How to Fight Traffic Offenses:
North Carolina’s driving laws are very complex and in most cases there are severe legal consequences that can result when an individual is convicted of a traffic offense.
Therefore, contact Roberti, Wittenberg, Lauffer, and Wicker Law Firm immediately if you, or someone you know, have been charged with one of the following traffic offenses:

• Speeding
• Stop light & sign violations
• Driving without an operator's license or while a license is revoked
• Unsafe movements and driving while impaired (DWI)

If you get arrested or are issued a citation know your rights:

1. Call Us!
2. Don’t pay off the Traffic ticket until you speak to an attorney
3. Consider the evidence
4. Understand how your insurance points and rate increases

1. Call the Roberti, Wittenberg, Lauffer, and Wicker Law Firm!
Email David Wicker or Miguel Munoz for help with your traffic problems,or you can call us at (919) 683-2436 or (800) 277-3003. Since 1985, we have successfully defended thousands of clients facing traffic charges in North Carolina. Your first consultation is free.

2. Don’t pay off the Traffic ticket until you speak to an attorney:
When a police officer gives you a ticket, you may be told that you can pay the ticket and not go to court. If you do pay, you are waiving your constitutional right to appear in court and have your matter tried. You are admitting that you are guilty, that the court should treat you as guilty, and you are agreeing to have a conviction entered against you.
Before you plead guilty, call us. We practice in traffic court. Ask your lawyer whether the ticket you received is a moving violation and, if it is, whether it will it affect your privilege to drive or your insurance premiums. Find out whether or not there is something the court, or the State, should consider before a guilty plea is entered. A guilty plea may result in the loss of your driving privileges or an increase in your insurance premiums.

3. Consider the evidence you have to support your version of the facts:
The facts surrounding your reason for speeding or driving without a license, or whatever the case may be, are different then everyone else. We can not tell you the numbers of times we have heard someone say they have a friend who knows someone who heard someone say they had a similiar case and got a specific result. Each case is unique unto itself.

In each county, the District Attorney has different rules and policies regarding the disposition of traffic tickets. These policies include the nature of the original charge, the reason for your individual actions and whether or not you have a prior record. So, we consider the evidence to find if you have a valid legal defense which will justify your reason at the hearing. Without the knowledge of how all your factors come into play, you can not get the best result in the disposition of your traffic ticket.

4. Understand how your insurance points and rate increases:
When you are convicted of a traffic citation, there are three different ways that you will be punished.
1. The court will order that you pay a fine and the costs of court. Currently, court costs total one hundred ten dollars ($110.00). Fines are within the discretion of the trial judge.
2. The Department of Motor Vehicles will assess driver’s license points to your driver’s license.
3. Your insurance carrier will assess you insurance points.
There are certain traffic citations which will result in the loss of your driving privileges, even if it is your first offense. In addition, the points assessed by the Department of Motor Vehicles are used to revoke driver’s licenses when an excessive number of points accumulate. Your insurance company will increase your insurance premiums based upon the number of points assigned to a particular charge. In many cases, it is the insurance rate increase that poses the gravest consequences.

Below is the rate of increase in your insurance premiums that results after a traffic conviction:

If you have never had a traffic conviction in the past, a conviction of driving 70 in a 55 mile per hour zone (a 2 insurance offense) will result in a forty-five percent (45%) increase in you insurance premiums. Without any prior traffic convictions, a conviction of driving while impaired (a 12 insurance offense) will result in a four hundred percent (400%) increase in you insurance premiums.

One of the most serious traffic offenses in North Carolina is Driving While Impaired. If you are convicted of Driving While Impaired in North Carolina there is a mandatory driver’s license revocation, even for the first offense. For a second offense within a seven (7) year period, there is a mandatory jail sentence which the court must impose. In order for the state to convict you for driving while impaired, they must prove that you operated a motor vehicle in a public vehicular area and that you were either impaired by a particular substance (alcohol or drugs) or that your blood alcohol concentration was .08 or greater.
I have represented hundreds of individuals charged with driving while impaired. I can assist you with determining what, if any, defenses are available to you to avoid being convicted of this charge--or if there is no legal defense, to assure that you receive the lightest possible sentence. I may help you to minimize or eliminate your insurance points.

The Chancellor Building
100 East Parrish Street, Suite 200, Durham, NC 27702
Phone: 1-800-277-3003 or 919-683-2436
Fax: 919-688-4378
legalHelp@durhamtriallawyers.com


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