North Carolina legislators are debating a bill that would get rid of the law that makes it illegal to curse on North Carolina roads. Which you probably never knew about, and yet General Statute 12-197 says: “If any person shall, on any public road or highway, and in the hearing of two or more persons, in a loud and boisterous manner, use indecent or profane language, he shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.”
The law may be over a hundred years old, but it is still the law. In fact, a guy in Wilson, NC was just charged for it back in December. And while Orange County doesn’t enforce it, it has survived a couple of challenges in the past. Which means you need to watch your mouth.
But of course, that’s kind of hard with some of the jerks on the highways. That’s why some people use replacement curses: words that help relieve some stress without corrupting the kids, or running afoul of the law. Our mild-mouthed Man on the Edge, Robert Wilder, found hit the street to find out what your favorite non-curses are…
