FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 23, 2002
CONTACT: SID GAULDEN, 803-896-8755

COLUMBIA - The South Carolina Department of Public Safety today announced that its officers will once again focus on heavily-traveled, high collision highways throughout the state as part of its Fasten for Life Labor Day enforcement effort. DPS also will join neighboring North Carolina and Georgia in Hands Across the Border, a multi-state effort to reduce the fatalities during the Labor Day travel period.

DPS kicked off Fasten For Life this past Memorial Day concentrating on roads in each county that have the highest frequency of traffic collisions resulting in death and serious injury. This Labor Day, law enforcement is placing a special focus once again on South Carolina’s secondary highways where the majority of collisions occur (for a county-by-county listing of the highways of concentration, log on to http://www.fastenforlife.com/targeted_roadways_and_violations.htm).

The most common violations that officers will be looking for include such things as speeding, failure to yield the right of way, DUI and disregarding a sign/signal.

“The Labor Day holiday weekend is the last major travel weekend of the summer,” said DPS Director Boykin Rose. “The South Carolina Highway Patrol and State Transport Police will be heavily patrolling our highways in an effort to ensure that these end-of-summer travelers reach their destinations safely.”

During the Labor Day 2001 holiday period, 14 people died in traffic collisions across the state. Last year 1,060 people were killed in traffic collisions in South Carolina and more than 1,000 have died in traffic collisions statewide each of the past four years. So far this year, 650 people have died in traffic collisions in South Carolina, compared to 672 at this same time last year.

Some of the enforcement statistics from the Memorial Day 2002 Fasten For Life campaign include: 426 child restraint citations issued, 2,129 seat belt violations, 13,503 speeding citations, 80 failure to yield, 237 disregarding sign/signal and 423 DUI. Of those 16,000 motorists cited for a violation by the Highway Patrol or State Transport Police, more than 85 percent of motorists who received a citation during the Memorial Day enforcement period were buckled up. However, for those vehicle occupants who died in crashes, only 24 percent were restrained.

“So many of the fatalities we have seen this year probably would not have happened had the motorist been buckled up,” said Highway Patrol Commander Col. Mike Kelley. “Buckling up is the simplest thing you will do all day, but that simple act can make a world of difference if you are involved in a motor vehicle crash.”

For more information on Fasten For Life, please log onto www.fastenforlife.com.

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