In the state of North Carolina, you can actually drive on the beach, which is really neat. However, there are many places within the United States where driving on the beach is forbidden, but it doesn t seem to stop people. For example, on Long Island, New York, you aren t supposed to drive on the beach, but I have definitely seen people on the beach with their cars after hours when they weren t supposed to be.
People need to realize that there are rules in place for driving on the beach for a reason. For starters, many places such as Ocracoke in the Outer Banks of North Carolina no longer allow people to drive on the beach due to beach erosion and damage to protected species of animals such as nesting turtles. On the flip side of this, in places where driving on the beach is allowed, it certainly makes finding the perfect beach spot that much more easy. However, there are both ups and downs to taking your vehicle on the beach.
A few summers ago, I was doing research in the Outer Banks of North Carolina for my Master s thesis when some friends and I decided to head to the beach for the day. This was a beach that you could take your vehicle on, and I had my Jeep and was dying to use the four wheel drive. So we drove to the entry point of the beach, and I took some of the air out of my tires (which is recommended when you are driving on the beach), and we proceeded to a nice spot where we parked the car and headed down to the ocean only a few feet away. However, our little trip to the beach was almost ruined by other people who also decided that they wanted to spend the day at the beach. However, because there were no posted speed limits or “road way” designations, people were driving wherever they wanted and as fast as they wanted down the beach. It didn t seem to matter much that there were people there with children or that there were people there at all. These other drivers were speeding down the beach and could ve caused an accident.
It is a true shame to think that people often ruin things for themselves. I couldn t help but think that day as I tried in vain to relax on a beach that had now become a super highway for anyone with a pickup truck and four wheel drive that it would only be a matter of time before beach authorities caught wind of people breaking the general rules of safety in order to drive however fast they wanted up and down the beach. I haven t been back to that beach in a few years, but I wouldn t be surprised if there are new posted laws governing how and when you are able to operate a vehicle on the beach. After all, it is extremely difficult to relax when you ve got dozens of people taking to the beach in their cars like it is a free for all.
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