Articles Posted in Traffic Violations

Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “What is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony?”

According to a recent article with MyFox8, the issue of unlicensed drivers in North Carolina has become a serious problem, one that has prompted law enforcement agencies across the state to take notice. Recent statistics reveal that one in every seven drivers in North Carolina is behind the wheel without a valid license. Those numbers raise alarm in the law enforcement community and have prompted some departments to begin cracking down, actively searching for those behind the wheel when they should not be.

According to data from AAA, a whopping 21 percent of deadly accidents in the state involve an unlicensed driver. Another report says that nationwide, 18.2 percent of such fatal crashes involve unlicensed drivers. Between 2007 and 2009, AAA estimates that such unlicensed drivers were involved in crashes where 21,000 people died.

Another issue for those driving without proper permission is that unlicensed driving often leads to other criminal acts. For instance, AAA says that the majority of fatal hit-and-run accidents involve an unlicensed driver. That means that when the driver is ultimately located an additional criminal charge will be piled on top of driving without a license.

Those in the state pushing for a crackdown on unlicensed drivers also point to the financial cost of such accidents. Unlicensed drivers are by their very nature uninsured drivers, which means that when an accident occurs, the other party’s insurer will typically have to foot the bill. This added expense is passed along to everyone else by way of increased monthly premiums to account for the risk associated with unlicensed drivers.

Continue reading

The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled a few weeks ago that police in the state have no right to stop a car merely because the occupants appear to be nervous while driving.

The case involved an incident back in April of 2011 when police officers from Sampson County were operating a speed trap on I-40. The officers noticed a green minivan that dropped its speed from 73 to 65 mph, something that apparently was deemed suspicious by the officers given that it was a 70 mph zone. The officers further claimed that the occupants of the minivan appeared nervous and stared straight ahead as they passed the officers.

The Sampson County officers eventually pursued the van and, as they pulled alongside, noticed that the occupants never made eye contact with the officers. The officers said that the van was driving slowly and crossed a fog line, thus justifying their decision to pull the vehicle over. However, a video from the patrol car shows that the van never crossed the fog line or engaged in any other unsafe driving maneuvers.

The driver of the van was given a warning by the officers and agreed to a search of the vehicle that revealed a revolver and rifle belonging to her ex-husband and passenger. The ex-husband, Nathaniel Canty, was found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm. However, after Canty filed an appeal, the North Carolina Court noticed problems with the original traffic stop.

Continue reading