The State news paper in Columbia SC is reporting that South Carolina car wreck deaths increased, albeit slightly, in 2014. There have been 715 fatal collisions on the roads in South Carolina through November 26, 2014. That’s seven more than November 2013. The South Carolina Department of Public Safety does not like to see those numbers, even if the numbers represent an overall trend down. In fact, there was a marked reduction in the number of motorcycle-related fatalities. For more information go to teh State newspaper and read teh article. I will summarize a few of the points the article made in this blog post as well as add my own thoughts on the subject.
South Carolina Department of Public Safety official want to see that number at zero. In fact, the department has developed public awareness campaign called “Target Zero” meaning it wants the number of traffic fatalities to be zero.
As mentioned earlier, the number of traffic fatalities in South Carolina is trending down. In 2013, the 767 fatalities was the second lowest number on record. But Department of Public Safety Officials want that number to be zero.
In fact, one county in South Carolina has already reached that number. Edgefield County recorded zero traffic fatalities in 2014.
The Department is trying to bring together the safety community, law enforcement, and individual motorists to recognize that behind the cold hard numbers are the real people who died and the real families who lost loved ones. So these numbers are not just numbers; they represent real people.
One South Carolina HIghway Patrol official stated a truism when said there are more distractions now than ever. Thus it is so imperative to pay attention to the road now more than ever.
Reducing South Carolina car wreck deaths to zero is a noble goal and we as a society and as a state should try to achieve that goal. It starts with everyone of us. We as citizens must put down the cell phones, stop texting, and start paying attention. And of course never drink and drive and never allow another person to drink and drive.
Everyone agrees that the roads in South Carolina are in very, very por condition. Traffic is ever increasing, especially on the secondary roads. Thus its so important to pay attention while driving.
As a personal injury attorneyin Grenville SC, I take pride in representing victims of traffic accidents and car wreck deaths against careless, negligent and reckless drivers. To read about the types of motor vehicle accident cases I handle go to the Motor Vehicle Injury page of my law firm web site. I have been a personal witness to the tragedies, the pain, the unspeakable grief, and the sorrow, that families experience when a son, a daughter, a mother or father, a brother or sister , or any family member, is killed in a car wreck in South Carolina. In one instant someone is here with us on this planet, in the next instant, they are gone. It seeme t happen in just the blink of an eye-a very quick moment of a bad choice on the road and a fatal accident occurs.
Yet, what is most important to remember is that car wrecks and car accidents are preventable. Exercising care and caution while operating your motor vehicle can prevent a number of tragedies. If drivers -and we are all drivers-would simply pay attention and keep your eyes on the road and pay attention to driving and pay attention to the road, then people would not have to unecessarily die or become severly injured.
So we all have a role to play. We all have a duty to pay attention. Our state government has a duty to provide safe road that are built and maintained up to current road construction safety standards. Law Enforcement has a duty to put more officers on the roads and to write more tickets and enforce the distracted drving laws. Target Zero should be the goal of every citizen of South Carolina so that we can end the tragedy of South Carolina car wreck deaths.