I am a NC drivers license holder.  I was trapped for 90 in a 60 while
driving in SC.  The magistrate stated that I could plead no contest,
the points would not show up on my NC license,  and the penalty would
be reduced to 4 points (which did not affect me, he said).  4 points
is 'over 15 mph over but under 25 mph over.'  I took this bargain. 
That was August of 2002.

The violation never appeared on my NC license, and likewise never
showed up on my NC insurance through any consumer groups of any kind. 
I have even changed insurance carriers since then.

I have accepted a full time position in SC starting late January,
2004.  I could live in either SC or NC due to the job's location.  I
would prefer SC, as the taxes are slightly less, cost of living is
less, etc.  However, whether I live in SC or not largely depends on
the situation about the ticket.

My question is whether I will recieve a SC drivers license with the SC
violation on it, even though I was a NC driver when the violation
occured.  If so, will the violation be accompanied by the 4 points. 
If this is the case, how could that affect my insurance?  I plan on
celebrating my employment fresh out of college with an expensive car,
so insurance will already be a little high.  I would love for it not
to be higher.  How long will the violation be active on my record (I
believe in NC the duration is 3 years)?  Would there be a way to
further reduce the penalty before/after I move to SC?

I have searched extensively, but mine seems to be a unique situation
where no one moves to the state where the non-resident violation
occured.  Unfortunately, SC has limited information on it's DMV
website.  I also have never had any moving violations on my NC
license, so nothing would transfer to SC from NC but a big fat zero.

I think these questions are very closely related, so if you find that
one source, youve made my day!  Thanks for any help you can provide!

-i_am_ed

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Clarification of Question by i_am_ed-ga on 14 Jun 2003 06:40 PDT

Please by all means suggest a price if this is too low.  I am
currently raising it to $20.

Dear i_am_ed-ga;

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question. I have spent more than two decades in law enforcement and I
have been certified with the National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
since 1981. I have also held certifications in two states on their
statewide networks (MULES and ACIC) so I have a considerable
understanding of traffic laws both inside and outside my state,
particularly in areas related to license records and diver histories.

In the mid 1960’s, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform
State Laws developed a cooperative concept called the “Traffic
Violations Compact” whereby bordering states could rely on their
neighbors to help enforce traffic laws uniformly, especially when
violations involve non-residents. In the late 1960’s this became known
as the “Traffic Summons Reciprocal Agreement” and included a number of
jurisdictions primarily in New England. By 1977, this had become known
as the “Nonresident Violator Compact of 1977” and it’s bylaws were
ratified in 1988. Today, more states participate in this interstate
compact agreement than those that choose not to.

Here is a list of member states that share driving history information
(you can see that NC and SC are both participants in this interstate
compact agreement):

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut,
Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois,
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky - Joined 8/96, Louisiana, Maine,
Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North
Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South
Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia,
Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming

Having said that, here’s the deal…if your ticket does not show up on
one license now, it won’t show up on another license later. Had the
ticket been recorded in your driving history however, the Interstate
Compact would have REQUIRED it to be carried over to your new license.
Since it isn’t currently listed in your history of violations it never
will be. For insurance purposes though, if asked about past
violations, you may be liable to honestly disclose violations dating
back as far as 7 years (depending on your insurance carrier’s
requirements), but in large part a simple speeding violation stays on
one’s record for only about 3 years. In your case though, since it
isn’t part of your driving history now, it likely won’t be, even if
you obtain a new license in a different state.

Here is North Carolina’s interstate compact agreement:

NCGA GENERAL STATUTES
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Statutes/GeneralStatutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_20/Article_1C.html

This is South Carolina’s version of the compact agreement:
SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS
http://www.lpitr.state.sc.us/code/t56c025.htm

The bottom line if the state dropped the ball (which does happen
sometimes) by not reporting your driving history, or, through some
agreement with the court that allowed you to enter a plea of no
contest in exchange for a clear record (which is a fairly common
practice, especially with first time offenders), the states will not
come back and penalize you later by putting the violation back on your
driving history simply because you obtained a new license in another
state. Hey...Lucky you!

Now – as for a reduction in insurance rates: You can attend a brief
defensive driving course (usually only 8 hours for a nominal fee) and
qualify for a reduction of adverse driving points for insurance
purposes. Most states and most insurance companies recognize this as a
means of reducing point values and premiums – and for some people a
reduction of only a couple of points can significantly reduce their
premiums! Your insurance underwriter can give you more information
about these classes, where they are offered and how much they cost.
He/she may even be able to help you schedule one or at least,
recommend one to you. If they can’t, the nearest DMV, Driver’s Control
Office or State Police Headquarters probably can.

I hope you find that that my research exceeds your expectations. If
you have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga



INFORMATION SOURCES

INTERSTATE COMPACTS
http://www.criminaldefensedenver.com/interstatecompact.htm

DEFINING COMPACTS: JURISDICTIONAL AGREEMENTS
http://www.aamva.org/drivers/mnu_drvCompacts.asp

DRIVER LICENSE COMPACT (DLC)
http://www.aamva.org/drivers/drv_compactsDLC.asp

NONRESIDENT VIOLATOR COMPACT (NRVC)
http://www.aamva.org/drivers/drv_compactsNRVC.asp
GRAVES H WILSON, JR, Esq.
http://www.graveswilson.com/




SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Google ://www.google.com


SEARCH TERMS USED:


INTERSTATE COMPACT AGREEMENTS

DRIVERS COMPACT AGREEMENT

TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS COMPACT

DRIVERS LICENSE COMPACTS

PARTICIPATING STATES COMPACT AGREEMENTS

SOUTH CAROLINA CODE

NORTH CAROLINA CODE

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Request for Answer Clarification by i_am_ed-ga on 25 Jun 2003 17:34 PDT

Your answer completely stunned me.  The information you gathered from
your research is wonderfully thorough.  I applaud you for completing
the task it took me weeks to fail at!

I do have one question left, although your response alludes to it. 
Does SC, or any state but that in which I reside for that matter, keep
a record of instate violations/convitions of nonresidents for
themselves?  Will SC be able to both reference the information on me
sent from NC and information it keeps in regards to my (then) new SC
license?  I cannot tell if SC would be able to lift the NCDL number on
my SC application and scan it through their own system.

Again, thank you so much for your research, and for hopefully your
complete response to this new question.  A+!

-i_am_ed

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Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 25 Jun 2003 18:40 PDT

Sure they do! All agencies keep records on file of every action taken
no matter how serious or how minor the infraction. The court does the
same thing by the way. Unless you are applying for a sensitive job and
will be subjected a full background check that requires a local "hand
search" for records in every jurisdiction you ever lived in though,
it's very unlikley that it will ever come up. The "hard copy" of your
old ticket and the court docket will probably sit in a drawer or
ledger somewhere and gather dust until it's stored away (we
permanently store our after about 10 years for example). At that time
it will probably be kept on microfiche or on disk somewhere
indefintely (if it hasn't already been so recorded).

If you ever run for office or need a security clearance, it might come
up to haunt you. If not, well, you've probably heard the last of it.

I'm glad this has been a positive experience for you.

Regards;
tutuzdad-ga

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Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 25 Jun 2003 19:57 PDT

After re-reading your additional question and my follow-up answer, I
realized that my answer didn't entirely address your added concern:

As for your question about cross-referencing between states, the
answer is NO. South Carolina cannot readily access filed actions from
North Carolina (and visa-versa) that are not otherwise made a part of
your driver's history simply by scanning your license. Records of
local action taken that are NOT made part of your FORMAL driving
history (tickets, violations, etc) are only available thorugh the
agency that stores that record in it's local file. However, as I
mentioned, these records WOULD be available to them through NCIC if
they ran a complete background check on you or if they ordered a hand
search of records through the specific agency that issued the ticket.
If you ever become an airline pilot, police officer, polititian or
serial killer, someone might take an interest in actually checking on
you that deep. Otherwise, it really isn't pertinent information that
is commonly sought after.

Regards;
tutuzdad-ga

Excellent research, almost too much information!  But thank you
greatly.  Definitely thorough and encompassing.