The Fayetteville Observer, N.C., Live Wire column

May 18--Q: How do you get points on your driving record? Do points affect your insurance rates? -- J.L., Fayetteville

A: There are actually two kinds of points that can get attached to your driving record in North Carolina.

One sort -- license points -- can slam the brakes on your driving privileges.

The other kind can wreck your insurance rates if you're convicted of a moving traffic violation or found to have caused a crash. The state's Safe Driver Incentive Plan sets the number of insurance points that can be assessed for different types of violations or accidents.

One point is assigned for relatively minor incidents, such as speeding no more than 10 mph over the speed limit if said speed limit is less than 55 mph. The points scale rises from there up to a max of 12, given for the most serious driving crimes, including manslaughter or negligent homicide in a car crash and driving while impaired.

Insurance points remain on your record for three years. The more points you have, the higher your insurance premium. Under the Safe Driver Incentive Plan, a single point on your driving record raises your insurance premium by 30 percent. Six points would raise your premium 135 percent, and 12 points would raise it 340 percent.

Your driving record has the biggest impact on your insurance premium. But insurance companies also base their rates on such things as where you live, what kind of car you drive and how far you drive it each day.

Back to license points: They're assessed against your driving record by the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles for driving-related offenses, and their value increases with the severity of the offense. Littering while driving carries one license point. Passing a stopped school bus carries five.

If you accumulate seven license points, you may be assigned to a driver improvement clinic. If you accumulate as many as 12 of these points in a three-year period, your license can be suspended.

Q: Is Jonathan Frakes from one of the "Star Trek" spin-offs married to Genie Francis, who played Laura on "General Hospital"? -- L.D., Fayetteville

A: They'll celebrate their 26th wedding anniversary on May 28.

Frakes, 61, is best known for playing Commander William T. Riker on the TV series "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and in Star Trek movies.

Francis, 51, has played Laura on "General Hospital" off and on since the late '70s. She also spent a year on "The Young and the Restless," playing the character Genevieve Atkinson.

Live Wire seeks to answer questions of general interest and consumer topics within two weeks. Initials are used to identify questioners when names are given. Contact Live Wire at facebook.com/foLiveWire, at [email protected] or at 486-3516.

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