MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Fewer people died on South Carolina highways during this year’s “100 Deadly Days of Summer,” authorities said.
Statistics released by the South Carolina Department of Public Safety showed 262 deadly crashes between Memorial Day and Labor Day. There were 324 in 2021.
The statistics also showed a total of 34,882 crashes this summer, compared with 39,636 a year ago. The number of deadly crashes involving an impaired driver also dropped from 115 a year ago to 41 in 2022.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving South Carolina said that although the numbers improved this year, it will not be satisfied until the number of impaired drivers is zero.
“We’ll get to that one day, and it’ll probably be because of advanced vehicle technology,” said Steven Burritt, the regional executive director of MADD. “One day the cars are simply not going to allow impaired drivers to operate them, but we can’t be patient to wait for the technology to come around on that. We have to be working every day to make sure that we support enforcement.
According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, South Carolina ranks 10th for drunken-driving deaths.
Burritt said MADD is pushing the state to adjust its laws to regulate the consequences for impaired drivers. Too many times, he said victims loved ones are killed by an impaired driver who was caught under the influence on prior occasions.
“Our conviction rates in our state are incredibly low,” Burritt said. “That means people don’t really aren’t held accountable the first time they break the law and they get caught and, therefore, that’s going to increase the likelihood that they’re going to do it again.”
MADD plans to release data next week from a court-monitoring report that addresses DUI conviction rates by county.