FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 18, 2002
CONTACT: SID GAULDEN, 803-896-8755
FASTEN FOR LIFE CAMPAIGN FOCUSES ON HOLIDAY TRAVEL:
COLUMBIA - The South Carolina Department of Public Safety began increased traffic enforcement today as part of the Fasten for Life campaign with state and local law enforcement saturating the state’s deadliest roads. Public service announcements also began airing on radio and television in an attempt to curb some of the fatalities that typically occur during the heavily traveled Thanksgiving holiday period. Sixteen people died last year during the 102-hour weekend; only seven of those victims were restrained.
The most common violations that officers will be on the lookout for include such things as speeding, failure to yield the right of way, DUI and disregarding a sign/signal.
“Thanksgiving is a holiday that’s guaranteed to produce a glut of travelers on our already congested highways,” said DPS Director B. Boykin Rose. “It also leads into the Christmas and New Year’s holidays when people are drinking and driving in increasing numbers.”
The enforcement period for the Fasten for Life campaign will run from Nov. 18-Dec. 1. During a similar two-week period last year (Nov. 12-25), 44 motor vehicle occupants were killed on South Carolina highways; 26 were not buckled up.
DPS has identified the roads in each county that have the highest frequency of traffic collisions resulting in death and serious injury and has analyzed the violations that were cited as contributing to those collisions. Each day during the enforcement period, law enforcement will make a concerted effort to detect the identified violations as well as other traffic offenses that are known contributors to serious traffic collisions. Throughout this enforcement effort, no warnings will be issued for violation of the occupant restraint laws. For information on South Carolina’s seat belt laws, please log on to <http://www.fastenforlife.com/sc_seatbelt_law.htm>.
Law enforcement is placing a special focus 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>.