My husband with a PERFECT driving record for more than 40 years got a speeding ticket here in NC ---
His license was suspended, we had to travel overnight back to the 'scene-of-the-crime' to go to traffic court and pay a whopping fine (he was going 10 miles over the speed limit)
Points on his license, increase in insurance, etc.
After the whole thing was finally over, he wishes he'd hired a lawyer ($150 around here to get the traffic ticked 'dismissed')
I thought our teen-agers would think it hilarious that 'Mr. Perfect
Driver' had a ticket but they were offended (it was our college-age son who later explained the lawyer thing -- obviously he was an expert in traffic tickets!)
Bob called to ask about the 'court date' and the call was transferred to 'criminal records' -- he was horrified to be in 'criminal records' as he is definitely a law-and-order kind of guy!!!
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not trying to 'hyjack' the thread, just sharing a NC experience
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We have a friend in Maryland who often gets speeding tickets -- she opts for 'community service' and says she actually gets some pleasure from cleaning litter from city parks for an afternoon -- to each his own!