Highlights and Lowlights of North Carolina’s Recent Traffic Safety Decisions

The auto services affiliate AAA Carolina releases yearly opinions on decisions and events involving traffic safety in North Carolina. In its “Red Light, Green Light” report, a green light indicates approval while a red light indicates a poor or questionable decision. Below are select decisions and events to which AAA Carolina gave a green light for 2010:
-Consideration by the town of Chapel Hill on banning cell phone use while driving. Distracted driving such as cell phone use is the cause of thousands of car accidents every year. The state already bans texting while driving.
-Support from the Raleigh City Council a plan to improve bicycling in the city by adding bike lanes for up to 25 streets. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, thousands of pedestrians are killed in the U.S. each year in accidents, many of whom are bicyclists.
-A crackdown by District Attorney Susan Doyle on court clerks and attorneys illegally dismissing hundreds of drunk driving cases in a “ticket fixing” scandal. Some of the drunk drivers let off the hook were repeat offenders.