What began as an attempt to relieve the backlog of drunk driving cases in South Carolina’s state summary courts may have exposed a major flaw in the state’s ability to build cases against drunk driving suspects and eventually convict them. Last year, Chief Justice Jean Hoefer Toal of the South…
Traffic accidents are the number one killer of teens in South Carolina. In an effort to reach teen drivers, the South Carolina Department of Public Safety and Subway restaurants have partnered for a new safety campaign. The campaign, W8 2 TXT, encourages teens to text after they are done driving.…
In a grim start to the new year, the number of fatal highway accidents in South Carolina has increased. The South Carolina Department of Public Safety reported a 49% increase in fatal traffic deaths in January 2012 compared to the same period in 2011. Sixty-one people died in highway accidents…
South Carolina was the second most deadly state in 2011 for pedestrians and cyclists according to a new government-funded report by the Alliance for Biking and Walking. While South Carolina has one of the lowest numbers of bicyclists and pedestrians (ranked 44 of 50 states), pedestrian and cyclist deaths account…
With 52 traffic fatalities last year, Lexington County had the second worst highway safety record in South Carolina during 2011, Sheriff James Metts told Columbia-based WIS-TV. Sheriff Metts estimated that 60 percent of those deadly auto accidents involved drivers who were impaired by alcohol or drugs. “We had more deaths…
The debate over whether all motorcyclists in South Carolina should be required to wear helmets has once again come up in the state legislature. State Sen. Ralph Anderson of Greenville has sponsored a bill that would make helmets mandatory for all riders, instead of only those younger than 21. Gov.…
Preliminary reports indicate that South Carolina traffic accidents claimed more lives in 2011 than the year before, marking the first increase in highway deaths since 2007. According to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, 818 people perished in South Carolina auto accidents last year, up 9 over the 2010…
A recent opinion column in the Post and Courier calls on South Carolina’s Department of Transportation (SCDOT) to think more about cyclists’ needs and safety on the James Island Connector. SCDOT recently banned pedestrians and cyclists on the popular bridge after a recent cyclist death. No safe and efficient alternate…
Our South Carolina car accident attorneys recently reported about the dangers of driving with a cold – considered another form of distracted driving. South Carolinians and all Americans have been bombarded with the hazards of texting while driving, and other dangerous distracted driving behaviors. While some in the general public…
A report on ABC News this week identified yet one more hazard for drivers – the common cold. According to researchers in Great Britain, a person that gets behind the wheel with a heavy cold is just as dangerous as someone who has just downed four double shots of whiskey.…