A little known piece of courthouse trivia is that court matters involving the use and misuse of motor vehicles account for the single greatest number of filings in civil and criminal courts in North Carolina.
Virtually every household in North Carolina has access to a motor vehicle. And yet, even after calculating the significant odds that we are going to be involved in one of those court matters, we are surprised when Lady Luck knocks on our door.
What can you do to avoid problems and to achieve better results when you do have a problem?
□ Vehicle-registration information: Do you have this at your fingertips in your vehicle? When it comes time to have your vehicle inspected and you start rooting around in your console you will find out that keeping up with the current registration card is harder than you may realize.
If you are involved in a mishap (or you are stopped for a ticket), giving the officer the last three expired registration cards will not work. There are no "trump cards" in the motor-vehicle-registration business.
If you cannot find your current registration, go on line and order a duplicate registration. The N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles' Web site, www.ncdot.org/dmv (and your credit card) will get you a duplicate registration in a couple of days.
Put it in an envelope in your console so you can find it easily.
□ When to stop? If you are in a wreck that results in personal injury, death or property damage, you are required by law to stop your vehicle at the scene, avoid obstructing traffic more than is necessary, and remain at the scene until a law-enforcement officer completes an investigation or authorizes you to leave. You may leave temporarily to get medical help or call an officer, but you must return if you can as soon as possible.
□ Minor fender-benders: Drivers of vehicles with total property damages of $1,000 or more are required to give notice to the appropriate law-enforcement officials (local police, highway patrol or sheriff's office) as soon as you can. If there is any personal injury, however minor it may appear, you must call law enforcement.
If you have much more than a scrape on your bumper, your damages, plus the damages to the other vehicle, are likely going to total $1,000 or more. It is a safe bet to assume that most any property damage is likely to push you over this very low bar. When in doubt, call law enforcement.
Plus, an objective summary of who did what may very well come in handy down the road. Even ethical people have selective memories about how a mishap happened when they start calculating increased insurance premiums.
□ What do you exchange with the other party? North Carolina law requires that parties exchange name, telephone number, address, operator's license number and registration number of the vehicles. You should exchange insurance information, too, identifying not only the insurance company but also the policy number.
If you hit a parked vehicle or unattended property (mailbox), you should contact law enforcement within 48 hours and leave your contact information conspicuously attached to the damaged property.
The N.C. Bar Association has an excellent summary of these points in a user-friendly pamphlet that you can obtain by calling 800-662-7407 or going online at www.ncbar.org.
You also can pick one up at your local public library.
Remember: An informed choice is a smart choice.
■ Mike Wells is an attorney with Wells Jenkins Lucas & Jenkins, PLLC, in Winston-Salem.
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