9 Investigates exit jumping on Charlotte's interstates

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, and a booming population means more cars on the road.

"Exit jumping" is something that aggressive drivers do to avoid heavy traffic.

Instead of sitting in traffic, they drive down an open exit and then quickly merge back onto the interstate to jump past cars.

Whistleblower 9’s Paul Boyd hit the road with cameras mounted in his car and deployed Chopper 9 to document the problem.

He identified at least two dozen exits on I-77 and I-485 around Charlotte that attract the dangerous maneuver.

He saw dozens of examples of drivers breaking the law by exit jumping.

During the morning commute on I-77 northbound at the Arrowood Road exit, left-turn-only arrows are painted on the road.

Boyd saw car after car speeding down the exit ramp, making an illegal turn and jumping past other drivers who were following the rules.

He sat at the intersection for an hour and witnessed 54 drivers breaking the law.

Johnny Oxendine said he has lost track of how many accidents and close calls he has seen when leaving work.

During the afternoon rush hour on I-485 inner at exit 3, Boyd saw cars driving through the light and hopping back onto I-485. Some drivers even kept going and jumped the next exit, too.

Over the span of 30 minutes, Boyd saw 129 drivers exit jumping.

Many appeared to be speeding and more than a dozen ran red lights.

Highway Patrol trooper John Burgin told Boyd that authorities did not realize that exit jumping was as common as his investigation revealed.

"We're out there and we're focusing on it now that it's been brought to our attention, so we'll be a little bit more aggressive in that area," Burgin said.

Cox Media Group