N.C. Highway Patrol urges caution over Memorial Day weekend

By Heather Smith

Published: May 15, 2008

Vacation time is short, but breaking the sound barrier en route to Myrtle Beach, S.C., at the end of this month may not get you there any faster if the N.C. Highway Patrol can help it.
“We’re going to be running a special project on (U.S.) 220 Memorial Day weekend because it’s probably the biggest summer travel day,” Sgt. Ray Gibson of the Highway Patrol said. “We’ve pulled in all available troopers. We’ll be hitting speeding drivers, aggressive drivers and those not wearing their seat belt as hard as we can.”
Memorial Day weekend, Gibson explains, has a long tradition of being one of the busiest traffic days of the year. By proxy, it is one of the dangerous. Highway Patrol units in Rockingham, Guilford and Randolph counties plan to patrol U.S. 220 with particular attention for the beach-bound traffic.
“There are so many people on the road, one speeder or aggressive driver puts many people at risk,” Gibson said.
The goal, he said, is not to issue hundreds of tickets in a weekend. Instead, Gibson said troopers will ride along with traffic to slow traffic down and keep travel safe.
“We just want to make sure people slow down and can get to the beach or wherever they’re going that weekend safely,” Gibson said.
From Monday to June 1, troopers will also be checking to see that drivers and passengers wear their seat belts during the Click-it or Ticket program. Gibson said the Highway Patrol responded to eight fatal accidents this year. Four were preventable; motorists were ejected from their cars at impact because they wore no restraints.
“There’ll be those who say that seatbelts are uncomfortable or restrictive, but I’ve seen many collisions where seatbelts have saved lives,” Gibson said.
AAA of the Carolinas said in a news release Thursday it expects 806,000 North Carolinians will hit the road for Memorial Day weekend, despite the price of gas inching close to $4 a gallon.
Staff writer Heather J. Smith can be reached at or 623-2155, ext. 15.