Driver's ed and the law: New regulation requires teaching of traffic stop etiquette in school

The North Carolina General Assembly has approved legislation requiring North Carolina's driver license handbooks and high school driver's education curriculum to teach new drivers how to act when stopped by state troopers or other lawmen.

We believe it is a good idea. Most everyone on the highway gets stopped by a law enforcement officer at some point, if only for a routine license check, and the knowledge of how to handle the situation is something young drivers can carry with them all their adult lives.

The measure calls for driver's education courses starting next school year to include instruction in what motorists should expect a trooper or deputy or police officer to do during a traffic stop. The information would be created with help from the state Highway Patrol and other law enforcement associations. Driver handbooks could be changed as soon as next year.

Some other states also have also adopted similar requirements, which supporters hope will cut down on the chance of a violent or deadly encounter between a driver and an officer.

Published in Editorials on June 29, 2017 10:12 PM