Most of us have had that sinking feeling of seeing blue lights in the rear view mirror. When I was in my teens, I used to get a speeding ticket every year. I would mail in the tickets (when the speed was low enough to allow payment by mail) or I would go to court and wait most of the day for the assistant district attorney to call me forward to plead my case. I had friends who would advise me to ask for a "PJC" or who told me to plead not guilty if the state trooper wasn’t wearing his hat when he gave me the ticket.

Usually, I took what the D.A. or the judge would give me and paid my fine. I never hired a lawyer to help me with my tickets. The problem is that the effects of even a "minor" traffic citation can be devastating to you and your family long after you mail in your ticket or pay your fine at the courthouse. In my case, my parents’ insurance went up every year (even though they had perfect driving records), eventually my folks’ insurance company dropped me from the policy, and the Department of Motor Vehicles tried to suspend my license for getting two speeding tickets in the same year.

Only after I had finished law school and became an Assistant District Attorney did I realize just what a lawyer can do to protect his client from license points, insurance increases, and license revocations. I have also watched unsuspecting folks come in to court without attorneys and plead guilty to charges that are definitely going to get them in trouble with the DMV and their insurance carrier.

Like your health and your credit, your license must be protected at all costs. And, just like with your health and credit, avoiding problems with your license now is much cheaper than regaining a revoked driving privilege, repairing damage to your driving record, or trying to reduce your insurance rates later.

Depending on your charge, your license might be revoked for from 30 days up to a full year on a first offense. If you drive after being suspended or revoked, then you are facing a class 1 misdemeanor and an additional one year revocation.

2. Insurance premiums can rise by up to 400%. Insurance companies are in the business of making money. They make more money by raising the rates of drivers with tickets. In fact, a one mile per hour difference in a speeding charge can lead to an increase in insurance premiums of form 25% to 400% for you and every member of your household covered by a policy for the next three years.

In some cases, your insurance company may drop you and your family altogether. If that happens, you may be forced to do business with a cut rate insurance outfit that charges you outrageous premiums for coverage that is inadequate to protect you and your family.

3. Everyone, including current or prospective employers, can get a look at your driving record. Thanks to the miracle of the internet, everyone in the world can get access to information about you -including criminal and driving records. Employers use this information as part of the process of background checks for new employees and in evaluating candidates for promotions.

4. You will lose time, income, and maybe your job. Without a lawyer, you will have to take time away from work to go to court - possibly several times. Once you get to court, you may have to wait from several hours to all day to get to see the D.A. and/or the judge. When you do get before the judge, you may be frustrated by the fact that the rules do not allow him to advise you about how to plead or what the consequences will be.

2. Dedication. My practice area is primarily in traffic, DWI, and criminal defense. I am not handling your ticket to make a quick buck while I am waiting for other business to pick up. My paralegal, Courtney Maness, handles nothing but criminal and traffic files, so even when I am in court, there will always be someone available to answer your questions. If you leave me a message, I will call you back within 24 hours.

3. Knowledge. The North Carolina motor vehicle laws are complex, confusing and liable to change every time the legislature is in session. We at the Arthur M. Blue Law Office have a thorough knowledge of the statutes and case law as well as a practical understanding of the inner workings of the system that we will use to benefit you.

4. Technology. We use the latest computer and internet technology to track and process our cases. This makes us more efficient and allows us to offer very reasonable fees to you.

Just drop us an e-mail or give us a call. We can handle most tickets over the phone and through the mails and the fax machine. For more complex cases, we will be happy to schedule you an appointment in our office for a free consultation.