Legal Question in Traffic Law in North Carolina

I was driving in traffic in NC and had very slow, going 15mph truck in front of me. I made attempts to pass and I thought it was clear, then a car appeared in the lane and I had to get back over. The truck saw my attempt and pulled over to the side of the road to let me pass. At the next traffic light another car pulled ahead of me and the man started yelling at me, then he drove off. I can only assume maybe I cut him off getting back into my lane when I saw I could not pass safely. Later that evening a Sheriff deputy ( in unmarked police car) rang my doorbell. I was in my pjs and did not answer as I did not know at first was ( I am single female and live alone and wary of answering door at night). Later I was in bed and thought I heard the door bell again and when I looked I saw same deputy leaving in an unmarked police car. I have to assume someone wrote down my tags, called the police. What can happen in this situation? Can the officer charge me for any traffic violations after the fact? Can a citizen call the police on another car and they take their statement (whether true or not?). I am also not sure what to do if the officer comes to my home again. Please advise.


Asked on 1/01/16, 6:37 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Is this a serious question? You seriously had to 'make attempts' (plural as in more than one) to pass a truck doing 15 mph and then you got yelled at to a degree where a deputy had to come to your house and not only do you claim to not know why but you blew off the deputy and didn't even answer the door? Wow! You very likely should not drive again - ever! As to your questions:1) What can happen in this situation? Lot's of bad things but since you claim not to know what you did, we can't really tell you what all might happen. It could range from nothing to you going to jail for a very long time. 2). Can the officer charge me for any traffic violations after the fact? Um, yes everyone is charged after the fact. Be kinda weird to get a ticket before you do something wrong and this isn't baseball or O.J. Simpson, you aren't 'safe' because you made it home! 3) Can a citizen call the police on another car and they take their statement (whether true or not?). I'm not even really sure what you are asking here but yeah, people can call the police and report people who probably ought not be driving and police can take statements and those statements may be true or not true. As to what you should do if the officer comes to your house again. Ignoring him seems to be working pretty good for you but when they do catch up with you the standard advice is to keep your mouth shut and call a lawyer. Best of luck to you!

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Answered on 1/04/16, 7:39 am


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