You may ring in the new year with a toast or two, but while you’re out celebrating, troopers with the South Carolina Highway Patrol will be out in full force watching the roads.
Troopers want to remind you about their Sober or Slammer Campaign.
The South Carolina Department of Public Safety, state troopers and other law enforcement agencies will be out looking to get drunk drivers off the road.
They will have routine checkpoints, where they will perform sobriety checks and make sure that drivers have their licenses.
If someone is caught drinking and driving, then they could end up ringing in the new year in handcuffs and with a hefty fine.
LCpl. Tyler Tidwell said he’s seen the deadly cost of drunk driving firsthand.
“I just can’t say it enough. We’ve seen too many people lose their lives unnecessarily through the actions of people who make the poor decision to drink and drive,” said Tidwell.
Tidwell also said it’s hard breaking the news to families about a drunk driving incident.
“I know one of the worst things that we can do is go to someone’s door at two, three, or four o’clock in the morning alongside the coroner, and we give a family some of the worst news that they’ll hear in their lives. We’re just trying to get these drunk drivers off the road. We don’t want any more traffic fatalities or deaths,” said Tidwell.
Tidwell said the best way to avoid a late-night knock on the door is to have a designated driver or use a rideshare app like Uber or Lyft if you’ve had too much to drink.
If you see a car swerving, their headlights are off or if their bright lights are on, Tidwell said you should keep a safe distance and call *47 or *HP.
Tidwell said the number of traffic deaths has gone down over the last year, and they would like to see that continue.
Source : WMBF News
