By Michael P. Ehline, Esq. - California is not the only state to suffer its share of catastrophic accidents. This past year, 2012 more people were fatally injured on South Carolina roadways for the second year in a row.
According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol recent report, there were 833 deaths on highways and roads in the state. This number is up from the 827 deaths that occurred in 2011, however both recent years are much below the 1,052 people killed on state roadways during 2007.
Failure to Wear Seatbelts
Highway Patrol troopers said that approximately 58 percent, or 554 of the people killed on the highways and roads in the state, were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the incidents. According to Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Brent Kelly, many of these deaths could have been preventable. There were approximately 115 pedestrians struck and fatally injured in 2012, and during 2011 there were 110 pedestrians fatally struck. Two years ago, the number of fatally injured pedestrians was 89. An education campaign is planned to continue throughout 2013, by the highway patrol.
Pedestrian Injuries
They said that in many cases the pedestrians fatally injured were while they were walking at night, either in the roadway or while crossing streets and highways, outside of intersections. Kelly said that pedestrians need to remember that only in a few places on roadways they have the right-of-way. He said they should not assume that drivers are always alert and going to slow down for the pedestrian. In 2010 South Carolina had their lowest amount of fatalities, with 806 in almost 30 years, which is the lowest number, since 1982, when there were 730 people fatalities. One of the reasons troopers attribute to the decrease in fatalities, since 2007, is the fact that people are driving fewer miles. They also believe crackdowns in driving under the influence and seatbelt use are other factors, in lowering the death rate.
Drunk Driving a Culprit
The SC Highway Patrol will not have the statistics on how many of the traffic related deaths in 2012 were due to drunk drivers for months. The county breakdown in South Carolina, is Greenville County with the highest number of deaths, with 65, Richland County with 51 fatalities, and both Spartanburg and Lexington with 48 deaths. Union County had one reported death, Marlboro and Bamberg, each had two reported deaths, and both McCormick and Allendale Counties had three reported deaths. York County had 26 reported deaths, which averaged the lowest fatality rate per capita, with the other 15 counties in the state with over 100,000 residents. Jasper, Calhoun and Colleton, which was adjusted for population, was found to have the most dangerous roadways in the state of South Carolina. So one can clearly see, that Los Angeles is not the only dangerous place to drive. (learn more)
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