SCHP dedicates 31 troopers statewide to sustained DUI enforcement

COLUMBIA—A new team of troopers began saturating area roadways over July 4 weekend, monitoring DUI hotspots and putting impaired drivers behind bars. The South Carolina Highway Patrol has dedicated the resources of 31 troopers to full-time, proactive drunken driving enforcement. 

“Drunk driving has plagued this state for years,” said Highway Patrol Colonel Kenny Lancaster Jr. “South Carolina consistently leads the nation in deaths caused by people getting behind the wheel drunk. We need a sustained enforcement plan to combat DUI. This newly formed team is not a temporary fix but a focused, long-term plan.”

Around half of all highway deaths each year in South Carolina are attributable to DUI. That’s compared to about 32 percent nationwide. While alcohol-related deaths fell around the nation last year, they rose in South Carolina with the state ranking behind only Montana for the highest number of DUI fatalities. 

While highway deaths have increased so have DUI arrests by the South Carolina Highway Patrol. In 2006, the Highway Patrol made 8,650 arrests. That number jumped to 9,625 the next year and to 11,348 in 2008.

The DUI team has one mission: to reduce highway collisions and fatalities caused by drunken driving. The team will place its full attention and enforcement resources on this single safety issue – a technique that worked well in encouraging more motorists to buckle up after the primary safety belt law passed in 2005. A number of special enforcement efforts were aimed at getting people to observe the new law.

This highly trained unit of troopers will fan out across the state. Every Troop will reap the benefits of the teams, especially in their DUI trouble spots. The number of troopers working in any one Troop will vary based on the need. Sometimes the team will work alone and sometimes with other troopers or law enforcement on special saturation patrols, at checkpoints and other enforcement venues.

The members of the team were chosen based on their ability and track record to apprehend and successfully prosecute DUI offenders. 

“We have dedicated the best DUI enforcement troopers to this effort,” Lancaster said.

Some of the areas where DUI is a particular concern in Troop Five, which includes Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, Marlboro, Williamsburg are:

• Darlington (US 15, SC 151, Sec 179);
• Florence (SC 51, US 52, US76, US 378)
• Horry (SC 544, SC 707, US 17, US 501, SC 90, Sec 20, Carolina Forest Boulevard, River Oaks Drive;

“This is the time of year when we are on heightened alert to both increased traffic and an increase alcohol-related collisions,” said Troop Five Commander Capt. Jo Nathan Nell. “Heavy vacation and beach travel has historically meant an increase in alcohol-related collisions and arrests.”

The team kicks off at a time when the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, the parent agency of the Highway Patrol, has launched a multimedia public information blitz to educate the public about drinking and driving.

Pictures of victims and public service announcements will inundate the air waves, movie theaters and billboards in the coming weeks. Additionally, the Highway Patrol and local law enforcement will distribute citation holders at traffic stops with the faces of real South Carolina victims of this crime.