Virginia Driver Ticketed in North Carolina (80 in a 55)

[john1980]

In which state do you hold a driver's license? Virginia
In which state were you ticketed? North Carolina

I am a Virginia driver that was recently ticketed in North Carolina for going 80 in a 55. Looking some at NC law, this appears to qualify for reckless driving. However, the officer did not specifically say he was citing me for reckless driving. Also, the citation does not have checked whether or not I must appear in court. It is simply left blank.

I have three main questions:

1.) How much would a lawyer help in a getting this reduced? Traffic was very, very low so I was wondering how that might affect the charge for reckless driving.

2.) How would a conviction affect my VA license since this took place in NC?

3.) On the off chance the officer does not show up to court, what happens? Do they reschedule it? Do I get an "automatic" not guilty?

Thank you

 

[Robbie0723]

As far as I know, NC does not give an automatic reckless as in VA. However, anything more than 15 over or greater than 80 can result in you licence being suspended in NC and puts a misdemeanor on your record if convicted.

Not sure how that ripples back to VA so you need to check with your local DMV as to what they do with out of state tickets for 80 in a 55 (probably will not be good news).

You also need to check if you need to appear in court. There should have been a court date on the printout if issued by a State Trooper.

With a clean record, you are looking at about $150 in fines and court cost. A lawyer can get this reduced to a 64 in a 80 which will cost anywhere from $300 to $1,000 depending on where and your record. But a 9 over probably would not impact your VA points.

The office not showing up in court is unlikely since this is big business in NC

Let us know how it goes.