The North Carolina General Assembly created and gave power to a state Division of Motor Vehicles (as opposed to the
Department of Motor Vehicles as in some other states) in Chapter 20 of the
North Carolina General Statutes. In
Section 20-16, the DMV is given power to suspend the licenses of North Carolina drivers who are convicted of various offenses, including accumulating 12 or more points in a three year period.
Points
These
points are the mysterious little Boogie Men that most of us peasants are worried about when faced with a speeding ticket or some other traffic matter - be it in North Carolina or any other state in the Union. From my experience working with a
New York speeding ticket lawyer who goes through a lot of volume, I have seen that most people looking for an attorney to handle their ticket know that a conviction in a traffic matter means points on their driving record and higher insurance rates. Almost none of them, however, have any idea how many points are assigned to a particular offense or what affect those points will have on their insurance or driver's license. (And I don't blame them for a second as trying to make sense of about any piece of legislation seems to take a super-human effort). So I hope this blog can help provide some useful information for those of you stuck with a traffic ticket in the
Tar Heel state.
Section 20-16(c) of the General Statutes sets out in detail the "Schedule of Point Values" or the points DMV is authorized to assign to your driving record for offenses like speeding or passing a red light. The exact language reads:
The Division shall maintain a record of convictions of every person licensed or required to be licensed under the provisions of this Article as an operator and shall enter therein records of all convictions of such persons for any violation of the motor vehicle laws of this State and shall assign to the record of such person, as of the date of commission of the offense, a number of points for every such conviction in accordance with the following schedule of convictions and points, except that points shall not be assessed for convictions resulting in suspensions or revocations under other provisions of laws: Further, any points heretofore charged for violation of the motor vehicle inspection laws shall not be considered by the Division of Motor Vehicles as a basis for suspension or revocation of driver's license:
The points assigned for each offense are:
- Passing stopped school bus ..... 5
- Aggressive driving ..... 5
- Reckless driving ..... 4
- Hit and run, property damage only ...... 4
- Following too close ........ 4
- Driving on wrong side of road ....... 4
- Illegal passing ...... 4
- Failure to yield right‑of‑way to pedestrian pursuant to G.S. 20‑158(b)(2)b ..... 4
- Failure to yield right‑of‑way to bicycle, motor scooter, or motorcycle ....... 4
- Running through stop sign ..... 3
- Speeding in excess of 55 miles per hour ..... 3
- Failing to yield right‑of‑way ..... 3
- Running through red light ..... 3
- No driver's license or license expired more than one year ..... 3
- Failure to stop for siren ..... 3
- Driving through safety zone ..... 3
- No liability insurance ..... 3
- Failure to report accident where such report is required ..... 3
- Speeding in a school zone in excess of the posted school zone speed limit ..... 3
- Failure to properly restrain a child in a restraint or seat belt ..... 2
- All other moving violations ..... 2
- Littering pursuant to G.S. 14‑399 when the littering involves the use of a motor vehicle ..... 1
Points assigned while operating a Commercial Motor Vehicle:
- Passing stopped school bus ..... 8
- Rail‑highway crossing violation ..... 6
- Careless and reckless driving in violation of G.S. 20‑140(f) ..... 6
- Speeding in violation of G.S. 20‑141(j3) ..... 6
- Aggressive driving ..... 6
- Reckless driving ..... 5
- Hit and run, property damage only ..... 5
- Following too close ..... 5
- Driving on wrong side of road .....5
- Illegal passing ..... 5
- Failure to yield right‑of‑way to pedestrian pursuant to G.S. 20‑158(b)(2)b ..... 5
- Failure to yield right‑of‑way to bicycle, motor scooter, or motorcycle ..... 5
- Running through stop sign ..... 4
- Speeding in excess of 55 miles per hour ..... 4
- Failing to yield right‑of‑way ..... 4
- Running through red light ..... 4
- No driver's license or license expired more than one year ..... 4
- Failure to stop for siren ..... 4
- Driving through safety zone ..... 4
- No liability insurance ..... 4
- Failure to report accident where such report is required ..... 4
- Speeding in a school zone in excess of the posted school zone speed limit ..... 4
- Possessing alcoholic beverages in the passenger area of a commercial motor vehicle ..... 4
- All other moving violations ..... 3
- Littering pursuant to G.S. 14‑399 when the littering involves the use of a motor vehicle ..... 1
To better understand the state motor vehicle laws, (and because policies, laws, and interpretations of laws change all the time), I would suggest spending some time reading through the General Statutes and/or consulting a local traffic lawyer. Finally, so that we end this post on a good note here's a list of the offenses you
can't get points for committing
No-Point Offenses:
- Overloads
- Over length
- Over width
- Over height
- Illegal parking
- Carrying concealed weapon
- Improper plates
- Improper registration
- Improper muffler
- Improper display of license plates or dealers' tags
- Unlawful display of emblems and insignia
- Failure to display current inspection certificate.
To give credit where credit is due, I'd like to thank NC State's Student Affairs department for providing a nice starting point to finding this info. Photo credit goes to quinn.anya.
