SAFE TRAVELS NC
ISSUE 18 | MARCH 2026
Demand Safe
We’re about speaking out and taking action. How else do things change?
NCAST’s 2026 Sweethearts of Safety award winners all worked last year to make our roads safer, and you’ll hear more about them below.
Also in this month’s edition: A cute deer, some road math, and do you know what to do if you drift off the road?
2026 Sweethearts of Safety award winner state Rep. Mike Schietzelt (it rhymes with seat belt) congratulates fellow winners NC SHP 1st Sgt. Chris Knox and Sgt. Marcus Bethea.
The NC Alliance for Safe Transportation honored safety advocates last month at our third annual Sweethearts of Safety event.
What a great crowd! All three Triangle news stations showed up with cameras. Congrats to the winners, thanks to all attendees, and special thanks to our sponsors!
This year’s awards focused on policy and communication. We recognized six state legislators for their work advancing reasonable safety legislation, and for pushing back against changes in the wrong direction.
That includes lawmakers who brokered a compromise to avoid elimination of the duration between stages in the state’s graduated drives license program, going from 12 months, to six, and raising it up to nine - but with fewer trips required to a DMV location.
Among those involved: State Rep. Donnie Loftis.
“I’m just honored that work was recognized,” Loftis said. “It was important for me to share my conscience, and to say I want to protect kids who don’t know how to protect themselves yet.”
Sen. Vickie Sawyer also worked on the graduated drivers license issue, as well as on legislation that allows speed cameras in school zones.
From left to right: Legislators of the year Donnie Loftis, Zack Hawkins, Vickie Sawyer and Mike Schietzelt with Tracy Davids and Kimberly Smith from Safe Passage and NCAST leadership Joe Stewart and Tiffany Wright.
“These are important issues,” Sawyer said. “And I appreciate NCAST saying: They matter. They’re not always easy. They take work and patience and compromise. And I think these issues we’ve worked on will keep young people safer.”
Also honored, with our Law Enforcement Officials of the Year Award: NC State Highway Patrol 1st Sgt. Chris Knox and Sgt. Marcus Bethea - one of whom you see in this newsletter just about every month giving driving advice in our “Ask a Trooper” feature.
They make a choice to talk about safety, over, and over, and over again - because that’s how you make people hear it.
Our lifetime achievement award went to Sarah Garner and Ike Avery, who’ve spent careers training North Carolina prosecutors on impaired driving and other laws, and in advising lawmakers on some of the most impactful driving legislation of the last 30 years.
Attendees enjoy their lunch as the awards ceremony gets underway.
Ike Avery accepts his award from NCAST Executive Director Joe Stewart.
Congrats to our 2026 Sweethearts and thanks to all those attending for their support!
“Over the years we’ve gone from having no seatbelt law, no child-safety restraint law, to both of those being enacted,” Avery said. “Being involved in this type of activity works to make the roads safer.”
It’s not just about the laws, and it’s not just about enforcement, he said. Laws change behavior.
“Every time the legislature passes a ‘tougher’ law, a lot of people change their conduct without ever getting arrested,” Avery said.
Finally, we recognized our 2026 organization of the year: Safe Passage. Read more from them below!
Watch this white-tailed deer use a culvert to cross under Interstate 26 in western North Carolina.
THAT is how it should work, how it does work, and how it can work in more places along our highways. Give animals a place for safe passage – they stay safe, and so do we. Did you know that the state logs more than 21,000 animal-related crashes a year?
That’s why the Safe Passage coalition champions new infrastructure in Western North Carolina.
Sometimes that’s a new or improved culvert. Sometimes it’s fencing to funnel animals to an existing culvert or underpass. Sometimes it's a platform added to the culvert so animals that don’t like wet feet use it.
Among many other things, Safe Passage places trail cameras at key locations to show where crossings are needed, and where they’re working.
You can help! Take the Safe Passage pledge today, and spread the word: Animal crossings work.
This message is proudly brought you to by
“What should I do if I drift off the road?”
This month’s question comes from Trey in Raleigh. Got a question? Ask it in a short video and send it here.
This is Agricultural Safety Awareness Program (ASAP) week - a time to talk about safety and health issues facing American farmers.
Only some of that is transportation related - but that’s where we can all help farmers.
Planting season is here. If you see a tractor or combine on the road SLOW DOWN!
It literally costs 2 minutes to cut your speed from 65 mph to 20 mph for 1 mile. We did the math.
If you’re a farmer, the NC Farm Bureau has a wealth of safety information online. Take it easy in the coming heat. Stay hydrated to stay focused. Use three points of contact getting in and out of your tractor and other large vehicles.
“Move with purpose” is one of this year’s ASAP themes, and we think that’s good advice on the farm AND behind the wheel.
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In the News
As teen crash deaths climb, NC students push safe driving
- NC Health News
NC DMV: No more appointments 3 months in advance
- News & Observer
Audit: NCDOT stays within spending plan
- The Center Square
Drivers pass barricades, have to be rescued in the snow
- The Charlotte Observer
Rep. Ross joins Raleigh mom’s safety crusade with new truck bill
- News & Observer
Drivers aren’t the only ones with responsibility, and passengers make up almost 25% of vehicle deaths.
If you’re a passenger, you have jobs:
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Speak up if the driver is speeding, distracted or acting unsafe
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Keep noise and distractions to a minimum
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Wear your seat belt
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Offer to handle navigation or messages
Risks go up when young people are together: Fatality rates rise 51% when a teen driver has only teen passengers in the vehicle, according to AAA.
Be Safe. Stay Safe. DEMAND Safe.
One Last Thing…
Modern roundabouts, as the NC Department of Transportation noted in a recent social media post, have lots of safety benefits.
The department did a study in 2020 after installing roundabouts at 13 intersections (all on roads with 55 mph speed limits) and found:
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Total crashes went down 41%
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Fatal and injury crashes went down 79%
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Frontal-impact crashes went down 62%
Just remember: the driver in the roundabout has the right of way!
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NCAST | Safe Travels NC
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Raleigh, NC