NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1975 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 763

SENATE BILL 368

 

 

AN ACT TO PERMIT THE GRANTING OF LIMITED DRIVING PRIVILEGES TO ONE CONVICTED FOR THE FIRST TIME OF A SPEEDING OFFENSE WHICH WOULD OTHERWISE REQUIRE THE MANDATORY SUSPENSION OF THE DRIVER'S LICENSE.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  G.S. 20-16.1 is rewritten to read as follows:

"§ 20-16.1.  Mandatory suspension of driver's license upon conviction of excessive speeding; limited driving permits for first offenders. — (a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Article, the department shall suspend for a period of 30 days the license of any operator or chauffeur without preliminary hearing on receiving a record of such operator's or chauffeur's conviction of exceeding by more than 15 miles per hour the speed limit, either within or outside the corporate limits of a municipality, if such person was also driving at a speed in excess of 55 miles per hour at the time of the offense.

(b)        (1)        Upon a first conviction only of violating subsection (a), the trial judge may when feasible allow a limited driving privilege or license to the person convicted for proper purposes reasonably connected with the health, education and welfare of the person convicted and his family. For purposes of determining whether conviction is a first conviction, no prior offense occurring more than 10 years before the date of the current offense shall be considered. The judge may impose upon such limited driving privilege any restrictions as in his discretion are deemed advisable including, but not limited to, conditions of days, hours, types of vehicles, routes, geographical boundaries and specific purposes for which limited driving privilege is allowed. Any such limited driving privilege allowed and restrictions imposed thereon shall be specifically recorded in a written judgment which shall be as near as practical to that hereinafter set forth and shall be signed by the trial judge and shall be affixed with the seal of the court and shall be made a part of the records of the said court. A copy of said judgment shall be transmitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles along with any operator's or chauffeur's license in the possession of the person convicted and a notice of the conviction. Such permit issued hereunder shall be valid for such length of time as shall be set forth in the judgment of the trial judge. Such permit shall constitute a valid license to operate motor vehicles upon the streets and highways of this or any other state in accordance with the restrictions noted thereon and shall be subject to all provisions of law relating to operator's or chauffeur's license, not by their nature, rendered inapplicable.

(2)        The judgment issued by the trial judge as herein permitted shall as near as practical be in form and content as follows:

                                                                                    IN THE GENERAL COURT

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA                                         OF JUSTICE

COUNTY OF ____________                                    RESTRICTED DRIVING

                                                                                                PRIVILEGES

This cause coming on to be heard and being heard before the Honorable ___________, Judge presiding, and it appearing to the Court that the defendant, ___________, has been convicted of the offense of excessive speeding in violation of G.S. 20-16.1(a), and it further appearing to the court that the defendant should be issued a restrictive driving license and is entitled to the issuance of a restrictive driving privilege under and by the authority of G.S. 20-16.1(b);

Now, therefore, it is ordered, adjudged and decreed that the defendant be allowed to operate a motor vehicle under the following conditions and under no other circumstances.

Name: ___________________________

                        Race: ___________                        Sex: ___________

                        Height: ___________                      Weight: ___________

                        Color of Hair: ___________            Color of Eyes: ___________

            Birth Date: ___________________________

            Driver's License Number: ___________________________

            Signature of Licensee: _____________________________

            Conditions of Restriction: ___________________________

Type of Vehicle: ___________________________

Geographic Restrictions: ___________________________

Hours of Restriction: ___________________________

Other Restrictions: ___________________________

This limited license shall be effective from _______ to _______subject to further orders as the court in its discretion may deem necessary and proper.

This the _______ day of _______ 19__.

___________________________

              (Judge Presiding)

(3)        Upon conviction of such offense outside the jurisdiction of this State the person so convicted may apply to the resident judge of the superior court of the district in which he resides for limited driving privileges hereinbefore defined. Upon such application the judge shall have the authority to issue such limited driving privileges in the same manner as if he were the trial judge.

(4)        Any violation of the restrictive driving privileges as set forth in the judgment of the trial judge allowing such privileges shall constitute the offense of driving while license has been suspended as set forth in G.S. 20-28. Whenever a person is charged with operating a motor vehicle in violation of the restrictions, the limited driving privilege shall be suspended pending the final disposition of the charge.

(5)        This section is supplemental and in addition to existing law and shall not be construed so as to repeal any existing provision contained in the General Statutes of North Carolina.

(c)        Upon conviction of a similar second or subsequent offense which offense occurs within one year of the first or prior offense, the license of such operator or chauffeur shall be suspended for 60 days, provided such first or prior offense occurs subsequent to July 1, 1953.

(d)        Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Article, the department shall suspend for a period of 60 days the license of any operator or chauffeur without preliminary hearing on receiving a record of such operator's or chauffeur's conviction of having violated the laws against speeding described in subsection (a) and of having violated the laws against reckless driving on the same occasion as the speeding offense occurred.

(e)        The provisions of this section shall not prevent the suspension or revocation of a license for a longer period of time where the same may be authorized by other provisions of law.

(f)         Operators or chauffeurs whose licenses have been suspended under the provisions of this section shall not be required to maintain proof of financial responsibility upon reissuance of the license solely because of suspension pursuant to this section."

Sec. 2.  This act shall become effective July 1, 1975.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 24th day of June, 1975.