How Can my License be Suspended?
In addition to criminal penalties that the court might mandate, a conviction of certain traffic offenses will result in the mandatory loss of your driving privilege. By hiring an Traffic Lawyer who is familiar with Speeding Tickets and DMV law, you may be able to avoid a license suspension.
Just like the cases above, the Division of Motor Vehicles may suspend your privilege to operate an automobile as soon as it receives a conviction report from the court. If your license is revoked, you may have the right to a hearing in the judicial district where you are a resident. A Traffic Lawyer who is versed in DMV Traffic-Ticket Law can advise you once this occurs. The next step will be to contact the central DMV in Raleigh, NC and request your given right to a hearing. Once notified, your Lawyer will be able to assist you during your hearing. Remember, this isn’t a repetitive process, you get one chance at your initial hearing, don’t make the mistake of not hiring competent representation. During this hearing, your Traffic Attorney will aid you in mitigating negative facts and highlighting positive factors as to why you deserve your license. From that point, a decision will be made as to whether or not the period of suspension should be reduced.
If you decided not to retain a Traffic Attorney, its not to late, at this point in your effort to retain your drivers license privilege, you can hire a Traffic Attorney who can assist you in appealing your case to the Superior Court of the county where you reside. This appeal is crucial, no longer will you be dealing with the DMV, but the Superior Court, if you’ve made it this far, walking into Superior Court without a Lawyer is an injustice to yourself. You cannot afford to loose your license due to not being properly represented. Our Driving Defense is not limited to Charlotte-Mecklenburg County, but Gaston County, Cabarrus County, Lincoln County, Rowan County, and Iredell County as well.
What the statute requires
- Driving any vehicle more than 15 mph over the speed limit, if you are driving at a speed higher than 55 mph.
- A second charge of speeding over 55 mph and more than 15 mph above the speed limit within one year; or
- Speeding plus reckless driving on the same occasion.
- Two convictions of speeding over 55 mph within a 12 month period
- One conviction of speeding over 55 mph and one conviction of reckless driving within a 12 month period
- A conviction of willful racing with another motor vehicle, whether it is pre-arranged or spontaneous.
- A suspended court sentence or part of a sentence mandating that you must not operate a motor vehicle for a specified period of time; and/or
- A conviction for speeding over 75 mph.
The two routes to suspension
A North Carolina license can be suspended either because you accumulated points, or because you were convicted of a specific offense that triggers suspension on its own. The two operate independently, and the second does not care how clean the rest of your record is.
Point-based suspension arrives once you reach twelve points in a three-year period, or eight points in the three years following a reinstatement. Conviction-based suspension follows automatically from certain offenses regardless of your point total.
Convictions that suspend on their own
G.S. 20-16(a) lists the grounds on which the Division may suspend without regard to the point system. Several catch ordinary drivers who had no idea a single conviction could cost them their license.
- Two or more convictions of speeding over 55 and not more than 80 mph within 12 months
- One conviction of speeding over 55 mph and one conviction of reckless driving within 12 months
- Speeding in excess of 75 mph where the limit is less than 70 mph
- Wilful racing with another motor vehicle
- Impaired driving, which carries its own revocation scheme
- Driving while license revoked
- Failing to appear or to pay, which produces an indefinite suspension until resolved
Failure to appear and failure to pay
The most common suspension has nothing to do with driving. Missing a court date, or failing to pay a fine and costs by the deadline, produces a suspension that stays in place until the underlying matter is cleared and a reinstatement fee is paid.
These are frequently discovered only when a person is stopped, by which point they may be facing a driving while license revoked charge on top of the original ticket. If you have missed a date, dealing with it before you drive again is far cheaper than dealing with it afterwards.
Drivers under 18
The rules are stricter for provisional licensees. A driver under 18 can face suspension for offenses and point totals that would not affect an adult, and the consequences can reach a graduated license in ways that delay full licensure by months.
Because a provisional license is a step in a sequence rather than a standing permission, a conviction can reset progress rather than simply penalize it. Anyone under 18 with a moving violation should treat it as a matter to handle rather than pay.
What suspension actually means
A suspension is not a period during which you drive carefully. Driving at all while revoked is a separate criminal offense under G.S. 20-28, and where the underlying revocation was for impaired driving it is a Class 1 misdemeanor carrying a further year of revocation on a first offense.
If you receive notice of a suspension, the date it takes effect matters more than anything else on the letter. Options that exist before that date — a limited driving privilege, a hearing, a challenge to the underlying conviction — narrow sharply once it has passed.
Limited driving privileges
A suspension does not always mean no driving. For several categories of revocation, a court can issue a limited driving privilege permitting travel for work, education, household maintenance, medical appointments and court-ordered treatment.
Eligibility depends on the reason for the revocation, on your record, and in some cases on completing an assessment first. It is not automatic and it has to be applied for, but for most people it is the single most valuable thing to pursue.
Related questions
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Every matter turns on its facts. Mr. Sheehan reviews each inquiry himself.