Here's North Carolina's Plan For Moving All Those Abandoned Cars

A winter storm created a traffic mess in North Carolina on Wednesday, leading some drivers to abandon their cars - which has made the situation even worse. Now the state's Department of Transportation is working to get those vehicles out of the way so it can properly clear and salt roads.

The plan for doing that in Raleigh is pretty simple, according to a release from the DOT: State troopers, National Guard Soldiers, other law enforcement officers, and Incident Management Assistance Patrol (IMAP) crews are checking the abandoned cars to make sure there's no one inside.

For now, DOT and IMAP crews are moving only cars that are blocking traffic and creating a safety hazard. Where possible, they're just pushing them onto the shoulder. In other cases, they're working with towing companies to get them to a safe location.

The State Highway Patrol had 139 vehicles towed between midnight and 8:30 a.m., and patrolled roads overnight to check for those in need of assistance, according to the DOT.

In a press conference, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory advised drivers to leave their cars where they are for now, and be extremely careful if they do decide to retrieve them, as the storm is ongoing. Drivers who abandoned their vehicles outside Raleigh were told to contact the State Highway Patrol.