GS 20-141 (a) ticket on dirt easement

[jheath9]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? North Carolina

I was traveling down an easement that leads between two fields from a local farmer that leads to my private residence. While traveling thru this easement, i hit a pot hole and it threw me off the bike and the bike flipped a couple times.

When i got to the hosipital, a tropper gave me a citation (GS 20-141 (a) for "Operate a vehicle at a speed greater than was reasonable and prudent under the conditions of the roadway"

How can i get a ticket for crashing on an easement that is not state maintained, a dirt road with no ditches or any type of state interaction, that only leads through a field to my house?

Any advice would be great before having to hire an attorney

 

[Handcoc]

this will hinge on what you told the officer...if you told him nothing & did not witness the accident then he cannot even be a witness.

 

[The Occultist]

this will hinge on what you told the officer...if you told him nothing & did not witness the accident then he cannot even be a witness.

Except that the fact that the bike flipped is proof that the vehicle was not being operated in a safe manner (if he was operating a safe speed, his vehicle would not have overturned, n'est-ce pas?). So, no, this will not hinge on what was said to the officer; the vehicle overturning is proof that the vehicle was being operated inappropriately.

jheath9, the question you are asking is the wrong question you need to be asking as it will not be relevant to your case whatsoever. Your question of why the police have jurisdiction over the road will not help you fight/mitigate the charge against you.

 

[I_Got_Banned]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? North Carolina

I was traveling down an easement that leads between two fields from a local farmer that leads to my private residence. While traveling thru this easement, i hit a pot hole and it threw me off the bike and the bike flipped a couple times.

When i got to the hosipital, a tropper gave me a citation (GS 20-141 (a) for "Operate a vehicle at a speed greater than was reasonable and prudent under the conditions of the roadway"

How can i get a ticket for crashing on an easement that is not state maintained, a dirt road with no ditches or any type of state interaction, that only leads through a field to my house?

Any advice would be great before having to hire an attorney

Here is the code section you were cited for:

§ 20‑141. Speed restrictions.

(a) No person shall drive a vehicle on a highway or in a public vehicular area at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions then existing.​

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And here are some related definitions:

§ 20‑4.01. Definitions.

(32) Public Vehicular Area. – Any area within the State of North Carolina that meets one or more of the following requirements:
a. The area is used by the public for vehicular traffic at any time, including by way of illustration and not limitation any drive, driveway, road, roadway, street, alley, or parking lot upon the grounds and premises of any of the following:

1. Any public or private hospital, college, university, school, orphanage, church, or any of the institutions, parks or other facilities maintained and supported by the State of North Carolina or any of its subdivisions.
2. Any service station, drive‑in theater, supermarket, store, restaurant, or office building, or any other business, residential, or municipal establishment providing parking space whether the business or establishment is open or closed.
3. Any property owned by the United States and subject to the jurisdiction of the State of North Carolina. (The inclusion of property owned by the United States in this definition shall not limit assimilation of North Carolina law when applicable under the provisions of Title 18, United States Code, section 13).​

b. The area is a beach area used by the public for vehicular traffic.
c. The area is a road used by vehicular traffic within or leading to a gated or non‑gated subdivision or community, whether or not the subdivision or community roads have been offered for dedication to the public.
d. The area is a portion of private property used by vehicular traffic and designated by the private property owner as a public vehicular area in accordance with G.S. 20‑219.4.
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And...

§ 136‑67. Neighborhood public roads.

All those portions of the public road system of the State which have not been taken over and placed under maintenance or which have been abandoned by the Department of Transportation, but which remain open and in general use as a necessary means of ingress to and egress from the dwelling house of one or more families, and all those roads that have been laid out, constructed, or reconstructed with unemployment relief funds under the supervision of the Department of Health and Human Services, and all other roads or streets or portions of roads or streets whatsoever outside of the boundaries of any incorporated city or town in the State which serve a public use and as a means of ingress or egress for one or more families, regardless of whether the same have ever been a portion of any State or county road system, are hereby declared to be neighborhood public roads and they shall be subject to all of the provisions of G.S. 136‑68, 136‑69 and 136‑70 with respect to the alteration, extension, or discontinuance thereof, and any interested party is authorized to institute such proceeding, and in lieu of personal service with respect to this class of roads, notice by publication once a week in any newspaper published in said county, or in the event there is no such newspaper, by posting at the courthouse door and three other public places, shall be deemed sufficient: Provided, that this definition of neighborhood public roads shall not be construed to embrace any street, road or driveway that serves an essentially private use, and all those portions and segments of old roads, formerly a part of the public road system, which have not been taken over and placed under maintenance and which have been abandoned by the Department of Transportation and which do not serve as a necessary means of ingress to and egress from an occupied dwelling house are hereby specifically excluded from the definition of neighborhood public roads, and the owner of the land, burdened with such portions and segments of such old roads, is hereby invested with the easement or right‑of‑way for such old roads heretofore existing.
Upon request of the board of county commissioners of any county, the Department of Transportation is permitted, but is not required, to place such neighborhood public roads as above defined in a passable condition without incorporating the same into the State or county system, and without becoming obligated in any manner for the permanent maintenance thereof.
This section shall not authorize the reopening on abandoned roads of any railroad grade crossing that has been closed by order of the Department of Transportation in connection with the building of an overhead bridge or underpass to take the place of such grade crossing. (1929, c. 257, s. 1; 1933, c. 302; 1941, c. 183; 1949, c. 1215; 1957, c. 65, s. 11; 1969, c. 982; 1973, c. 476, s. 138; c. 507, s. 5; 1977, c. 464, s. 7.1; 1997‑443, s. 11A.122.)​

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You can look up those and other referenced statutes here: North Carolina General Assembly - General Statutes Table of Contents

 

[jheath9]

I guess my next question then is it considered a moving violation that will accrue points on my license and is there any kind of reduction to the charge.

I am just worried about points and my record. I haven’t had a ticket in over 8 years and would like to mitigate any increase in insurance.

Would an attorney be able to help in any way or will the money be best spent in fines?

 

[jheath9]

I know I have the option of a PJC on this charge due to the length of time since my last infraction (right?), but I dont want to ask or use it if a conviction isnt going to increase my rates.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

The only way I see to argue out of this would have been if you rode off the easement and into the farmers field then crashed there.

 

[The Occultist]

The only way I see to argue out of this would have been if you rode off the easement and into the farmers field then crashed there.

Out of curiosity, how would that mitigate the charge?