§ 20-183. Duties and powers of law-enforcement officers; warning by local officers before stopping another vehicle on highway; warning tickets.
§ 20‑183. Duties andpowers of law‑enforcement officers; warning by local officers beforestopping another vehicle on highway; warning tickets.
(a) It shall be theduty of the law‑enforcement officers of the State and of each county,city, or other municipality to see that the provisions of this Article areenforced within their respective jurisdictions, and any such officer shall havethe power to arrest on sight or upon warrant any person found violating theprovisions of this Article. Such officers within their respective jurisdictionsshall have the power to stop any motor vehicle upon the highways of the Statefor the purpose of determining whether the same is being operated in violationof any of the provisions of this Article. Provided, that when any county, city,or other municipal law‑enforcement officer operating a motor vehicleovertakes another vehicle on the highways of the State, outside of thecorporate limits of cities and towns, for the purpose of stopping the same orapprehending the driver thereof, for a violation of any of the provisions ofthis Article, he shall, before stopping such other vehicle, sound a siren oractivate a special light, bell, horn, or exhaust whistle approved for law‑enforcementvehicles under the provisions of G.S. 20‑125(b).
(b) In addition toother duties and powers heretofore existing, all law‑enforcement officerscharged with the duty of enforcing the motor vehicle laws are authorized toissue warning tickets to motorists for conduct constituting a potential hazardto the motoring public which does not amount to a definite, clear‑cut,substantial violation of the motor vehicle laws. Each warning ticket issuedshall contain information necessary to identify the offender, and shall besigned by the issuing officer. A copy of each warning ticket issued shall bedelivered to the offender. Information from issued warning tickets shall bemade available to the Drivers License Section of the Division of Motor Vehiclesin a manner approved by the Commissioner but shall not be filed with or in anymanner become a part of the offender's driving record. Warning tickets issuedas well as the fact of issuance shall be privileged information and availableonly to authorized personnel of the Division for statistical and analytical purposes.(1937, c. 407, s. 143; 1961, c. 793; 1965, cc. 537, 999; 1975, c. 716,s. 5; 1998‑149, s. 9.2.)