LANCASTER, S.C. — An effort is underway to crack down on speeding drivers.
South Carolina law enforcement join those in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee in a concentrated effort to reduce speeds on interstates and state highways.
With more people traveling for the summer, Lancaster Police Chief Don Roper said it was important for his officers to join what they're calling 'Operation Southern Slow Down.'
“We’re part of a traffic enforcement grant and our officers, they go out and they look at areas where we've identified problems with speeding," Roper said. "On some of the larger roadways we're seeing, you know, 90s up to 100 miles an hour sometimes.... We’re trying to reduce speeding so that we can reduce traffic collisions and with doing that trying to reduce traffic fatalities.”
According to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety (SCDPS), there have been at least 516 traffic-related deaths in 2023.
While data from this year aren't complete, a look at 2021 creates a better picture of how impactful speed can be in crashes.
At that time, SCDPS found 284 people died and more than 39,000 crashes took place after someone drove too fast for the conditions.
It's why Roper said their efforts could be lifesaving.
“We're not trying to find someone to write a ticket to," Roper said. "We're trying to reduce these crashes and keep families safe. That’s most important to us.”
Operation Southern Slow Down continues through July 23.
Contact Kayland Hagwood at khagwood@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.