This Week at NCDOT: Bicycle Helmets and Watch for Me NC

RALEIGH – The following are highlights from this week at the N.C. Department of Transportation. The stories below are also featured in NCDOT Now, the department's weekly newscast.

Bicycle Helmet Initiative

A record number of children, more than 3,300, across the state will be receiving lifesaving bicycle helmets through the department’s Bicycle Helmet Initiative. The program is part of ongoing efforts to reduce bicycle injuries and deaths in North Carolina.

Helmets save lives. While less than half of all children typically wear a helmet while biking, they can reduce the risk of severe brain injuries by nearly 90 percent.

NCDOT uses funds from the sale of the “Share the Road” specialty license plate to pay for the helmets, which are given to underprivileged children.

New Watch for Me NC Communities

In addition to the helmet initiative, the department’s Watch for Me NC program is also working to reduce pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities and injuries.

Started in 2012, the program educates and engages the community in working to keep people safe on the road. Law enforcement officers are trained in ways to communicate, improve and enforce safety rules in their area.

This year, 10 new communities are joining 29 existing partners across the state, helping to increase the program’s reach statewide. They are:
• Beaufort (Carteret County)
• Beech Mountain (Watauga County)
• Belmont (Gaston County)
• Blowing Rock (Watauga County)
• Farmville (Pitt County)
• Hertford (Perquimans County)
• Roanoke Rapids (Halifax County)
• Shelby (Cleveland County)
• Wendell (Wake County)
• Winston-Salem (Forsyth County)

Learn more at WatchforMeNC.org.

NC Moves 2050 Survey

As modern technology and changing demographics impact North Carolina’s transportation system, your input is needed more than ever.

Help guide the state’s transportation future by taking a quick survey as part of the NC Moves 2050 Plan.