Here is a heads up for those that live or travel on I-26 above Charleston. Be on the lookout for unmarked enforcement vehicles. (Blink-Blink) Stay Safe.
From the Highway Patrol:
We will begin special enforcement this week on I-26 in Dorchester and Berkeley counties from Exit 194 to Interstate 95. Troop Six will dedicate a team of troopers to this area indefinitely until we see significant improvement in collision and fatality numbers. There were 10 fatalities in 2009 on that 22-mile stretch of road, which is largely rural.
This area has been dubbed the "Ridgeville Death Zone" in media reports. SCDOT has been studying the area, looking at slopes next to the highway, the width of the highway's asphalt shoulders and how close the trees are to the pavement. We have been meeting with SCDOT as part of this process and have requested several safety improvements in this area including rumble strips across the roadway every five miles in high crash areas; placing reflective signs to help keep motorists alert in these rural areas; and having message boards read "High Crash Area: All Traffic Laws Strictly Enforced."
While it is somewhat a mystery as to why this stretch is so much worse than other stretches of highway, there is a common thread -- run-off-road crashes. Troopers see the deadly results of these crashes every day. More than half of all fatal crashes in South Carolina involve a vehicle running off the road. A run-off-road crash occurs in South Carolina every 30 minutes on average, and one person dies in one of these crashes most every day. This is such a problem that we partnered with SCDOT on a run-off-road campaign last year aimed at helping motorists react and recover appropriately. http://www.midlandsbiz.com/articles/3750/.
Our goal with the I-26 effort is to focus -- from an enforcement standpoint -- on some of those violations causing these collisions including speed, DUI, changing lanes unlawfully and following too closely. Our hope, obviously, is that by our presence, we will slow traffic down and place them on alert for aggressive and careless driving behaviors that cause these deadly run-off-road crashes in the first place.
From the Highway Patrol:
We will begin special enforcement this week on I-26 in Dorchester and Berkeley counties from Exit 194 to Interstate 95. Troop Six will dedicate a team of troopers to this area indefinitely until we see significant improvement in collision and fatality numbers. There were 10 fatalities in 2009 on that 22-mile stretch of road, which is largely rural.
This area has been dubbed the "Ridgeville Death Zone" in media reports. SCDOT has been studying the area, looking at slopes next to the highway, the width of the highway's asphalt shoulders and how close the trees are to the pavement. We have been meeting with SCDOT as part of this process and have requested several safety improvements in this area including rumble strips across the roadway every five miles in high crash areas; placing reflective signs to help keep motorists alert in these rural areas; and having message boards read "High Crash Area: All Traffic Laws Strictly Enforced."
While it is somewhat a mystery as to why this stretch is so much worse than other stretches of highway, there is a common thread -- run-off-road crashes. Troopers see the deadly results of these crashes every day. More than half of all fatal crashes in South Carolina involve a vehicle running off the road. A run-off-road crash occurs in South Carolina every 30 minutes on average, and one person dies in one of these crashes most every day. This is such a problem that we partnered with SCDOT on a run-off-road campaign last year aimed at helping motorists react and recover appropriately. http://www.midlandsbiz.com/articles/3750/.
Our goal with the I-26 effort is to focus -- from an enforcement standpoint -- on some of those violations causing these collisions including speed, DUI, changing lanes unlawfully and following too closely. Our hope, obviously, is that by our presence, we will slow traffic down and place them on alert for aggressive and careless driving behaviors that cause these deadly run-off-road crashes in the first place.
