You may recall that Denis got a speeding ticket driving home from Nashville a few weeks ago. The cop clocked him going 70 in a 55. Pffft. I can’t believe the cop even stopped him. Down here 70 mph is a snail’s pace. Everyone here thinks they drive for NASCAR.
Yesterday was the court date and we opted to plead it down to a PJC (Prayer for Judgment Continued) instead of just paying the fine. One of my attorneys is good friends with an attorney in the county where Denis was pulled over, so we contacted him and for $150 we were able to avoid the ticket even being recorded on Denis’ record. The result? No points on his license, and no rise in insurance rates. A PJC is basically asking the court to avoid putting the ticket on the driving record for three years – “Prayer” (asking) for “Judgment Continued” (delayed conviction). It’s a way for people to avoid having their driving record affected by a speeding ticket. However, each FAMILY can only plead ONE PJC in North Carolina in their lifetime.
It also means that now NEITHER of us can get a speeding ticket in the next three years. If we do (and it doesn’t matter what state we’re driving in), then the NC ticket will “reactivate” and we’ll then get blasted with points for two speeding tickets and car insurance raises for two tickets, as though we got two tickets at one time. If we can go three years without another speeding ticket then the ticket he got last month is wiped away completely and we sort-of start from scratch. However, if after that three years we do get caught speeding again we aren’t allowed to plead the PJC again – it’s a one-time-only deal in NC. The next best thing we could do is plead 9-over-the-limit, which is a lesser charge. And in other counties in NC you can plead down to improper equipment (this was not the case in the county where Denis was pulled over).
So there you have it. What sucks is that Denis’ car has cruise control, so on long drives all he has to do is set it and not think about it anymore. My cheapo car does NOT have cruise control. And I have a lead foot. So the onus is really on me not to get a ticket anytime between today and September 2, 2011. *lol*