RALEIGH- Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett and Crime Control & Public Safety Secretary Bryan Beatty have joined forces to educate motorists about new legislation aimed at improving highway safety and efficiency. Under the legislation, known as the "Quick Clearance" Act, motorists involved in a minor, non-injury accident on a highway are required to move their vehicles to the shoulder of the road as soon as possible.

As part of the same legislation, law enforcement officials are now also authorized to remove without liability commercial truck cargo and other personal property interfering with traffic flow. This allows incident management personnel to more quickly clear spilled cargo from the highway and restore traffic flow. In the past, concerns about liability sometimes caused delays in removing cargo.

"Citizens depend on our highway system to travel to jobs and for the delivery of goods and services. The sooner an incident is cleared from the highway, the sooner traffic flow can resume, thereby improving efficiency of the highway and reducing the chances of a secondary crash," said Tippett. "I applaud the General Assembly for recognizing the importance of this legislation to address one of the major causes of traffic congestion and delays. The 'Quick Clearance' Act is a critical tool to help the department improve the overall safety and efficiency of North Carolina's highway system."

Studies show that for every minute a freeway lane is closed, it takes four minutes for traffic to recover. They further show that during these backups nearly 30 percent of all highway crashes occur.

The "Quick Clearance" Act is part of House Bill 1140 and became effective October 1, 2003.

To further enhance safety on the state's highways, officials remind motorists that under what is being called the "Move Over" Law, they are required to move over to the farthest lane of travel when approaching any emergency vehicle with its lights flashing on a four-lane highway. Motorists should continue traveling in that lane at a reduced speed until safely clear of the emergency vehicle.

"This law is extremely important for the safety of officers and emergency personnel and the motorists they are assisting. Everyone is in danger when vehicles are traveling at 55, 65 or 70 miles per hour," said CCPS Secretary Beatty. "Our goal is to prevent secondary collisions from occurring at the scene of traffic stops and crashes."

Motorists on two-lane roads should also slow down and use caution when passing a parked or standing emergency vehicle. Failure to do so is considered a traffic violation and could result in a $100 fine. The "Move Over" Law went into effect January 1, 2002.

Signs will be posted along highways to remind motorists to "move over" and quickly clear minor incidents from the highway. The departments have also produced an informational advisory on both these laws for distribution at visitor centers, rest areas, driver license offices and truck stops.

***NCDOT***

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