It's been an active week over at N.C. Department of Transportation, and they've shared a roundup of important updates that are going to want to emblazon into your memory. The highlights from the week, as reported by NCDOT, include a focus on the Move Over Law, an alert to watch for deer on the roads, a salute to Veterans Day, and a streamlining of the process for teen drivers to upgrade their licenses. Let's dig just a bit deeper into what this all means for you.
Apparently, there's a real need for drivers to strictly adhere to the Move Over Law. To drive the point home, State Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson decided to take a ride with a Safety Service Patrol responder, part of the Incident Management Assistance Patrol (IMAP) program, which looks to keep highways free of potential hazards by providing roadside assistance to stranded motorists. And if you need a little extra motivation to scoot over, consider the chilling fact that there have almost been two dozen incidents this year of IMAP trucks or drivers being hit by passing motorists.
With the time change making nights longer, deer are more likely to casually stroll onto roads, heightening the risk of collisions. With over 23,000 animal-related crashes last year in North Carolina alone, it's essential to take precautionary steps like slowing down in areas known for deer, keeping a safe following distance, and using high beams to better spot the four-legged jaywalkers when there is no oncoming traffic.
Meanwhile, as we pause to honor our veterans this week, NCDOT is proud to highlight the more than 450 vets that continue their service through the department. Secretary Johnson, who served in the U.S. Navy on the USS Blue Ridge, told NCDOT, "There’s no place I’ve worked like DOT. It’s the closest feeling I’ve had to what it was like when I was serving in the Navy. You’re working together with people of all walks of life with a common desire to serve the public and to accomplish something bigger." That's a sentiment we can all surely get behind.
And for the younger crowd, N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles is looking to make your life a little easier. They've streamlined the upgrade from a Level 2 Limited Provisional License to a Level 3 Full Provisional License, and they've taken the process online. Teens can now move through this milestone without needing to visit a driver license office. A parent or guardian starts off by logging in to the NCDMV’s online payment portal, and then the teen finishes the transaction with an email prompt.
