All Pleas Must be Approved by the DA or Presiding Judge.
9mph Over the Posted Limit (NC Drivers) Provided your offense is not in a school zone, if you have not had a moving violation in the past 4 years, reducing your speed to 9mph over the limit does not cause the 45% per year (for 3 years) insurance increase associated with speeding. In North Carolina speeding convictions result in both DMV "driving points" and Safe Driver Incentive Plan "insurance points". For DMV purposes, if you are convicted of speeding 16mph or greater over the posted speed limit, you will lose your license for 60 days. If you are convicted of speeding 25mph or greater over the posted speed, you will lose your license for 1 year. So a plea agreement reducing your speed to under 16mph will usually help saving your license. For Insurance purposes, if you have not had a "moving violation" in the past four (4) years, a reduction to a speed of 10mph or less over the original charge will not result in insurance points being assessed against you. Non-NC Drivers: Call your Insurance Agent or DMV: Your insurance point system may be similar to the one in North Carolina.
Improper Equipment ("IE"): Improper Equipment in NC is a lesser included offense of speeding. If you are eligible it is clearly your best option because it is not a moving violation. Madison County Eligibility: you are eligible for improper equipment if your speed is less than 24mph over the posted limit AND you have not had another conviction for IE within the past five (5) years (you will be required to produce a driving history). Here is the statute: Section 20-141. Speed restrictions. (o) A violation of G.S. Section 20-123.2 shall be a lesser included offense in any violation of this section, and shall be subject to the following limitations and conditions: (1) A violation of G.S. Section 20-123.2 shall be recorded in the driver's official record as "Improper equipment - Speedometer." (2) The lesser included offense under this subsection shall not apply to charges of speeding in excess of 25 miles per hour or more over the posted speed limit. No drivers license points or insurance surcharge shall be assessed on account of a violation of this subsection Section 20-123.2 Speedometer. (a) Every self-propelled motor vehicle when operated on the highway shall be equipped with a speedometer which shall be maintained in good working order.
Unsafe Movement: If within the past four (4) you have already had a PJC and a "moving violation" neither remedy will help you avoid an insurance increase. So the goal at this point is to minimize rather than eliminate your insurance increase. A highway ticket - over 10mph - creates a 45% increase; unsafe movement creates a 25% increase. In both cases the increase lasts for three (3) years. Unsafe movement is grouped under "all other moving violations" for DMV point purposes.