Do not believe that the only option available for you after receiving a traffic citation is what the police officer advises. A police officer is not an attorney and thus is not really qualified to give you legal advice. While the officer may be trying to give you advice with good intentions the truth of the matter is they are not always correct.
Officer’s often incorrectly advise someone they would be better off trying to get a PJC (Prayer for Judgment Continued) and just attend driver’s school to try to keep insurance premiums down. However depending on the circumstances in your particular case this may not be the best option. It may be possible to have the ticket dismissed completely. In addition, if you have multiple drivers on you insurance coverage, a PJC could seriously compromse your rates.
In other cases a police officer may say if you go to court he will tell the judge who cooperative you were to help your case. Again we cannot emphasize enough that the officer works for the State of North Carolina, he is trained and hired to prosecute your casew. If asked by the judge if you were cooperative he has to answer honestly regardless. It is in your best interest to talk to an attorney who can give you actual legal advice by looking at your case individually. Relying just on a police officer’s advice in this instance you may face increasing insurance premiums and possibly having a suspended or revoked driver’s license.
Even further, officers routinely and incorrectly, advise the driver to simply pay off the ticket. Paying off a ticket is the same as pleading guilty, ther is ABSOLUTELY no benefit in simply paying off a ticket. This is probably the worst advice possible, do not listen to the officer’s advice, only listen to a license attorney with experience handling traffic matters.
If you have received a traffic ticket please contact one of our attorneys. Our attorneys have the experience necessary to review your case and get the best possible result in your case. Contact one of our attorneys directly by calling 704-499-9000 or toll free 877-374-5999. You will be glad you did. Don’t worry. We are here to help.