Online Traffic Ticket Reductions

Mecklenburg County has recently introduced a pilot program to help reduce the time residents spend at the courthouse for traffic matters by allowing residents with speeding tickets to go online to reduce their tickets.

Here are some of the basics: 

• To qualify, the charged speed in your ticket must be 10-19 mph over the posted limit and below 80 mph.
• If the District Attorney’s Office agrees to reduce the ticket, it will either drop the speed to 9 mph over the limit or replace the speeding ticket with one for improper equipment. Any other reduction would require a court appearance.
• The fines and costs of the new ticket must be paid online by midnight of the assigned court date or the offer expires.
• If the DA doesn’t agree to a reduction or you don’t accept the offer, you must show up in court on your assigned date.

The District Attoreny's Office does not represent defendants, and therefore has no duty to examine their driving record, offer them the best possible reduction, or explain the effects a reduction will have on their license status or monthly insurance premium.  We often encounter clients who, after obtaining a ticket reduction on their own without a lawyer, are shocked to receive a suspension letter from the NC DMV, or a bill for a substantially increased insurance premium the following month.  

Every situation is different, which is why it important to carefully consider each client's individual driving needs and to conduct a careful analysis of their driving record before determining what reduction to seek or agree to.

For more information on ticket reductions, license suspensions, and insurance points, contact Parton & Associates, PLLC.

-drafted by Attorney Micheal L. Littlejohn & Corey V. Parton

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article169082632.html