North Carolina driver's education law goes into effect in January

RALEIGH -- North Carolina driver's education students will have more reading to do starting Monday. The new material is information about getting pulled over.

By law, all driver's education students will be given a handbook, which will now include information on what to do if they see those blue lights.

State legislators created the law to help teach new motorists how to pull over, prepare to interact with law enforcement officers, and then how to interact with them, WLOS reports.

North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper Rico Stephens said he had just about seen it all.

"I've seen near collisions, where either the trooper or the motorist that they stopped have both been hit or almost struck," Stephens said.

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He said those incidents happen a lot with newer drivers.

"People actually stopping in the lane of travel or not exiting the road or sometimes continuing to travel too far after the blue lights have come on," Stephens said.

Stephens said the handbook should help newer drivers.

"Hopefully, (it will) put them at ease and it'll help make our job a little safer," Stephens said.

The new law also called for at least six hours of anti-drinking and driving education.