CHARLOTTE — Intersections across North Carolina should be getting safer soon, the North Carolina Department of Transportation hopes.
There are plans to improve safety when lights lose power or malfunction, an issue that areas around Charlotte faced this week when a tornado and severe storms caused more than 100,000 power outages. On Saturday morning, two cars wrecked at an intersection in Gaston County because the lights were out at an intersection.
[ Cars crash at intersection in Gastonia from traffic lights not working after storms ]
The NCDOT plans to modify more than 9,000 traffic signals across the state. Currently, lights on side streets flash yellow if there’s an issue. With the update, lights will only flash red, indicating to drivers to treat the intersection like a four-way stop.
The change will take several years to complete.
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