single car accident with not witnesses.

  However, what happens when the insurance company disputes liability and will not pay for the property damage to the other vehicle?  In most cases, the District Attorney will not dismiss the charges and your attorney will need to find another way to get the charges dismissed.

  The first question is why did your insurance company deny liability?  If they are playing games based upon the contributory negligence law that allows them to deny liability if the other party is partially at fault, there is not much you can do expect threaten to plead guilty which will put them in a bad position if they have to defend you in a civil suit.  The threat of this will usually cause them to rethink their position. 

  If the insurance company is denying liability because you were not actually at fault, there is another way to get this ticket dismissed.  This will require speaking with the officer who issued the ticket but did not likely witness the accident.  It is often the case where the reporting officer did not speak with all of the parties involved or speak with all of the witnesses.  You may need to provide more information to him that may cause him to change the accident report and dismiss the ticket.  This might be the case where a person is issued a ticket for Following Too Closely because the hit another vehicle from behind.  If the officer may need to be made aware of the fact that the vehicle that was hit cut in front of the other vehicle thereby closing the gap the driver had allowed themselves to make sure they were not following too closely. 

  If the officer will not alter his report and dismiss the citation, another tactic may be to show the District Attorney that you do in fact have insurance and assure them that this is really a civil matter.  In some cases, the District Attorney may dismiss the citation and let the insurance companies work things out themselves as to liability.

  If none of these tactics work, the worse case is you may have to use a Prayer for Judgment to keep this off your insurance.  While this is not a great option, it is always better than taking an insurance hit for both the accident and for the ticket if you insurance company decides there is liability some time down the road long after you have concluded this ticket.

www.kisslinglaw.com

Although school is about to let out for Wake County Schools on a traditional calendar, schools are still in session for those on a year round or modified year round school calendar.  It is therefore important to make sure you watch out for those schools still in session on your morning commute to make sure the school zone is not in affect.  

The biggest problem with this requirement is that the signs required to be posted under GS 20-141.1 posted below do not require to sign to state whether the school is in session.  Your average driver, unless they have children in the school and know the school schedule would have no way of knowing if the school is still in session during the traditional summer break.  Likewise, some schools hold camps in the summer months.  Although you may see children present, the school zone is not in affect pursuant to the statute.

  § 20-141.1.  Speed limits in school zones.

The Board of Transportation or local authorities within their respective jurisdictions may, by ordinance, set speed limits lower than those designated in G.S. 20-141 for areas adjacent to or near a public, private or parochial school. Limits set pursuant to this section shall become effective when signs are erected giving notice of the school zone, the authorized speed limit, and the days and hours when the lower limit is effective, or by erecting signs giving notice of the school zone, the authorized speed limit and which indicate the days and hours the lower limit is effective by an electronic flasher operated with a time clock. Limits set pursuant to this section may be enforced only on days when school is in session, and no speed limit below 20 miles per hour may be set under the authority of this section. A person who drives a motor vehicle in a school zone at a speed greater than the speed limit set and posted under this section is responsible for an infraction and is required to pay a penalty of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00).  (1977, c. 902, s. 2; 1979, c. 613; 1997-341, s. 1.1; 2011-64, s. 1.)

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North Carolina has its first toll road.  As someone who has lived in the Northeast, this is not an unusual sign.  However, for most of you, toll roads are new or you have not traveled on one in a very long time.    Some people are against toll roads.  I on the  other hand think they are great if it gets the road built faster and it will save me significant time as I travel.  I travel the current toll road once a month.  For about $3, I save at least 30 minutes in travel time.  Since it is for business, I will take that trade off every time.  I may sing a different tune if I had to travel the toll road every day just to get to work or school.

The first thing you will notice is there are no toll booths.  All payment is made through an electronic transponder or by receiving a bill in the mail.  If you travel the road frequently, I would suggest a transponder.  The tolls are lower and are painless. 

If you do not have a transponder and you receive a bill in the mail, make sure you pay it on time in that the late fees can quickly turn a $2.00 toll into a $22.00 toll.

Below is a great article on the process and affect of not paying your toll on time from the North Carolina Criminal Law Blog.

Is Failure to Pay a Toll a Crime?

May 21st, 2014

By Shea Denning

Growing up in North Carolina, the only time I saw toll roads was when my family took a road trip out of state.  But now that I’m a middle-aged soccer mom, toll roads are an essential part of my weekend travel from soccer fields in one end of Wake County to another.  (I know that the state is required to maintain alternate, comparable, non-toll routes, see G.S. 136-89.197, but I can’t make it from Knightdale to west Cary in 30 minutes without travelling on a toll road.)

The Triangle Expressway, the state’s first and only toll road, has an open road tolling system. This means that drivers traveling on the road are warned that a toll will be assessed, but are not stopped on the highway—or provided a place to stop—to make a cash payment. Instead, motor vehicles entering the expressway travel underneath a camera system that records an electronic image of the vehicle’s license plate.  And don’t get any bright ideas. Willfully covering any part of a registration plate to interfere with a toll collection system is an infraction punishable by a fine of up to $100. G.S. 20-63(g).

If the vehicle is not equipped with an electronic toll collection transponder linked to an account with sufficient funds to pay the toll, a bill for the toll is then mailed to the registered owner. G.S. 136-89.214.  The bill must be mailed within 90 days of the travel.  The bill states the date and time of the travel, the toll road traveled upon, and, to further jog the owner’s memory, an image of the vehicle’s registration plate.

The bill explains how a person may contest liability for the toll.  The registered owner must pay unless he or she can establish that the motor vehicle was in the care, custody or control of someone else when it was driven on the toll road.  G.S. 136-89.212. This might be the case, for example, for vehicles that have been leased or recently sold.  An owner who contends someone else is responsible for payment must submit a sworn affidavit to the North Carolina Turnpike Authority.  If the vehicle is leased, the affidavit must be supported by a copy of the lease agreement, and if the vehicle was sold before it was driven on the toll road, the owner must provide documentary evidence of the transfer.

I haven’t invested in an NC Quick Pass toll transponder. My bills for trips down the Triangle Expressway generally arrive about a month after my travel.  The Turnpike Authority sets the rates, which vary depending upon where one travels on the road and the number of axles for the motor vehicle driven. Holders of pre-paid NC Quick Pass accounts pay lower rates.

What happens if you don’t pay?

Processing fee. I found out the first response the hard way.  I received a bill for approximately 80 cents, which I promptly forgot about and failed to pay within thirty days. The next bill was for the original 80 cents plus a $5 processing fee.  The Turnpike Authority is authorized to charge a processing fee of up to $6, though a person may not be charged more than $48 in processing fees in a 12-month period.  G.S. 136-89.215. Lesson learned here.  I haven’t paid late again.

Civil penalty. Things get worse for repeat offenders.  A person who receives two or more toll bills that are not paid within thirty days is subject to a civil penalty of $25.00.  G.S. 136-89.216. Only one such penalty may be assessed every six months.

Registration block. If the person still fails to pay, the Turnpike Authority must notify DMV, which then must withhold the registration renewal of any motor vehicle registered in that person’s name.  G.S. 20-54; G.S. 136-89.217.  The Turnpike Authority explains its collections process for delinquent Quick Pass holders here.

New Post has been published on http://www.coltranegrubbs.com/traffic/trafficticket/

Why do I need a Lawyer to Help with my Traffic Ticket?

So, you got a speeding ticket. It happens, even to the best drivers. As you see it, you can either (1) pay the ticket or (2) pay an attorney to “take care” of the ticket. Many people, when faced with the hassle of hiring an attorney and paying the attorney’s fee, choose option number one, make out a check, sadly sign their admission of guilt, and move on with their lives.

Behind the scenes, however, there are forces at work that are costing you money beyond the simple fine and fee you pay with your ticket.  

An Illustrative Example 

Let’s take the basic eleven over the speed limit ticket in a 55 mph zone. The North Carolina Safe Driver Incentive Plan (SDIP) places two insurance points on your license. The SDIP then requires your insurance provider to increase your insurance premium 45% for the next three years.

That 45% adds up to a pretty sizable chunk of change. If your insurance premium is $1,400 per year, over a three year period you will be paying more than $1,800 over and above your current premium (that’s a premium increase from $1,400 to $2,030 per year).

Do the Math – Speeding Tickets are Expensive

The cost of hiring an attorney is insignificant in comparison to that kind of premium hike. In many cases, an attorney can negotiate a lesser plea that carries no SDIP points, and at a cost far less than the insurance premium hit that awaits in the event you choose option one. It simply makes economic sense to hire an experienced traffic attorney to deal with your ticket—you save yourself a trip to the courthouse and you save money, in the aggregate, over the next three years.

Not Speeding, but Other Traffic Offenses

Police officer do occasionally write tickets for non-speeding offenses as well. If you have received a ticket for driving without a license, driving with an expired registration, no proof of insurance, failure to yield to a stop sign, or others, you may experience the same (or in some cases, a worse) SDIP point impact discussed above. If a police officer wrote you a ticket following an accident or for any of the other non-speeding offenses mentioned above, there are savings to be had in having an attorney help you navigate the waters.

Coltrane Grubbs & Whatley routinely handles speeding and other traffic tickets in Forsyth and Guilford Counties. We try to make the process as painless and convenient as possible—give us a ring today to help with your traffic ticket dilemma.

www.kisslinglaw.com

Every day, whether in court or in the office on the phone, I hear a very wrong explanation of what a Prayer for Judgment is, how it affect your driving and insurance records and what happens if you receive another ticket in the next 3 years.  I have decided it is time to write a lengthy blog entry to explain the law and how it works.

A prayer for judgment (PJC) is not a judgment.  Pursuant to NCCS 15A01-1(4a), Prayer for Judgment Continued upon payment of cost, without more, does not constitute the entry of Judgment. 

Here is what I hear:

"If you get another ticket within 3 years of receiving a Prayer for Judgment, the old ticket will reappear on your record."  This is not accurate.  The second ticket within a 3 year period will not automatically cause the old ticket to appear on your record absent a judge setting that requirement on your first ticket and the District Attorney filing a motion to have the original judgment reinstated.

"Just get a Prayer for Judgment.  Then the ticket will not go on your record and you will not have to pay anything."  First, there are limitations on the number of Prayer for Judgment's available to a person.  For insurance purposes, each policy gets one Prayer for Judgment every three (3) years.  This includes everyone on the policy.  However, for driving record purposes, each person gets two (2) Pray for Judment's every five (5) years.  While using the second Prayer for Judgment will result in taking the insurance points from both tickets, it could save you from losing your license.  In addition, even with a Prayer for Judgment, you are still required to pay the court costs.

Also, there are several charges that cannot be disposed of with a Prayer for Judgment.  One for example is Passing a Stopped School Bus.  NCGS 20-217(e) states:  Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, any person violating this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and shall pay a minimum fine of five hundred dollars ($500.00). A person who violates subsection (a) of this section shall not receive a prayer for judgment continued under any circumstances.