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New program allows Mecklenburg Co. speeders to reduce ticket online

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — The North Carolina Court System launched a new pilot program that allows drivers who are caught speeding in Mecklenburg County to try to reduce their ticket without showing up to court.

[LINK: NC Courts System online service]

The 24/7 online service allows drivers who meet eligibility to request a reduction on their speeding offense and process their citation without ever having to appear at the courthouse.

“Online reductions are more efficient and convenient to process the most commonly cited traffic offenses,” said Judge Marion Warren, director of the NC Administrative Office of the Courts. “Court technology and online services are modernizing the way the public does business with our courts.”

The new request for reduction service is part of a multi-phase initiative to provide the public a convenient, user-friendly means of resolving traffic offenses online.

For clerks and district attorneys, it means less paperwork, less data entry and shorter lines in traffic court and courthouses.

The service is currently being offered in Mecklenburg, Buncombe, Davidson, Davie and Johnston counties. It is expected to be statewide by late fall 2017.

Quick facts on the program:

  • No costs are associated with requesting a reduction online.
  • Requestors will receive email confirmation of their submission and the outcome of their request after review by the district attorney's office with an offer or denial of reduction.
  • The arraigned / charged speed must be between 10 and 19 miles over the posted limit, and must not exceed 80 mph.
  • If the district attorney offers an online reduction, the reduced charge, in the district attorney's discretion, will be nine miles over the posted limit or improper equipment. Other reductions require a court appearance. Citizens will receive an email including the reduced offense and associated cost.
  • If accepted, online reduction offers must be paid via onlineservices.NCcourts.org by midnight of the assigned court date or the offer will be vacated.
  • If a citizen does not accept an offer of reduction, or if the district attorney denies the request for reduction, they must appear in court on their assigned court date.
  • Speeding offenses made up nearly 50 percent of all traffic citations statewide in 2015, and account for approximately 400,000 tickets annually.

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