This bill, known as the SEATBELT Act, requires drivers in North Carolina who have had their licenses revoked or limited due to serious speeding offenses to install an approved Intelligent Speed Assistance system in their vehicles as a condition for regaining driving privileges. The system automatically regulates a vehicle's speed to match posted limits, and drivers must keep it installed and functioning for one year after their license is restored. To comply, individuals must designate specific vehicles for use and provide proof of the system's installation before their license can be issued again. The legislation also establishes strict rules preventing the sale or misuse of data collected by these systems and makes it a crime to tamper with the technology. Additionally, the bill mandates that the costs for installing and monitoring these systems be paid by the driver, though a waiver process is available for those who cannot afford them.
This bill mandates that all school and activity buses purchased, leased, or rented by public schools, private schools, charter schools, and regional schools in North Carolina must be equipped with seat belts at every designated seating position. While the requirement applies to all new vehicles, the law allows for exceptions regarding integrated child safety restraint systems, students with disabilities, and other federally approved restraint methods. The legislation also updates existing state regulations to include specific equipment standards for diesel engines and warning devices alongside the new seat belt mandate.
This bill strengthens traffic safety and law enforcement in Mecklenburg County by funding 12 new State Trooper positions and five additional magistrates, effective in 2026. It increases fines for failing to stop for school buses and expands the use of vehicle registration records as initial proof of driver responsibility in such cases. The legislation also restricts public access to video footage from highway cameras, allowing disclosure only to specific individuals involved in the recorded incident or their legal representatives. Furthermore, the bill raises penalties for moving over violations and street takeover incidents, establishes reckless boating as a criminal offense, and increases fines for assaulting public transit workers.
This bill allocates $2.7 million from the Highway Fund to North Carolina's Department of Transportation for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. The funds are designated to purchase and install traffic signal preemption technology, which enables emergency vehicles to communicate with traffic lights to change signals in their favor. This system aims to reduce response times for first responders and enhance safety at intersections by prioritizing their passage. The legislation takes effect on July 1, 2026, and directly impacts the state's transportation infrastructure and emergency services.
This bill appropriates $2.7 million from the Highway Fund to the North Carolina Department of Transportation for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. The funding is intended to install traffic signal preemption technology that allows traffic lights to change automatically when emergency vehicles approach an intersection. This system prioritizes first responder vehicles to reduce response times and improve safety at intersections. The act becomes effective on July 1, 2026.
This bill increases law enforcement and judicial resources in Mecklenburg County by funding 12 additional State Trooper positions and five new magistrates, effective July 1, 2025. It also raises minimum fines for drivers who fail to stop for school buses and establishes vehicle registration records as preliminary evidence of who was driving during such violations. Additionally, the bill expands the operating hours of the Metrolina Transportation Management Center and creates new rules for accessing highway camera footage, limiting public disclosure to specific individuals directly involved in incidents captured by the cameras.
SB 168 reduces the speed limit to 25 miles per hour on residential streets in Durham City experiencing congestion, as determined by Durham's Transportation Department. It directly affects drivers operating vehicles on those specific residential streets within Durham. The bill establishes this new speed limit as the legal standard, overriding previous limits under state law for those designated streets. The law applies only to Durham and takes effect December 1, 2025, for offenses occurring on or after that date.
SB 411 changes how school bus camera footage is used in traffic enforcement and extends contracts for these cameras. It makes footage from automated school bus safety cameras "prima facie evidence" (meaning it automatically counts as proof) that a driver failed to stop for a bus displaying stop signals, directly affecting drivers who violate this rule. The bill also extends the maximum contract length for local school boards to partner with private vendors for these cameras from 3 to 5 years, with one possible 5-year renewal. These changes apply to offenses committed after December 1, 2025, and new contracts after July 1, 2025.
SB 645, "The Protect Our Schools Act," requires North Carolina's Department of Transportation to identify "school walk zones" near schools with high pedestrian traffic and set lower speed limits (minimum 20 mph) in those areas during school hours. It increases penalties for speeding in school zones (a $250 fine) or causing injury to a minor (a misdemeanor charge), applying to both public and private schools. The bill creates a $10 million Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Fund to support zone assessments, crosswalk guard training, and public awareness campaigns about school zone safety. These changes directly affect drivers, students, and school communities by strengthening traffic safety measures around schools. The law takes effect on December 1, 2025, with fund allocations beginning July 1, 2025.
HB 189 clarifies the timing requirements for red light cameras in North Carolina, ensuring they only issue tickets after the red light has been displayed for a legally required period. The bill specifies that cameras cannot enforce violations for vehicles entering an intersection before the red clearance interval expires (the time after the light turns red before the camera can activate). It requires all traffic signals with cameras to follow engineering plans approved by a licensed professional engineer and comply with the standard Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. This affects municipalities using red light cameras under state law, setting clear technical standards for when violations can be recorded.
