4 Things That Will Help You Clean Up Unpaid Traffic Tickets
In North Carolina in 2018, more than 889,400 traffic citations were issued. Approximately 152,700 of these were warning tickets, but more than 736,700 citations required some type of action by the receiver of the ticket.
This action did not always take place. Some people lost their tickets, others forgot their court dates, or simply ignored the ticket because they did not have the funds to pay it. Unfortunately, these tickets did not disappear. If you have outstanding unpaid tickets and need help cleaning them up, here are a few steps you can take.
- Determine Where Your Tickets Are
In order to take care of any outstanding tickets you may have; it is important to know exactly what they were issued for and what county they were issued in. One of the easiest ways to obtain this information is to pull a copy of your driving record.
You can obtain a copy by going to DMV.com. On this site, you can pull a driving record for free from any state in which you may have been ticketed.
2. Understand Additional Penalties You May Be Facing
Cleaning up unpaid traffic tickets is not as simple as paying any outstanding fines you may owe. If you fail to pay your tickets by their due date, your fines may double, triple, or increase by even more than that.
If you fail to pay your tickets in advance or show up in court on your assigned court date, some judges will issue a bench warrant for your arrest.
3. Determine If Your Driver’s License Is Suspended
In North Carolina, if the court notifies DMV that you failed to pay your ticket or appear in court, DMV will automatically suspend your driver’s license. Your privileges will remain suspended until you take any required action the court is ordering you to do.
If your license is suspended, DMV will send a notice to the last address they have on file for you. If you no longer live at that address and have not had your mail forwarded, the suspension could take place without your knowledge. If you think that there is a possibility that your license is suspended, you can confirm it by requesting a copy of your driving record
Continuing to drive on a suspended license could mean that the next time you are stopped for any reason, you may be cited for additional charges. These additional charges could lead to your license being permanently revoked and could even lead to you being arrested.
In order to have your driver’s license restored, you will be required to pay DMV $50-$100 depending on your conviction. You will then have to retake the DMV required tests and reapply and pay for your driver’s license. Unpaid traffic tickets can also result in:
Your inability to register your vehicle
Your insurance premiums increasing
Your vehicle being impounded and more
All of these have the potential to be expensive endeavors.
- Hire an Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney
Your situation may really get complicated when you have multiple tickets from different counties or locales. It is not in your best interest to try to handle these tickets, fines, and charges on your own.
Fortunately, at the Law Offices of Carl L. Britt, Jr., we are here to help you. We will evaluate your driving record, help you evaluate your best options, and present your case to the court for you.
Once your tickets are resolved, we can help you clear your driving record and restore your driver’s license. Call us for a free evaluation so we can get you back on the road to driving ticket free.