Minor traffic violations will no longer get you pulled over in Mecklenburg County

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Drivers in Mecklenburg County may get a slight pass when it comes to some minor traffic violations.

Deputies in the county will no longer stop drivers for things like dark window tinting, tail light out, inspection violations or driving with a revoked license.

The sheriff's office announced the change in policy and said it was part of an effort to combat racial inequality.

Action NC community activist Robert Dawkins told WSOC that the move was a relief to people of color and lower-income citizens.

"A person that didn't have the money this month to go and get their tags now has a harder barrier to go and get their tag, because they either had to go get arrested, paid their fine, pay the court cost and then eventually get it done," Dawkins said.

A 2021 investigation by the ABC11 I-Team found that a disproportionate amount of Black drivers were stopped and searched by law enforcement in the Triangle. And that data is not unique to the Triangle.

Many civil rights advocates say minor traffic volitions, like the ones Mecklenburg County will no longer stop drivers for, are the type of things that are used to target people of color.

With this change in Mecklenburg County, Dawkins said he hopes other counties and cities in North Carolina do the same.