This Week at NCDOT: Deer Driving Safety and Highway Dedication

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.

Deer Driving Safety Tips

With the daylight hours becoming shorter and the weather getting cooler, the N.C. Department of Transportation is reminding drivers to keep an eye out for deer while on the road.

Last year in North Carolina, there were nearly 18,000 animal-related crashes, most of which involved deer. That brings the total over the past three years to nearly 54,000 collisions, 14 people killed, over 3,000 injured and $136 million in property damage.

For the fourteenth year in a row, Wake County led the state in the number of animal-vehicle crashes with 730, followed by Pitt County with 550 and Guilford County which had 549 crashes. Counties in the western part of the state have fewer drivers and roads, meaning less animal crashes. Graham County had just eight, while Swain County had 10.

To keep you and your family safe this fall, remember to:

• Slow down in posted deer crossing areas and heavily wooded areas, especially during the late afternoon or early evening;
• Don’t swerve to avoid a collision with deer as this could cause you to lose control or veer into oncoming traffic; and
• Deer often travel in groups, so assume if one crosses the road in front of you there may be others following

For more safety tips, visit NCDOT.gov.

Jimmy Goins Highway Dedication

A special ceremony was recently held in Maxton to dedicate a portion of N.C. 71 after the late Jimmy Goins, who was killed in a car crash in 2015.

Goins was an army veteran and chairman of the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina from 2004 until 2010. He was praised for helping revitalize its culture and quality of life.

Joined by more than 100 people, Goins’ wife Diane and loved ones unveiled the Jimmy Goins Highway sign during the ceremony while Grady Hunt, the first Lumbee to serve on the N.C. Board of Transportation, emceed the event.

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Published at 11:02 am on October 20, 2017