Myrtle Beach & South Carolina----Attorney reports on out-of-state traffic tickets
Out-of-state drivers beware. What the law is in your state may not be what the law is in another. At a glance, that may sound silly. But wait. It makes sense.
Since I'm an attorney in Myrtle Beach who defends people charged with traffic violations, I've seen how people have been hurt thinking that one particular ticket here in SC, will have the same results when it transfers back to their home state. That is not necessarily the case
Many states have what are called, Reciprocity Agreements. That means that they have agreed that they will exchange information when someone one receives a ticket in one state but they are a licensed driver in another. For example, if someone who is licensed in North Carolina gets a ticket here in South Carolina, it will transfer back to the DMV in NC. The problem is there is no adjustment for the point system and the points have different values in each state. A more specific example is this. Say a person gets a 4 point speeding ticket here in SC. They do not think its any big deal so they just send in the fine money to be done with it. Then SC transfers the conviction to the DMV in NC. The Department of Motor Vehicles in Raleigh will then suspend the person's driving privileges in NC for 30 days. That is because a 4 point violation is a much more serious offense than a 4 point violation in SC.
A lot of people from NC will call with a ticket and ask if I can get them Prayer for Judgement. No, I cannot. We do not have that here in South Carolina. I wish we did. It sounds like a nice program. When an out-of-state driver receives a traffic ticket in SC, it is imperative for them to talk with an attorney. With a lot of traffic violations the court will lower the charge and the fine simply by asking. Its been that way for years, especially with speeding tickets. But because of the difference in point values, our courts realize and understand that what might be a normal and common reduction for a particular ticket, might cause unreasonable harm once that ticket is transferred back to the driver's home state. Therefore, a little extra special reduction and consideration is often given to those out-of-state drivers.
Having practiced and defended traffic tickets in all of the magistrate courts and municipal courts in Horry and Georgetown Counties, the help that the judges give is uniform and they all make an effort. That is especially true with Myrtle Beach Municipal Court (also called Myrtle Beach City Court), Conway Central Traffic Court (also called Conway Central Jury Court), which handle more traffic cases than any other courts. Same goes with Central Traffic Court in Georgetown and the surrounding counties.
So people need to at least call an attorney to ask and never assume that one ticket will have the same results when it hits their home DMV
