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NC Accident Help

NC Highway Safety Programs and Campaigns

From Click It or Ticket to Booze It & Lose It and Watch For Me NC -- learn about state programs working to reduce crashes and how they affect your case.

Published | Updated | 7 min read

The Bottom Line

North Carolina has one of the most active highway safety programs in the country, spending more than $25 million annually on grants to reduce crashes. Several nationally recognized campaigns -- including Click It or Ticket -- were born in NC. Understanding these programs matters because the data they generate and the enforcement patterns they create can be directly relevant to your accident case.

NC Governor's Highway Safety Program (NCGHSP)

The NCGHSP is the state's primary agency for traffic safety initiatives. It operates under NCDOT and funds a range of enforcement, education, and community safety programs.

In 2025, Governor Stein announced more than $25 million in grants to promote safer roads -- funding local police departments, sheriff's offices, and community organizations for traffic safety work.

Major NCGHSP Campaigns

Click It or Ticket

Born in NC in 1993, Click It or Ticket combined high-visibility law enforcement with public education to increase seat belt use. It was so successful that NHTSA adopted it as a nationwide campaign.

Key facts:

  • NC's seat belt compliance rate has risen from approximately 65% to over 91% since the campaign began
  • Intensive enforcement periods run throughout the year, particularly around holidays
  • Law enforcement agencies receive NCGHSP grants to fund overtime enforcement
  • Primary enforcement: NC police can stop you solely for not wearing a seat belt

Booze It and Lose It

NC's impaired driving enforcement campaign runs intensive checkpoint and saturation patrol operations, particularly during high-risk periods:

  • Holiday periods -- Thanksgiving through New Year's, Fourth of July, Labor Day
  • Major events -- college football weekends, festivals, concerts
  • Friday and Saturday nights -- peak impaired driving hours

Law enforcement agencies participating in Booze It & Lose It receive NCGHSP grants for overtime enforcement. The campaign has contributed to thousands of DWI arrests annually.

Watch For Me NC

A pedestrian and bicycle safety campaign focused on both driver awareness and pedestrian/cyclist education. Watch For Me NC operates in dozens of NC communities and focuses on:

  • Driver awareness of pedestrians and cyclists at intersections and crosswalks
  • Pedestrian visibility and safe crossing behavior
  • Enforcement of pedestrian right-of-way laws
  • Community-specific safety assessments and improvements

BikeSafe NC

A motorcycle safety program that provides rider training and promotes safe riding practices. BikeSafe NC works with law enforcement and motorcycle organizations to reduce motorcycle crashes.

Speed a Little. Lose a Lot.

A speeding enforcement and education campaign highlighting the consequences of even moderate speed increases. The campaign emphasizes that small increases in speed dramatically increase crash severity and the risk of fatal injury.

NC Vision Zero

NC Vision Zero is a collaborative initiative with the ambitious goal of eliminating roadway deaths and serious injuries in North Carolina. It operates as both a data platform and a community mobilization effort.

Vision Zero Communities

Fifteen NC communities have adopted Vision Zero goals, meaning they have committed to a target of zero traffic fatalities:

  • Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham
  • Greensboro, Winston-Salem
  • Chapel Hill, Carrboro
  • And several others

Vision Zero Data Tools

NC Vision Zero provides free, public data dashboards that are valuable both for understanding traffic safety and for supporting accident claims:

NCDOT Strategic Highway Safety Plan

The SHSP is the statewide blueprint for reducing traffic fatalities. Updated in 2025, it identifies ten emphasis areas:

  1. Lane departure -- 52% of fatal/serious injury crashes
  2. Intersections -- 23% of all crashes
  3. Pedestrian safety
  4. Child car seats
  5. Seat belts
  6. Substance impaired driving
  7. Safer speeds
  8. Older drivers
  9. Younger drivers
  10. Motorcyclists

The goal: reduce fatalities and serious injuries by half by 2035, moving toward zero by 2050.

STEP: Statewide Traffic Enforcement Program

The STEP program coordinates traffic enforcement across NC law enforcement agencies. Agencies that participate in GHSP-sponsored enforcement events earn credits and funding for traffic safety programs. STEP reporting tracks:

  • DWI arrests and checkpoints
  • Seat belt citations
  • Speed enforcement operations
  • Distracted driving enforcement

How These Programs Affect Your Accident Case

These safety programs generate data and evidence that can be relevant to your claim:

Crash Location Data

If your crash occurred at a location identified in a Vision Zero high-injury network or NCDOT emphasis area, that data supports arguments that the location was known to be dangerous. This can strengthen government liability claims if safety improvements were overdue.

Enforcement Patterns

GHSP enforcement data can establish patterns. For example, if an area has intensive DWI enforcement because of a known impaired driving problem, and you were hit by a drunk driver in that area, the enforcement pattern demonstrates the known risk.

Statistical Context

Crash statistics from Vision Zero and NCDOT provide context for your injuries. For example, knowing that pedestrian crashes have a 19% serious/fatal injury rate in Charlotte helps establish the severity of the risk you faced.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the NC Governor's Highway Safety Program?

The NCGHSP is dedicated to reducing traffic crashes and fatalities in North Carolina. It funds enforcement campaigns (Click It or Ticket, Booze It & Lose It), safety education programs, and local grants. In 2025, it awarded more than $25 million to local and state safety efforts.

Did Click It or Ticket start in North Carolina?

Yes. Click It or Ticket originated in North Carolina in 1993 and became so successful that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration adopted it as a nationwide campaign. It remains the most recognized traffic safety campaign in the country.

What is NC Vision Zero?

NC Vision Zero is a collaborative initiative to eliminate roadway deaths and serious injuries in North Carolina. Fifteen communities have adopted Vision Zero goals, and the initiative provides data dashboards, crash analytics, and community resources to support evidence-based safety improvements.

How do these programs affect my accident case?

These programs generate crash data, enforcement statistics, and safety analyses that can be relevant evidence in accident claims. For example, if your crash occurred at a location identified in a Vision Zero high-injury network, that data can support arguments about dangerous conditions.