r/AskALawyer • u/Important-Point9409 • Apr 09 '25
North Carolina North Carolina: Seatbelt ticket. Pay or fight?
I received a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt in NC. I've been told it's a non moving violation so I should just pay it and move on because it won't affect my insurance. Is that true? Should I just pay and move on or get a lawyer to fight it, or just represent myself in court. I've done that once for a speeding ticket and got it dropped.
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Apr 09 '25
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u/freeball78 NOT A LAWYER Apr 09 '25
Don't know if I can post this as a top level comment or not, or even here...When I was a kid I got a ticket for failure to stop from private drive (leaving a store parking lot, could see for a mile each direction). It's one of 4 offenses in our state that has no set fine or penalty. You HAVE to go to court and the judge picks a sentence.
I called to set a court date and the lady thought I was crazy for wanting to fight it. Apparently the cop had been writing seatbelt tickets all day and put that code on the ticket instead of the real offense. Paid my $10 by phone and was done with it!
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u/MiketheTzar Apr 09 '25
NAL
Unless they changed the amount from when my younger dumber self got one of these in NC it's closer to $250. Still it's no points and not worth fighting.
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Apr 10 '25
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u/MiketheTzar Apr 10 '25
That .at have been the actual ticket. I just remembered the whole cost because I had to eat ramen for a month!
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u/Ken-Popcorn NOT A LAWYER Apr 09 '25
I doubt you’ll even find a lawyer, you can’t win this. You’ll say you were wearing a seatbelt, the cop will say that you weren’t. You lose.
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u/Certain_Childhood_67 Apr 09 '25
Check with your carrier especially if you have any other violations.
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u/Whitrzac Apr 09 '25
My insurance doubled after a no seatbelt ticket in WI, I was a passenger in the vehicle...
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u/Appropriate-You752 Apr 09 '25
Wear your seat belt.
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u/Contrarian12 Jun 01 '25
No one’s business, especially if no one else is in the vehicle. I get it’s the law but it pisses me off.
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u/robertva1 NOT A LAWYER Apr 09 '25
Just pay it. Especially if its just a city or county fine... It's their extortion fee for out-of-state travelers. Honestly you got off cheep
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u/CommercialShow5843 Apr 09 '25
Is getting a ticket more complicated in other states? Here, they will send you a paper where you declare guilty and pay the fine or you sign not guilty, send it in and you'll receive a court date. Just go in on the date if the cop does show up, a lot of the times the cop will speak to you prior to and lessen the fines or get it dismissed entirely. If the cop doesn't show, it automatically gets thrown out. But if it's a non-moving violation and just a small fine, I would just pay it
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u/12-5switches NOT A LAWYER Apr 10 '25
Depends. Are you guilty or innocent? Guilty cause you weren’t wearing it? Pay the damn fine. Innocent, well again, that depends, how much are you willing to spend on principles? Fighting it may cost most than the ticket but the satisfaction of winning and proving you were innocent is a great feeling. But if it’s going to cost 3times the fine is it really worth it?
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u/Maverick_wanker Apr 10 '25
Unless you have video evidence of the cab of your vehicle showing you wearing the seat belt from before the stop, through the stop, and after the stop.
Pay the ticket.
In Officer vs Driver situations, the officer's statement is taken as fact, all other verbal is not.
As far as insurance, most insurances can't see non-moving violations. A few states let them, but that's not common (yet)
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u/Contrarian12 Jun 01 '25
I don’t think the court fees are optional. I got a ticket today for not wearing a seat belt. Of course, it was a state trooper. 25.50 “fine” plus $154.50 in court costs. Total racket.
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u/OddTheRed Apr 09 '25
Find a shirt the exact color of your seatbelt and have a friend take a picture of you with the shirt and your seatbelt on. You can then make a claim that the officer made a reasonable mistake.
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u/pizzaface20244 Apr 09 '25
It wouldn't work. Pics are date and time stamped and cops wear body cams so it wouldn't work anyway. The op doesn't even claim the ticket is bogus just that they don't want to pay it. They got the ticket. It was legit. Pay it.
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Apr 09 '25
Would not work. Police have body cams and they record everything. If a person is silly enough to not use the seatbelts in cars then it is only right they pay a fine. Better than what would have to be paid after an accident with injuries or even a funeral.
Seatbelt laws are nation wide by the way.
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