North Carolina Work Zone Violations

North Carolina Work Zone Citations

North Carolina divides its traffic ticket offenses into two categories, misdemeanors and infractions. Misdemeanor offenses have "mandatory appearances" requiring the Defendant (or in most cases an attorney representing the Defendant) to appear in court. Infractions are offenses that do not require the Defendant to appear in court and are generally less severe offenses.

In North Carolina, work zone violations are unique citations for several reasons. First, the statute requires that upon being convicted of a work zone violation that the Defendant pays a mandatory $250 fine; this is in addition to the court costs (which are currently $121).

Contact a Chapel Hill, North Carolina work zone violation attorney at Everett Law Firm, P.A., for a free consultation to discuss your charges today. Call us at 919-942-8002 or toll free at 1-800-942-8048.

Second, all North Carolina work zone citations are infractions; at first glance appear to be favorable. However, what this statutory exception does is actually create a pitfall for the unwary. An example of this is as follows:

Scenario A: Individual is charged with 81 in a 65 mph (NON work zone). This is a misdemeanor offense and thus there is a mandatory appearance. As discussed earlier, in most circumstances upon appearing in court the State (the District Attorney) will reduce the offense to a lesser charge. What the reduction would be is dependant on the county of the offense, the Defendant's driving record as well as various other factors. However, the mere appearance in court almost assuredly will yield a superior outcome than had the ticket simply been paid off.

Scenario B: Individual is charged with 81 in a 65 mph (work zone). This is an infraction offense and thus there is no mandatory appearance, an individual receiving this citation has the option of simply paying this ticket off without appearing in court. A North Carolina licensee who pays this infraction off will incur several extremely bad results. First, since the ticket is greater than 15 mph over the speed limit and the speed is greater than 55 mph, the Defendant's North Carolina license will be revoked / suspended. Further, a conviction of an 81 in a 65 mph zone is a four (4) Insurance Point offense. Four (4) insurance points will cause the licensee's insurance rates to increase 80% for a period of three (3) years. Needless to say, this is a catastrophically bad result.

For those who have already fallen for this work zone violation pitfall and paid off their infraction violation, do not despair. Frequently, our attorneys can fix these tickets by having them re-adjudicated to obtain a more favorable outcome.

The attorneys at Everett Law Firm, P.A. have extensive experience in handling all types of traffic offenses including North Carolina Work Zone Violations. To speak with one of our lawyers, contact us today for a free initial consultation at (919) 942-8002 or toll free at 1-800-942-8048.