After these busy summer months have come and gone, Currituck County officials are looking for ways to make beach driving along the 11 mile strip of Corolla up to the state line, safer for drivers and pedestrians. If you have ever been up that way you can see that as of now beach driving is pretty much unlimited, you can drive close to the waters edge or up near the dunes, and everywhere in between. With so many people out on the beach there seems to be a ton of accidents waiting to happen.

The off-road tract is a popular destination for locals and tourists to enjoy oceanside driving, the sight of Currituck’s wild horses or a trip to the water’s edge to spend the day. The experience is one of many that make Currituck such a popular tourism destination.It’s that popularity, however, which has led to the concerns now being addressed by the county’s citizens, officials and businesses. The increase in beach traffic poses serious concerns about safety for pedestrians as well as other beach traffic.

The Daily Advance noted some of the ideas the appointed beach driving committee had about ways to make our beaches safer yet not try to limit access. Oriiginally they reccomended the idea of issuing permits to reduce the amount of vehicles out on the beach, but this idea didnt sit well with the community. Locals and businesses agree that this would not only hurt the county’s reputation of  friendliness and accomidation, but would also penalize the  2,000 day-trippers who visit the Northern Outer Banks for beach driving.

Currituck County Sherriff Susan Johnson opposed the permit system and instead recommended changing the traffic patterns on the beach to prevent drivers from weaving down and around beach goers, but instead driving behind them close to the dunes. She believes this will create a predictable traffic pattern, improve safety and not limit any access for locals and visitors. 

Officials are still researching the best way to accomplish the number one goal of safety out on the beaches by researching other communities that allow beach driving. As the amount of visitors continue to increase in the Outer Banks, this will continue to become a bigger problem if nothing is done soon.

I am not sure what the answer is. As a local I feel that the suggested traffic pattern idea would not work because there is really no way to enforce it, as well as most people follow that pattern now. Only a few crazies drive down close to the water and weave in and out of pedestrians. Maybe some more enforcement down on the beach to give people like that a ticket for their reckless driving? Definitely not a permit system. Plus we have to keep in mind the tide changes, sometimes the tide is so high in certain areas there would be no way to have a set traffic pattern. What do you all think?