Legal Question in Traffic Law in North Carolina

In North Carolina traffic law, does article 23 subsection 14-160 include property such as a pole in a corporate/retail parking lot? If so would it still be considered for a citation if your property/car insurance agency has deemed it an accident and its covered whenever/if ever they get a bill for the damages?


Asked on 2/10/16, 9:12 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Ya coulda just said - I whacked a pole - what next? Anywho, to answer your first question, of course it does, corporations are legal entities that can own property just like a person can. So an injury (basically damage) to corporately owned property i.e. a pole, can be included in G.S 14-60 as injury to personal property. But who cares? Focusing on whether the corporately owned pole is 'personal property' is disingenuous as a defense - you'd have more luck focusing on whether you damaged the pole in a 'willful and wanton' manner - accidental damage is not a crime. Your second question doesn't make any sense. I assume that you received a citation and you are asking if the citation was legitimately issued. If so, the answer is likely yes, but again, who cares? That is not the question you should be asking. The question you should be asking doesn't need to be all lawyerly like - its as simply as 'am I criminally responsible for hittin' that pole?' The answer to that is as long as the damage was accidental and you had insurance to cover the damages and they in fact did cover the damage and you can get a letter form you insurance company to that effect, the ADA may consider dismissing the charge. Easy peasy lemon squeasy no need go all statutory like.

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Answered on 2/11/16, 1:37 pm


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