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What Changes Drivers Will See After NC General Assembly Finished Its Work For 2017

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Light bars like this would effectively be prohibited from being used on a vehicle while it's on the highway in North Carolina

The North Carolina General Assembly has been adjourned for almost two weeks.  Dozens of bills passed by lawmakers in the final days of this year’s session await a signature from Governor Roy Cooper before becoming law.  Some affect drivers in the state.

During driver’s education classes, students would learn what to do when pulled over by law enforcement under a measure that passed both branches of the general assembly unanimously.  Specifically, prospective motorists would learn what actions they should take during a traffic stop, and what are deemed ‘appropriate interactions’ with law enforcement officers during those stops.  Another bill passed in Raleigh prohibits use of ‘light bar lighting’ on vehicles while they're on highways.  Those devices are specifically defined as bar-shaped comprising of multiple lamps that can project an intense beam of light greater than 50 feet.  The General Assemblyalso OK’d three new specialty license plates – one for Colorectal Cancer Awareness, one for Kick Cancer For Kids, and the last for the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, a fishing contest held every year in Morehead City along the Atlantic Ocean.  Each plate costs $30. 

Matt Bush joined Blue Ridge Public Radio as news director in August 2016. Excited at the opportunity the build up the news service for both stations as well as help launch BPR News, Matt made the jump to Western North Carolina from Washington D.C. For the 8 years prior to coming to Asheville, he worked at the NPR member station in the nation's capital as a reporter and anchor. Matt primarily covered the state of Maryland, including 6 years of covering the statehouse in Annapolis. Prior to that, he worked at WMAL in Washington and Metro Networks in Pittsburgh, the city he was born and raised in.