NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1973 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 617

HOUSE BILL 993

 

 

AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FROM THE HIGHWAY FUND FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE NATIONAL DRIVING CENTER FOUNDATION, INC.

 

Whereas, in spite of the excellent advances made in safety engineering of the automobile and the highways, traffic accidents continue to be a major problem indicating that the driver is the primary contributing factor in the origin of traffic accidents; and

Whereas, there is no general agreement among physicians in judging driving competency of those individuals who have suffered with such medical problems as strokes, heart attacks, diabetes, etc., and therefore no standards with which to advise either the person so afflicted nor the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles regarding how and when they should enter the driver's seat nor what restrictions, etc.; and

Whereas, there is an evergrowing problem of drugs which are prescribed by physicians which interfere with normal driving performance which is further complicated when two or more physicians treating a patient prescribe different drugs to be taken simultaneously; and

Whereas, in the medical catastrophes which affect patients, there are major emotional problems such as psychotic and severe neurosis, which the majority of physicians and psychiatrists agree as being incompatible with safe driving but for which there are no uniform standards upon which the physicians and psychiatrists can make judgments in determining which of these people while on specific drugs are truly capable of driving cars safely; and

Whereas, social factors are known to be involved in driver attitudes and that the serious driving offenders are very frequently found to also be offenders in nondriving conditions, however there are no uniform standards for physicians to make these judgments pertaining to a driver's competency; and

Whereas, uniform standards in all of those areas herein set out are essential if the rules are to be fairly and firmly applied by legal means through the driver licensing procedures at both the State and national level; and

Whereas, the concept of the National Driving Center has been generated by a North Carolina committee comprised of representatives from State Agencies, Medical and Legal professions and Insurance Agencies for the purpose of conducting a systematic and controlled study of driving performance as it is affected by medical behavioral and social factors; Now, therefore,

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  There is hereby appropriated to the Department of Administration from the Highway Fund the sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) for the purpose of acquiring land in the Research Triangle Park and constructing and equipping facilities to house the National Driving Center Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit corporation created under the laws of North Carolina.

Sec. 2.  There is hereby appropriated from the Highway Fund to the National Driving Center Foundation, Inc., for operating expenses, the sum of two hundred ninety-five thousand dollars ($295,000) for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 1973, and ending June 30, 1974.

Sec. 3.  It shall be the duty of the State Auditor to make an annual audit of the accounts of the National Driving Center Foundation, Incorporated, and make a report thereof to the General Assembly.

Sec. 4.  This act shall become effective July 1, 1973.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 18th day of May, 1973.