Smallest Offenses Can Pose Huge Problems
Most people think of a traffic citation as little more than an annoyance that can generally be taken care of through the expenditure of a little bit of time and a couple hundred dollars. For some individuals, a traffic citation can lead to a mandatory appearance at a location far from that person's home or potentially harsh penalties that can result in the loss of one's driving privileges if the ticket is not handled properly.
For example, the State of North Carolina is notorious for having strict driving laws, including the potential suspension of a resident's license if he or she is cited in any state for speeding in excess of fifteen miles per hour over the speed limit. Such citations are routinely written to North Carolina residents who are traveling in Tennessee counties such as Cocke County, Greene County, Sevier County, and other counties that sit along the North Carolina border. Given the strict driving laws that are in place in that state, many North Carolina residents simply cannot afford to have points placed on their license or risk pleading guilty to an excessive speeding charge.
It is also important to remember that many counties will look at a person's driving history in deciding whether to give an individual a break on a ticket. For this reason, it is important for drivers to maintain a clean record, as even one small violation in the past three or four years can spell doom for drivers hoping to catch a break in some Tennessee counties.
If you are facing potentially harsh consequences or a mandatory appearance far from home as a result of a traffic citation, contact an experienced East Tennessee Traffic Ticket Attorney who can assist you in getting the matter resolved.
North Carolina to Seize Speeding Cars [and Bikes] That Fail to Pull Over
Police to seize and sell motorcycles and cars accused of eluding arrest.
Beginning December 1, North Carolina will join Australia in having laws on the book mandating the seizure of vehicles for certain speeding offenses. On June 23, Governor Bev Perdue (D) signed the "Run and You're Done" bill into law which authorizes a county sheriff to take and hold the car of anyone accused -- not convicted -- of speeding away from a police officer. The state House and Senate passed the measure unanimously.
Under the new law, the confiscation becomes permanent if a judge believes the car or motorcycle was used to elude a police officer while speeding more than 15 MPH over the limit with at least one other aggravating factor, such as having someone under 12 years old in the vehicle or the vehicle was at some point in a highway work zone, regardless of whether any workers are present.
Such charges could apply to drivers who have done nothing seriously wrong. In 2009, a Minnesota State rammed the minivan of a man accused of not using his turn signal, then arrested him for "eluding police" because he took less than a minute to find a place to pull over that was not covered in snow. He had his three small children in the car at the time. In 2008, a woman drove less than 10 MPH over the limit followed the general advice of waiting to find a well-lit area before pulling over. She was arrested by Greene County, Missouri police and only escaped charges when the incident hit the news.
Conviction under "Run and You're Done" brings revenue to the police agency responsible for the seizure. The entity responsible for selling the vehicle will keep seizure fees, storage fees and sales fees. The remainder of the profit is distributed to the county government like a normal fine.
Under the new law, the vehicle can be seized and sold even if the actual owner of the vehicle is unaware of its use for speeding. Police only need to place a legal advertisement in a newspaper on two occasions and paste up three handbills near the place of seizure before selling the car. The process can be done in 24 days. A court clerk has the discretion to release a car to anyone he believes might be an "innocent owner."
A special provision forbids the sale of highly modified performance vehicles. These, instead, are to be "turned over to such governmental agency or public official within the territorial jurisdiction of the court as the court shall see fit, to be used in the performance of official duties only."
A copy of the legislation is available in a 70k PDF file at the source link below.
Source: House Bill 427 (North Carolina General Assembly, 6/23/2011)
NASCAR driver Kyle Busch loses driver's license
NASCAR points leader Kyle Busch has had his driver's license suspended in a case stemming from his high-speed joy ride in a luxury car.
Busch pleaded guilty to speeding and no contest to reckless and careless driving in North Carolina District Court in Iredell County on Tuesday. In addition to losing his license for 45 days, he also was fined $1,000, sentenced to 30 hours of community service and put on one year of unsupervised probation.
Busch, who doesn't need a license to compete in NASCAR, was stopped May 24 while driving 128 mph in a 45 mph zone in a bright yellow 2012 Lexus. The hand-built LFA sports car is valued at nearly $400,000 and was on loan to Busch from Lexus.
The Dragonater drives 130 mph for 3 hours nonstop in tight formation with commuter traffic, 100% legal, on public highways with a speed limit over 250 mph, as seen on History Channel.
"Mr. Speaker, my subject today is whether America is a police state. Terror and fear are used to achieve complacency and obedience, especially when citizens are deluded into believing they are still a free people. Most police states, surprisingly, come about through the democratic process with majority support. The masses are easily led to believe that security and liberty are mutually exclusive, and demand for security far exceeds that for liberty. Our government already keeps close tabs on just about everything we do and requires official permission for nearly all of our activities. One might take a look at our Capitol for any evidence of a police state. We see: barricades, metal detectors, police, military soldiers at times, dogs, ID badges required for every move, vehicles checked at airports and throughout the Capitol. The people are totally disarmed, except for the police and the criminals. But worse yet, surveillance cameras in Washington are everywhere to ensure our safety. The personal information of law-abiding citizens can be used for reasons other than safety- including political reasons. Like gun control, people control hurts law-abiding citizens much more than the law-breakers. Social Security numbers are used to monitor our daily activities. The numbers are given at birth, and then are needed when we die and for everything in between. Centralized control and regulations are required in a police state. Almost all of our economic activities depend upon receiving the proper permits from the federal government. Transactions involving guns, food, medicine, smoking, drinking, hiring, firing, wages, politically correct speech, land use, fishing, hunting, buying a house, business mergers and acquisitions, selling stocks and bonds, and farming all require approval and strict regulation from our federal government. If this is not done properly and in a timely fashion, economic penalties and even imprisonment are likely consequences. Because government pays for much of our health care, it's conveniently argued that any habits or risk-taking that could harm one's health are the prerogative of the federal government, and are to be regulated by explicit rules to keep medical-care costs down. This same argument is used to require helmets for riding motorcycles and bikes. Not only do we need a license to drive, but we also need special belts, bags, buzzers, seats and environmentally dictated speed limits- or a policemen will be pulling us over to levy a fine, and he will be toting a gun for sure. Over 80,000 federal bureaucrats now carry guns to make us toe the line and to enforce the thousands of laws and tens of thousands of regulations that no one can possibly understand. All 18-year-old males must register to be ready for the next undeclared war. If they don't, men with guns will appear and enforce this congressional mandate. "Involuntary servitude" was banned by the 13th Amendment, but courts don't apply this prohibition to the servitude of draftees or those citizens required to follow the dictates of the IRS- especially the employers of the country, who serve as the federal government's chief tax collectors and information gatherers. Fear is the tool used to intimidate most Americans to comply to the tax code by making examples of celebrities. When the government keeps detailed records on every move we make and we either need advance permission for everything we do or are penalized for not knowing what the rules are, America will be declared a police state. In a free society, the government's job is simply to protect liberty- the people do the rest. Let's not give up on a grand experiment that has provided so much for so many. Let's reject the police state."
—Congressman Ron Paul, candidate for president in 2008, U.S. House of Representatives, Is America a Police State? June 27, 2002
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