South
Carolina Department of Public Safety
South
Carolina Department of Public Safety
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mark Keel is the director of SCDPS,
which includes law enforcement from the Highway Patrol, State Transport Police
and Bureau of Protective Services. Keel said that the agency is reviewing its
winter weather plan, working with other agencies to ensure communication and
that resources are ready to be dispatched, if needed.
“We are taking every precaution to
ensure we are ready as an agency for whatever comes our way,” Keel said. “Even a
small amount of snow or ice can cause hazardous conditions if they are
unexpected or people are unprepared for how to react. Our goal is to bring some
of these possible scenarios to motorists’ attention and get people thinking
before they get on the roadways.”
During winter weather emergencies,
SCDPS will follow the lead of the State Emergency Preparedness Division in
activating its emergency plan and will work closely with other state agencies
including the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), Department of Natural
Resources (DNR) and others, sharing resources such as four-wheel drive vehicles
and personnel.
Transportation Secretary H.B. “Buck” Limehouse Jr.
said SCDOT Maintenance crews will be on the alert for winter weather. “Our crews
in each county in the path of any ice or snow will be monitoring weather
conditions. Our normal procedure is to pre-treat interstates, particularly
overpasses, with sand and salt before any precipitation begins falling. We will
also be prepared to work with the SC Highway Patrol and local agencies to keep
any emergency routes to hospitals and shelters open as best we can,” said
Limehouse.
“We don’t want to alarm people
unnecessarily,”
Some of the typical problems the
Highway Patrol sees during inclement weather include: a high volume of minor
collisions involving people losing control of the vehicle and possibly skidding
into each other’s vehicles; people encountering black ice; bridges or
overpasses icing before the roadways; people travelling too fast for conditions
and not leaving enough space between them and other vehicles.
During hazardous weather, Keel asks
that motorists only use *HP for true emergencies such as reporting collisions or
being stranded in a vehicle.
Limehouse and Keel strongly urge
people to pay attention to the advisories on the radio, television and the
agencies’ web sites to determine road conditions. State agencies will be
regularly issuing weather advisories and travel information.
SCDOT’s web site
to check road conditions and traffic cameras:
www.dot.state.sc.us
The Highway
Patrol’s web site to get real-time traffic information:
www.schp.org
The
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