Suspended North Carolina Drivers License.

www.kisslinglaw.com

In North Carolina, certain traffic offenses will result in the loss of your driving privilege.  Your license will be revoked for at least 30 days if you are convicted of driving any vehicle more than 55 MPH and more than 15 MPH over the limit.  Your license will be suspended for 60 days if you are convicted of a second charge of speeding over 55 MPH and more than 15 MPH over the limit within one year, or, a speeding plus reckless driving conviction on the same occasion.

The DMV may suspend your license for any of the following

-          two convictions of speeding over 55 mph within a period of 12 months

-          one conviction of speeding over 55 mph and one conviction of reckless driving within a year

-          a conviction of willful racing with another motor vehicle, whether it is pre-arranged or unplanned

-          a suspended court sentence or part of a sentence mandating that you must not operate a motor vehicle for a specified period of time

-          a conviction for speeding over 75 mph.

-          more than 6 points in one year

-          more than 12 points in a three year period.

-          (These are DMV points, not insurance points.)

In cases such as these, the DMV may suspend your privilege as soon as it receives the conviction report from the court.  If your driving privilege is suspended, you may have the right to a hearing in the judicial district where you live.  If you believe your driving privilege should not have been taken and the hearing provides no relief, you may appeal the DMV’s decision within thirty days to the Superior Court of the county where you live.  The court will review your case to see if there were proper gtounds for taking your privilege

Your license may also be suspended for an out of state citation if you are convicted of an offense that would have resulted in a suspension had that ticket occurred in North Carolina.

Your driving privilege will be suspended indefinitely when the DMV is notified from the court that you have failed to appear in court or to pay fines for the citation you received in North Carolina or another state.  In the case of failure to appear or to pay the fine, your driving privilege remains revoked until the DMV receives notice that you have complied with the citation.  Complying with the citation does not relieve you of the consequences for the actual offense if you are convicted.

If you license is revoked and you later become eligible to obtain your license, you must pay a reinstatement fee to the DMV before you are licensed.  Mere compliance with the revocation period or resolving the failure to appear/comply does not reinstate you privilege, you must pay the reinstatement fee.

Lawrence J. Kissling is a traffic attorney in Raleigh, NC.  In addition to Wake County, he handles cases in  Johnston, Chatham, Surry, Wayne, Lee, Harnett, Halifax, Sampson and Nash Counties.