A 3-minute lesson from the North Carolina course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Driving a commercial motor vehicle raises the stakes: most violations carry one more point than in a car, and some offenses only appear on the commercial list. Some other convictions carry no points at all.
Points while driving a commercial motor vehicle
Points while driving a commercial motor vehicle
Violation
Points
Passing a stopped school bus
8
Rail-highway crossing violation
6
Careless and reckless (G.S. 20-140(f)); aggressive driving
6
Speeding in violation of G.S. 20-141(j3)
6
Reckless driving; hit and run, property damage only
5
Following too closely; wrong side; illegal passing
5
Stop sign, red light, speeding over 55 mph, failure to yield
A truck driver passes a stopped school bus while driving his rig. That's 8 points, compared with 5 in his personal car, and the fine can be doubled because he was in a commercial motor vehicle.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
Who uses a separate point system, different from DMV license points, to set rates?
The DMV
Insurance companies
The courts
Law enforcement agencies
Answer: Insurance companies
Insurance companies use a different point system to determine insurance rates.
For a point-carrying offense committed while operating a commercial motor vehicle, what may happen to the fine?
It may be doubled
It is waived with a clinic
It is reduced by half
It is replaced by points
Answer: It may be doubled
Anyone who commits a point offense while operating a commercial motor vehicle may be assessed double the amount of any fine or penalty authorized by statute.