No matter how busy you are,

always check your car.

Our Vision

All North Carolinians getting where they are going safely.

While North Carolina has a dynamic community of issue-specific transportation safety advocates, what was missing was one organization with expertise in conducting high-impact public communications efforts, providing effective grassroots and grasstops citizen engagement, and serving to champion public policies that promote better behaviors to combat perils to safety across all forms and manner of transportation.

The North Carolina Alliance for Safe Transportation (NCAST) was created to be that organization, with one goal in mind: reduce the number of transportation-related crashes, injuries and fatalities in North Carolina.

Our Mission

To drive behaviors that promote and encourage safe use of North Carolina’s transportation network.

A major focus of NCAST is promoting awareness of safety issues specific to younger motorists.

Teen drivers are especially at risk on the roads, with vehicle crashes the leading cause of death in America among those under 21.

The inexperience and impulsiveness of teen drivers is a significant reason for their high crash rates, making important the safety features of the vehicles they drive as well as getting plenty of supervised driving practice.

News, Events & Initiatives

26-27 SIGNUPS NOW OPEN

Safe driving program offers scholarships up to $1,000!

The Teen Ambassador program is in its third year, and ambassadors can win a scholarship up to $1,000, as well as a stipend to defray travel costs for in-person NCAST events.

“This is a huge focus for us: Enlisting young people to embed good driving habits for life,” said Tiffany Wright, chair of NCAST’s board. “We want everyone, but particularly young people, to drive safe, to feel comfortable speaking out about how important that is, and to be confident enough to speak up when they see a friend or family member fall short.”

FULL PRESS RELEASE

As seen on: WSOC-TV

NCAST Executive Director Joe Stewart describes our Candidates for Safe Driving campaign, and reminds viewers to put the phone down and stay focused on the road.

CANDIDATE SIGN UP

As seen on: Spectrum News

Teen Ambassador Trey Laurore explains why it’s important to him to make sure his friends and classmates understand the basics of being safe behind the wheel …

VIEW STORY

Stay up to Speed on Travel Safety

Our free monthly email newsletter provides a quick review of the latest traffic safety news and events— both in North Carolina and from across the country…

SUBSCRIBE

2026 Sweethearts of Safety

Our 4th annual Sweethearts of Safety Awards Luncheon in Raleigh honored exceptional leaders who have dedicated their time to making travel in North Carolina safer.

LEARN MORE

NCAST Highlight Reel

Watch to learn about our mission and how we make an impact—promoting safe driving habits, saving lives, and reducing traffic-related injuries in NC…

DONATE

Funding for Wildlife Crossings

Wildlife crashes cost over $10 billion and 200 lives in the U.S. every year. Wildlife crossings are a cost-effective solution that help protect animals drivers from collisions…

LEARN MORE

SPOTLIGHT:

No amount of time is safe.

More than 1,000 children have died of heatstroke, because they were left or became trapped in a hot car over the past 25 years. It’s important for everyone to understand these tragedies can happen to anyone — but are always preventable.

A child’s body temperature rises three to five times faster than an adult’s. When a child is left in a vehicle, that child’s temperature can rise quickly — and the situation can quickly become dangerous.
Heatstroke begins when the core body temperature reaches about 104 degrees. Death occurs at a core body temperature of 107 or above.
In 2025, 31 children died of heatstroke in vehicles.
In 2018 and 2019, we saw a record number of hot car deaths — 53 children died each year — the most in at least 25 years, according to NoHeatstroke.org.

To learn more, visit this link…