Out of State Traffic Tickets
Whether for leisure or for work, North Carolinian’s ten million residents regularly drive their vehicles along the east coast, from New York to Florida. It is therefore imperative that North Carolina drivers be aware of the impact that an out-of-state ticket can have on your North Carolina driving record and insurance premiums.
Many people are under the erroneous belief that an out-of-state moving violation will not affect their North Carolina driving privileges. The reason a traffic ticket issued to a North Carolina driver in New York, for example, will affect his North Carolina driving record is because both states have signed onto what is known as the Drivers License Compact (DLC)
The DLC is an agreement between 45 states and Washington DC to transfer information concerning license suspension and traffic violations committed out-of-state back to the driver’s home state. The idea is that all drivers have one license and therefore should have one record overseen by their home state, which tracks all-driving violations regardless of where they may occur.
For example, if a North Carolina driver receives a traffic ticket in New York, the state where the violation occurred, New York, will send the offense information back to the driver’s home state of North Carolina. North Carolina will treat the violation as though it occurred in state, and apply the applicable points to the person’s North Carolina driving record.
North Carolina Driver – Ticket in New York
The amount of points applied to your driving record will be tied to the North Carolina point system. North Carolina might treat the equivalent violation more seriously or less seriously than the state where the violation occurred. For example, if a NC driver is ticketed for speeding 47 miles over the posted New York speed limit, North Carolina will apply the corresponding amount of points onto the person’s North Carolina driving record. In this example, 4 points will be placed onto his NC driver’s license, even though NY considers this to be an 11-point ticket. The upshot is that North Carolina drivers are treated according to NC state traffic law regardless of which state the violation occurred in.
This sharing of violations applies to minor violations such speeding or a major violation such as DWI/DUI. Information on non-moving violations including parking tickets are generally not handed over to the home-state.
What Happens if a NC Driver is Ticketed in a Non-Compact Member State?
It is important for North Carolina drivers to note that the neighboring states of Tennessee and Georgia are not members of Driver License Compact. Tennessee or Georgia may choose to share traffic violation information with North Carolina, but there is no guarantee that they will. Tennessee may opt to ensure that a traffic violation is resolved within Tennessee. A North Carolina driver with several violations in Tennessee could possibly have their driving privileges suspended in the state of Tennessee only, but be able to drive anywhere else in the United States.
It is vital that North Carolina drivers treat out-of-state driving violations seriously by hiring a local attorney to fight their out-of-state tickets and avoid losing their driving privileges.
Author Bio
Adam Rosenblum is a New York Traffic Attorney. At the Rosenblum Law Firm our attorneys work hard on behalf of North Carolina motorists to ensure that speeding & traffic tickets you receive throughout New York State will not negatively impact their North Carolina driving records and insurance rates.